Urgently Repent Luke 13 Vs 1 9

Faith Bible Church

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Good morning and welcome to Faith Bible Church. As you can see, we've doubled in size this morning, and it's a privilege to have the young adults from the

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Bible Baptist Church of Praise. They're the church that meets here in the afternoon and Fridays, and I was rehearsing to them, the church before them, and for the

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Bible Baptist Church of Praise, the Russian language churches have been here probably better than 30 years now, and we've had a really good relationship with them.

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They've done a lot of the work around the church, done a lot of the cleaning and the painting, and they help us out with all of the things that we have to do, so we thank the

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Lord for them and our relationship with them. They're going to be singing to us this morning, some special numbers, as we join in together with congregational singing, and then they have specials that they will be singing to us.

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So let's go to the Lord in a word of prayer before we sing. Our Heavenly Father and our

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God, we come before you this morning thanking you for the beautiful day that you have given to us, that we can come together and worship you, and we pray,

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Heavenly Father, as we lift our voices in song, that our songs might be a sweet aroma to you.

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We would pray for Pastor as he would speak, that you would speak through him the words that you have given him to say.

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Be with the young adults from the Church of Praise, that you would give them the abilities that they desire today.

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We look forward to a blessing from them, and we thank you for that, Lord. Now we pray these things in Jesus' name, amen.

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Being the Christmas season, if you'd stand together with me as we sing joy to the world.

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And this song is based off of 1 Corinthians 6, verse 19.

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Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?

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You are not your own. The meaning of Christmas really is that Christ came to redeem us and unite us with him for eternity, and so the implication of that is for us that we don't belong to ourselves, we belong to the

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Church of Christ. And so let us live for his glory, and as we hear this song, really meditate on that fact.

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Today's scripture reading is going to come from Luke, chapter 3, verses 7 through 9.

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That is Luke, chapter 3, verses 7 through 9. Verse 7,

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Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

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Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, we have

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Abraham as our father. For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.

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And even now the axe is laid to the roots of the trees. Therefore every true which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

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This is the word of the Lord. One more song our sisters will share with you. The song is called

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What Gift of Grace? And again, we enter this holiday season of Christmas, and the greatest gift of Christmas is the expression towards us through Christ Jesus.

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Isaiah writes this in chapter 9, verse 6. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government shall be on his shoulder.

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His name shall be called Wonderful, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

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And freedom, my steadfast love, my deep and boundless peace.

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To this I hold, my hope is only Jesus, for my life is wholly bound to his.

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O how strange and divine! I can't speak, all is blind, yet not

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I, but through Christ in me. Yet not

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I, but through Christ in me. The night is dark, but I am not forsaken, for by my side the

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Savior, he will stay. I labor on in weakness and rejoicing, for in my need his power is displayed.

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To this I hold, my shepherd will defend me, through the deepest valley he will lead.

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O the night that I shall overcome, yet not

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I, but through Christ in me. Yet not

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I, but through Christ in me. No fate

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I dread, I'm sure, sure, the price it has been paid, for Jesus bled and suffered for my pardon, and he was raised to overthrow the grave.

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To this I hold, my sin has been defeated, Jesus now and ever is my plea.

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O the chains are released, I can sing, I am free, yet not

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I, but through Christ in me. Yet not

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I, but through Christ in me. With every breath

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I long to follow Jesus, for he has said that he will bring me home.

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And day by day I know he will renew me, until I stand with joy before the throne.

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To this I hold, my hope is only Jesus, all the glory evermore to him.

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When the race is complete, still my lips shall repeat, yet not

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I, but through Christ in me. Yet not

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I, but through Christ in me. Has that been a blessing to you?

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Amen. Stand together with me as we sing Silent Night.

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Sleep in, sleep in heavenly peace.

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Please turn with me to Luke chapter 13, verses 1 through 9.

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Luke chapter 13, verses 1 through 9.

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There were present at that season some who told him about the Galileans whose blood

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Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answered and said to them,

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Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered such things?

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I tell you no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower of Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they are worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem?

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I tell you no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.

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He also spoke this parable. A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.

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Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on the fig tree and find none.

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Cut it down. Why does it use up the ground? But he answered and said to him,

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Sir, let it alone this year also until I dig around it and fertilize it.

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And if it bears fruit, well, but if not, after that you can cut it down.

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This is the word of the Lord. Let us pray. Father, we are thankful that you are gracious and merciful to give us time to respond in faith to Jesus Christ.

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Thank you that you are good and you are compassionate. And despite our sinfulness, that you sent

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Jesus to die for our sin on the cross, facing your wrath so that we may live and be forgiven and adopted into your family.

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We pray that you would work in all of our hearts through your spirit to respond to Christ properly and faithfully.

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In Jesus name. I would like to thank all of you, the choir, for really treating us with such wonderful gift.

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What a great preparation, great songs.

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Even the baby was mesmerized during the songs.

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Now, today I am preaching from Luke 13, the passage that I just read.

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And in this context, Jesus is teaching the crowd of the lack of urgency regarding the coming judgment.

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He is warning the crowd of the lack of urgency regarding the judgment that is coming.

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And even in our culture, it is very relevant today because we make jokes regarding hell.

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You might have heard non -believing friends or family who joke around saying, oh,

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I am going to hell, aren't I? Or we will have so much fun partying in hell. And of course, our culture blaspheme

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Christ. For some reason, every other religious leaders or historical figures are sacred, but it is seemingly not

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Jesus Christ. This culture uses

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Jesus Christ as a curse word. When things go wrong, they blaspheme Christ. And this is because the world rejects

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God's authority to judge. And this is nothing new.

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In fact, Satan has used this tactic since Genesis 3 -4. But the serpent said to the woman, you will not surely die.

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Satan directly contradicted what God had said would happen if they eat of the fruit that is forbidden.

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God did say you will surely die, but Satan here directly contradicts

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God's authority to judge. And in the same way,

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Satan uses his old trick in our nation. God will not judge you in the end.

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He doesn't exist. God will not judge you in the end because you're good enough.

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God will not judge you in the end because that would be unfair. You didn't know.

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The world offers varieties of choices to deny God's right to judge.

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The world offers varieties of choices to excuse yourselves from being judged by Jesus himself.

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Thus, the urgency of the judgment day disappears. The urgency to respond to Christ is gone.

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Moreover, Christians are affected by this.

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Christians are pretty nonchalant about the reality of hell. If we truly believe that the judgment is coming, we wouldn't be so relaxed about sharing the gospel.

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There was one disagreement that my evangelism professor in seminary had with my friend.

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Over the summer, we would go to the local community college to talk to students there, people we didn't know.

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People, so strangers, in hopes that we would share the gospel with them. The professor believed that he wouldn't mention the reality of sin and hell until possibly the second or the third meeting.

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After all, you don't want to scare them away during the first meeting. My friend, however, had the opposite idea.

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Who knows what will happen after the first meeting? The student could die.

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Jesus could come back. The student could decide to not meet for the second time, no matter how cordial the meeting had been.

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They are better off hearing the full gospel that Jesus died for their sin.

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And he is the only way to be saved from God's incoming wrath during the first meeting.

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And maybe, maybe be saved rather than to presume that there would be a second meeting in order to try to save face.

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Of course, my friend is right. We need such urgency in the church this morning.

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The people you meet or the people you regularly meet may not have the chance to repent in the future unless you share the gospel now.

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People need to hear the gospel. People need to hear the problem of sin. People need to hear about the holy

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God who does not stand for sin. And people need to hear of the gracious offer in Jesus Christ who died for our sin and suffered the wrath that we deserved.

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People need to hear that this morning. People need to hear that tomorrow too.

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People need to hear that every day. Because the urgency is there.

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The urgency is there because the judgment day is coming. Every morning we wake up, we're one day closer to that day.

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The main point of this passage is that we need to urgently respond to God's merciful offer of salvation in Christ before the inescapable judgment.

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We need to urgently respond to God's merciful offer of salvation in Christ before the inescapable judgment.

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First, instead of finding security in our current circumstances, we need to repent to be saved from the coming judgment.

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Instead of finding security in our current circumstances, we need to repent to be saved from the coming judgment.

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Last week, Jesus highlighted the importance of discerning the significance of His coming and to settle your debt with God.

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The debt here is your sin. And you have to settle with God before the judgment day.

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And this week, Jesus teaches on our urgent need to repent. And verse 1 sets the background for today's lesson.

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Verse 1 of chapter 13. There were present at that season some who told

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Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.

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Now Luke is the only gospel author who writes about this event. So we cannot speak too much in detail.

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But we know what had happened. Pilate, the Roman governor, so he's a

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Gentile ruler over the area in which Jesus is ministering.

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He killed Galileans, the northern Israelites, who were preparing their sacrifice to offer to God.

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And they were brutally massacred. And the mingling of blood is the mixing of the blood.

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It's mixed with the sacrificial blood of the animals and their blood because they've been just violently killed.

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Normally, when tragic incidents strike, one of the first questions we ask is, why?

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When there's a senseless tragedy, the two -word phrase that comes out of our mouths or in our head is, why

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God? Why God? Now, some try to answer it themselves and assume it was the fault of the victim.

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And that's really what karma is all about. In fact, many in our society, despite not being

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Hindu, Hindi themselves, believe that in some way or another, the universe punishes the wicked and then rewards the good, depending on your past action, right?

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And that's really the same philosophy that Job's friends had about God. Job, you need to confess your sin that caused your children to die.

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That's karma. The opposite also occurs.

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My life is good. Therefore, God must approve of me. My circumstances have been favorable.

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I am blessed. So, God must love me. The Bible, however, over and over again refutes this view of God and His sovereign plan.

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After all, the most obedient one of them all suffered the most excruciating death on the cross.

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Jesus faced God's wrath for others despite His perfect obedience.

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Perhaps in the karmic mindset, they have come before Christ to ask, what happened there?

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Why, God? However, Jesus does not play into their game.

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Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than other Galileans because they suffered such things?

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I tell you no, but unless you repent, you will likewise perish.

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First, Jesus rejects any notion of karma here. These specific

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Galileans did not die such a cruel, violent death because they were more wicked than others.

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In fact, the reverse is true. You're not favored because this didn't happen to you, right?

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Jesus does not even answer why they died in such a cruel manner.

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Instead of giving the reason, Jesus shifts the focus to those who are actually alive.

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But unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Don't think your eternal state is secure because you didn't suffer with them.

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Don't think you're right with God just because you avoided that tragedy. Don't count on your current circumstances to be approved by God.

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Rather than focusing on the dead, Jesus advises the living to avoid a greater tragedy before it comes.

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Repent. Repentance is a major theme in all of Scripture.

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It is to turn away from sin and turn toward God in faith. Repentance involves every part of the person.

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It's not just a verbal agreement. Ah, yeah, you're right, I see what you mean. Because we've all heard people say, sorry, but they're not really sorry.

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That's not repentance. The person's mind, soul, and body all turn toward God and away from sin.

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When you see that your path, your life, your choices, your attitude, your will, your desire, and your heart are just crooked and wicked, there's not even a square inch of hope that's found in you.

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That's when you turn away from yourself and turn to Jesus, who can truly save you from sin.

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In fact, faith and repentance are really the two sides of the same coin. You cannot repent properly without faith in Christ.

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And you cannot believe Jesus without repenting because you're still relying on yourself.

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Repent and believe come together. True repentance happens because of the genuine faith.

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True repentance happens because of the object of faith, Jesus Christ. Now, what happens when you don't repent?

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Jesus says you will all likewise perish. In this context, perishing is not just any death, but the eschatological judgment, the judgment on the last days.

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After all last week, Jesus taught to settle with God all that you owe before it is too late.

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When is it too late? The judgment day. Perishing is the punishment that anyone would receive who has not turned toward God in faith.

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And it is important to know here what perishing does not mean. Perishing does not mean annihilation, total annihilation, no existence whatsoever.

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Here's what the theological dictionary of the New Testament defines the word perish in this context.

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Perish is a definitive destruction, not merely in the sense of extinction of physical existence, but rather of an eternal plunge into Hades, hell, and a hopeless destiny of death.

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Now, I briefly cover this definition in length because there's a popular false teaching held by various cults and unbelievers.

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And they believe that people who don't believe, right, unbelievers, will cease to exist after death.

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There is no eternal torment after death, or that the soul ceases to exist after they've served their time.

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But here, perishing does not highlight the temporal end, as in there's an expiration date to your suffering in hell.

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Rather, it is the comprehensive nature of the judgment. It will happen, and it will be tormenting in a total sense.

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The theology of hell and condemnation throughout Scripture show that the suffering and punishment are, in fact, eternal, everlasting, never -ending.

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Revelation 20 .10, tormented day and night, forever and ever. Really can't get away from that.

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Eternal fire, Matthew 25 .41, the fire that keep burning, the fire cannot keep burning if there's nothing in it, if something ceases to exist.

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Daniel 12 .2, shame and everlasting contempt. That's in the context of the resurrection at the end, and that's from the

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Old Testament. What Jesus is saying here is that unless you repent, you will face a worse end than even these

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Galileans whose blood was mingled with the sacrificial blood. Don't worry about them, worry about yourselves.

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You've got to repent. In order to emphasize this point, Jesus brings out another example in verse 4.

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Or those 18 on whom the tower of Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem?

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There are two main differences between the first example and the second example. First, this tragedy occurs in Jerusalem.

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That's God's dwelling place. That's the city of God. That's the city of the great

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Davidic king. Jesus makes this discussion more theologically impactful than the last one.

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Last tragedy was in Galilee. This one's in Jerusalem. And it's a more powerful example to consider this problem of evil.

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Second, while the first tragedy is due to a personal evil that's mainly Pilate, right?

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The evil has a face. It's Pilate. The second tragedy is caused by an impersonal evil.

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The tower just fell on them. It's not like someone rammed into the tower to intentionally kill the 18 that were standing underneath.

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In fact, it's harder to see the first tragedy as a direct divine punishment.

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After all, Pilate wasn't pegging the governor. He didn't really care for the Jews. Maybe it's purely his fault, the

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Pilate, that Pilate guy, that the Galileans died. No need to blame God for this.

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But the second tragedy is easier to see as a divine punishment. The tower of Siloam near the south and east walls of Jerusalem just happened to fall on the 18 people.

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How could the tower in God's city kill God's people in mass?

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Surely if they were saints, God would have protected them. After all, it is his city.

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Do you see how Jesus wretches up the example, the second example? Makes it harder.

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Do you really think that God was punishing them? Even more emphatically,

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Jesus repeats the same warning. I tell you no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.

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Just because the tower did not fall on you does not mean you're innocent before God's eyes.

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It is not your earthly circumstances that lead you to acquittal before God.

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Your current earthly blessings do not justify you before God.

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In fact, you have to repent. You have to see your dire need to be saved by God.

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You must turn to God, knowing that only he can save you. Nothing of your doing, but completely of his doing.

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Now, unlike ancient Israel, in which tragedies were often considered as signs of judgment, and some of them were judgments, our culture actually has the opposite problem.

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We believe God has blessed the influential people in the world. I had to argue with some of my students that just because Mr.

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Beast donates a lot of money doesn't mean he is a good guy, doesn't mean he's a

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Christian. What it means is no number of subscribers will save Mr.

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Beast from the coming judgment unless he repents. No amount of dollars will save Bill Gates from the coming judgment unless he repents.

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No amount of top music tours will save Taylor Swift from the coming judgment unless she repents.

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No amount of the NBA championship victories will save LeBron James, he calls himself

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King, from the coming judgment unless he repents.

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This is because the forgiveness and salvation from sin are not earned through spectacular achievements, but they are freely given by Jesus Christ.

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You are only saved by recognizing how wicked you are and turning toward God's only offer of salvation,

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His Son, Jesus Christ. Instead of trusting your plan, your records, and your deeds, you hold fast to Jesus Christ and His accomplishment on the cross.

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We leave behind our lives of sin and wholly trust in Jesus' sacrificial death on the cross.

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And only Jesus facing God's wrath on your behalf saves you from the coming judgment.

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That's why you can repent. Faith and repent go together. Now, on the other hand, for those who have turned to Christ and trust in Him, this is a refreshing reassurance.

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Everything can go wrong in your life, and some of them might be even your fault directly, but you can be assured that it's not a punishment from God because Christ paid it all.

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There's no leftover wrath for God to pour out on His own because Jesus faced it all.

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You could lose everything you have in your life, everything you hold dear, yet you can have the assurance that it is not

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God who is punishing you because Christ faced His full wrath on the cross.

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Our security in life does not come from our circumstances, but in the person of Jesus Christ that has finished atoning work on the cross.

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Now, how must we respond in repentance? We must urgently repent because the time is short.

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We must urgently repent because the time is short. In order to illustrate this urgency to repent,

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Jesus tells a parable. As you know, a parable shows us an imagery, a picture, to illustrate a concept so that it's more memorable, yet it hides the truth from those who are not interested, those who are hard -hearted.

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A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.

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A fig tree grows around 15 to 25 feet, and normally it bears fruit annually.

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The owner continues to check yearly, but each time he checks, he only goes home with disappointment, no basket full of fruit.

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In the Old Testament, God uses both vine and fig trees to represent the promised prosperity for or the judgment against Israel.

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For example, Micah 4 .4 and Zechariah 3 .10 show the eschatological blessing toward Israel in terms of fruitful fig tree.

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While in Hosea 2 .10, fig trees and vines are destroyed as a judgment against Israel's unfaithfulness.

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And Hosea 9 .10 actually puts it all together and compares Israel as a fig tree.

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Fig tree here, Old Testament and the New Testament, really is a representative of Israel.

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So when Jesus curses the fig tree for not having the fruit, it's really not the tree's fault.

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It's an illustration that the season is overdue,

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Israel. Where's the fruit? The Messiah's here and there's no fruit.

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That's why the tree's cursed. It symbolizes Israel's utter unfaithful and unpreparedness to receive their coming

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Messiah. And of course, the fruitless fig tree represents the crowd that is listening.

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There ought to be fruit, but the tree remains barren. This means God is the owner of the vineyard here.

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And year after year, God checks on His unrepentant people. And even as they stand before their

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Messiah, the God incarnate, there's just no sign of repentance.

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They're just spectating. Not repenting.

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Hence, the owner resorts to uproot the tree in verse 7. The owner's patience is running out.

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He's been waiting for three years. For the tree that ought to be bearing fruit yearly.

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The order is clear. Remove the tree because it's taking up the nutrients from the soil.

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It's taking up space in His vineyard. It's worthless.

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The vinedresser, however, asks to grant mercy for that tree. Sir, let it alone this year until I dig around it and fertilize it.

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And if it bears fruit? Well, but if not, after that, you can cut it down.

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The vinedresser hopes that the tree may bear fruit with just another year of care.

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But if not, the tree can finally be cut down. Digging around the tree would be an act to loosen the soil so that the moisture, the water, could go deeper down into the root, hoping the tree, being well cared for, might produce fruit.

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Fertilizing the tree would give the various nutrients that the tree needs to mature and grow.

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While the previous verse showed God's just evaluation of Israel, this response shows

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God's mercy and patience toward His people, despite their fruitlessness. God would be perfectly righteous to uproot this tree for their lack of faith.

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Yet His mercy shows His He will give them another chance.

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Some commentators go a little bit far and say that the owner is God the Father, and the vinedresser who is pleading to show mercy is the

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Son, God the Son. Jesus Christ Himself. This sounds really nice, and you might argue, well, it might be another reason for the

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Trinitarian doctrine. However, this becomes problematic because God the

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Father and God the Son at no point in history disagree with one another.

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Neither is the Son more compassionate than the Father, nor the Father more righteous than the

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Son. We cannot pit the persons of the Trinity against each other.

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That's a dangerous theology. God the Son is just as compassionate as God the

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Father. After all, God the Father is the one who sent the Son to die for us on the cross. And God the

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Son is just as righteous as God the Father. After all, He saw that there's no other way for the unjust to be justified.

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Without someone else taking the punishment. We cannot separate

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God's character and nature among the persons of the Trinity. And this verse shows how merciful

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God is to let this fruitless tree live for yet another year.

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God had every right to judge His people, but didn't. And in fact, the parable ends abruptly here.

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We do not see what happens the next year. Does the tree get cut down?

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Or will it bear fruit? This is because the open ending requires the listener to urgently respond.

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The ball is now on their court. God has done everything possible for His people to respond in faith.

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Now the listeners need to respond in repentance. Will they bear fruit and live in His vineyard?

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Or will they be cut down? Will they repent or be judged?

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It puts the urgency on the listeners. After all, this is not three more years' lease.

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It's one year after pleading. There's not much time.

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Although the parable was first shared to the Jews in the audience, the Israelites, it applies to us today because we worship the same

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God, as the Israelites did. We worship the same

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God who demands repentance from our sin. We worship the same God who has the full authority to judge us at any moment, and He is rightfully allowed to.

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And we worship the same God who has given us more time to repent because He is the same compassionate, gracious God.

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The parable shows us that the fact that the world is not standing before God in judgment is purely by His mercy alone.

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The fact that if we can make it to 2024 without destroying ourselves or God destroying us, it is only because God has given us more time to bear fruit, repent, to turn to Him for mercy.

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This morning, whether it's your first time hearing about Jesus, or it may be your hundredth time because you grew up in the church, if you have not responded to Jesus in faith yet, you urgently need to today.

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Do not presume on God's grace. You are not guaranteed to live another day or breathe another hour.

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Do not believe in the lie that you can live however you want now and decide to follow Jesus when it's convenient for you.

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Because there may not be a later time. Turn from your self -centered ways and turn to Christ in faith.

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Stop trusting yourself. Stop trusting in your good works.

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They're not good anyway. Trust in Christ's finished work on the cross.

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It's not about how good you are or how perfectly you follow the rules. It's about knowing you have greatly rebelled against the sovereign

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God, and you need to turn to God's only chosen Savior. Turn to Him today.

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For there may not be another day. Let us pray.

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Father, we pray that You would work through our hearts, that You, Your Spirit, would stir our hearts to respond in faith, to respond in repentance if we have not yet done so.

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For we do not know, for we are not guaranteed another day to repent.

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Help us to receive Your gracious gift of Jesus Christ that He, when

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He didn't have to, died for our sin so that we wouldn't have to.

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Help us to reconcile with You through Your Son, Jesus. And please put that fire of urgency in our hearts.

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There may not be another day. Today might have to be the day.

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In Jesus' name, amen. Stand together with me as we sing

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Hark! The Herald Angels Sing. Hark! The herald angels sing

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Glory! Peace on earth and mercy mild

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God and sinners reconciled

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Joyful, all ye the skies with host proclaim

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Thank you, and we're blessed to have the choir from the Church of Praise with us today.

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And we say a heartily thank you to you. It was a joy to us, a blessing from the