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March 16, 2022 8:00 am
Today on the Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhart challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ. Somebody is really insane. You're more likely to just find out.
Encourage them along the wall. The company again. That's it. You know sometimes you will need surgery instead of therapy joining us today on this additional Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhart Fellowship in the Words the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible church located in Metairie, Louisiana. Let's join Pastor Bill Gebhart now is once again he shows us how God's word meets our world the date was September 11, 1998 and Pres. Bill Clinton was about to speak at a prayer breakfast at the White House. Earlier that year in January.
He attended a televised speech to all of us by wagging his finger and then saying I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Ms. Lewinsky. After months of legal maneuvering on August 17.
He had to answer questions under oath to a grand jury. Because of that testimony he had gone on national television that night and carefully worded an admission.
He said what my answers were legally accurate.
I did not volunteer information. Indeed, I did have a relationship with Ms. Lewinsky that was inappropriate. In fact, it was wrong. While the public remained unconvinced. In fact, many people felt that that statement raise more questions than it gave us answers so we come to September 11, 1998 at the White House in a prayer breakfast.
This is what the president said I was not contrite enough. I don't think there's a fancy way to say that I have sinned.
It is important to me that everybody who is been hurt know the sorrow I feel is genuine wine. I have asked for their forgiveness, but I believe it to be given more than sorrow is required at least two more things. First, genuine wine, repentance and determination. The change in the set repair breaches of my own making. Secondly he says what the Bible calls a broken spirit and understanding that I must have God's help to be the person that I want to be in no matter what your political persuasion.
Those are remarkable words from any politician, let alone the president of the most powerful country on earth. There were two responses.
The first response was for many was that's good enough for me. Let's move on and then there was a second response from those antagonistic to him that the man's a liar. He lied in the past is lying in the present ally in the future. I have no interest in renewing that debate. But I am very interested in the questions that his repentance raises question one. What are the marks of true repentance. Question number two would be this true repentance happen in a moment or is it a process number three this true repentance eliminate the consequences of sin.
We have been in a series for some time that I called forgiveness. The cornerstone of all the keystone of all relationships and almost all the sermons of dealt with our forgiving others, but I think what we need to also discusses what happens when we are the perpetrators. What happens when we do this in no way against God, but against others.
If you remember last time I was in Luke chapter 17 and I Luke wrote this if your brother sins rebuke him and if he or she repents, forgive them, and if he or she are sins against you seven times in a day and comes back to you seven times and says, I repent, forgive them and so I said in that sermon the last time that we we have to. In a sense, deal with sin. Honestly, and we have to confront sin courageously but we also have to own the sin repent only and more I thought about the more I thought that's kind of a strange word for us and it it's amazing that a president would even use it.
Repentance or repent.
It seems like it's about 100 years out of date. It's not something we really discuss at all. And boy, that's really unfortunate because without repentance. As I understand the Scriptures. Your life can really have no joy. You really can't have inner happiness that is immune to the circumstances of life.
Your life will have no peace.
The spirit of God that now and while she was a believer in Jesus Christ will continue to convict you. You have no hope, no certitude of your future. You have no real meaning or purpose to God is sort of the idea the sin is crouching at the door and sin now has a hold of you. Repentance is absolutely without question one of the keys to living the Christian life.
There is no place in the word of God were repentance gets more clear understanding than in the book of second Corinthians.
The reason I say that is it. Of all the epistles that Paul wrote this is the most personal. Paul had sort of ambivalence toward the Corinthians.
It's the worst church, by the way the New Testament by a mile. There's no one even close. The second visit a church. It had nothing but problems. But in second Corinthians, Paul was writing because there were people in that church that did not like Paul at all. In fact, they made accusations about Paul. They said he wasn't really an apostle. They said that Paul basically was, was not in line with what good theology would be. Here's the worst part. No one in the congregation really defended Paul either. And so Paul decides to write them a letter. It's not first Corinthians is a letter between first Corinthians in second Corinthians in its scathing he goes right to the heart. He is rebuking them openly for what they have done. He sends a letter with Titus and so the apostle Paul is in Ephesus when he writes it and he so excited by the way, there's no texting, no email when you send a letter in his day you're talking weeks, maybe months before you get a response. So Paul leaves Ephesus and goes up the coast to troll, as because he knows that's where Titus will come back until on the response gets impatient. Even their heads off to Macedonia because he is not sure at all how they're going to respond.
That's really picking up those the second Corinthians the end of chapter 1 verse 23, but I call God is the witness to my soul, that the spirit you that I did not come again to Corinth understand what he saying there, I had to send your letter because if I do come you one believe how bad it would get for you. I spared you by not coming myself. He said not that we lorded over your faith, but our work is with you for your joy, he says, for in your faith. You are standing firm, but I determined this for my own sake that I would not come to you in sorrow again.
He said for a fight because you sorrow, he said, who then makes me glad, but the one whom I made sorrowful.
He said this is the very thing that I wrote to you so that when I came I would not have sorrow from those who automatically rejoice. Having confidence in you. He said all that, my joy would be the joy of all of you, or if you all pieces for out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears. He said not that you were to be made sorrowful, but that you might know the love which I have, especially for you notice he rebukes them in writing in tears, not because not because he's judging them because he loves him. Then in verse 12 of chapter 2 it says now when I came to troll. As for the gospel of Christ and when the door was open to me in the Lord.
I had no rest in my spirit. Not finding Titus, my brother, but taking my leave of them and I went off to Macedonia. Paul must've said some things that were incredibly blunt to how they were living our lives.
You know sometimes you have to do that in by the way, if I don't know all of you, but I know a lot of you and it's my estimation, you're not good at this. You don't do this well at all when somebody is really in sin, you're more likely to just try to encourage them along. Give them all the comfort you can and that's it. But you know sometimes people need surgery instead of therapy. Sometimes you just gotta go and get it out see there's a tremendous difference between how I treat measles, and how I treat cancer.
It's different. Paul decides he's got this Watt he's going forward. So apparently he gives them extremely blunt words. Now let's pick it up in chapter 7 chapter 7 of second Corinthians is motivation is he loves him but he also loves the truth and he doesn't want for them what we should never one for anybody in sin.
He doesn't want them to face the consequences. You know that that's one of the great dichotomies of sin. Sin promises a lot of pleasure but it only delivers a lot of pain now. The trouble is, the pain is usually delayed and so that's why we think it's so enticing.
All this will be fun, not just think of how many times are a bunch of people, young people get in the car. We get intoxicated or having nothing but fun musics on radios lot guy drives intoxicated.
Next thing I knows not to worry as it crosses the Laney hits a truck had on then you read about or seen on the news the next day or the consequences.
How enormous is that it even worse.
What he survives in the people and as Carnaby would have the card I wear the consequences that there were enormous. She sin always leaves scars always.
That's the whole point. That's why you rebuking so notice now and said grimly, and seven verse five he said for even when we came into Macedonia. Our flesh had no rest.
He says we were afflicted on every side.
Conflicts without fears within he said the God who comforted depressed, comforted us by the coming of Titus. So Titus comes Paul is pretty happy. In fact if you look across the verse 13 chapter 7. For this reason we have been comforted and besides our comfort. We rejoiced even much more for the joy of Titus because his spirit had been refreshed by you all what Titus all happy about and repented they actually repented and so Titus is pretty happy about that. Now notice verse seven and not only by his coming, but also by the comfort he says, in which he was comforted and you as he reported to us your longing.
Your morning, your zeal for me so that I rejoiced even more and then he says, for though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it. That's unusual in Scripture I don't I don't but I don't. I didn't grant what is he saying which is it both easy Paul was saying both part I want to write the letter I said last time who wants to rebuke somebody in sin, who would enjoy that. Except the self-righteous, judgmental person who's in their own sin. No one would enjoy that Paul did enjoy it also. But I can't let my emotions dictate what I have to say some things just have to be said by the way when it comes to something I had doesn't every parent know that that's like you know one of the big good jokes when I was a kid, you know, was the occasional kid that whenever he got a lot of trouble got really disciplined and by the way your corporal discipline was the day in my day. It was everything and so you usually see them later and you could tell he had been having a hard time and then they would say something like this and you know my dad said he said is going to hurt him want to hurt me. I don't think so but I became a father and I think so, who enjoys that.
You see, that's a post saying I didn't use it. I don't regret that I wrote this, but I do regret it. You see, that's the idea, and he says in notice he introduces this idea of sorrow who Pat O. It means anguish of the soul half the time to choose. In the New Testament is in second Corinthians in half the time it Jews in second Corinthians are in these verses. There is an eight obvious tie between sorrow and repentance. Now often I've been taught that that's not the case at all because repentance is met up know I owe you. Welcome some news meta-news news means mind it means to change your mind.
That's repentance is it's more than that it's inescapable in these verses it means to change your thinking. Yes, it means a change of feeling and change your actions to. It means the change direction in your life so he says, for though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it for I see that the letter caused you sorrow. He says only for while I now rejoice not, that you were made sorrowful, but he said that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance. That's rebuke is and by the way, when you rebuke somebody because of sin, almost always really sorrowful using mask at the with anger and are usually fight back with something like this for sorrow is the issue. Now notice than what he says after that, he says, I now rejoice nothing. You were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God so that you might not suffer loss and anything to us.
This is a godly sorrow.
This is the will of God.
Sorrow is good grief. You see, that's what he is saying and he said and the reason it's so good is so that you may not suffer loss because sin has consequences. She sin is consequences, and I don't want you to suffer loss in this thing. It's the same phrase he uses. By the way when it comes the judgment seat of Christ for all believers.
Our salvation is never to be judged at the judgment seat of Christ, but all of our actions and our motivations for actions are called, would a stubble or gold, silver, precious stones and he says and if we do it with the wrong motivation we will suffer loss. My salvation, but loss and that's what he is saying here. In other words, without repentance in your life.
There's loss. You see there's loss and I believe there's loss of joy, loss of peace, loss of hope, loss of the abundant life that Christ talked about. I've come to give you life and you give it to you abundantly. But if your unrepentant can help you. You see, that's what he is talking about here. He said in verse 10 for sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret. What a great phrase that is I have never met a believer in Jesus Christ to find themselves in sin and then repented and then he regretted repenting. I don't know the case is you want to repent. Once you're right with God. Once you get it right with others you regret that you never regret being right with God all he said for sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation are leading to deliverance the word salvation can mean being saved, but being saved means being delivered also use in a normative way that's I think it's used here, leading to deliverance. He said, but the sorrow of the world he says produces death. In other words, there is a sorrow that the world has you know what I'm talking about see it all the time. By the way, Vera went somebody on the news and you find out that this person has perpetrated some great crime and it was horrible and then we see it weep in a paper you see it on the news you start realize when the person then standups of all my sorry what are you thinking the other. Sorry there, sorry they got caught. That's another sorry about. That's a worldly sorrow on just so sorry.
You see, that's not repentance that's not repentance at all. That's not what you're saying. Let me ask you this, when somebody rebukes you because of sin or in some way when you have to make an apology for sin in your life how you respond how to use it like a lot of people say the generic I'm sorry I set up sorry. Well isn't that all about you.
See what I don't think that's nearly enough. Here's something even worse. If I hurt you. I'm sorry if I hurt you. I'm sorry. While I do know if was on the table.
You see, I mean it's that's kind of up to you.
I mean if it didn't hurt you, and I'm not sorry but if I did I'm sorry I hurt you. But that was not my intention.
Sometimes I can happen if it's not a nondescript issue, just a miscommunication, I get it there. But if you sin when you say when I'm sorry I hurt you, but it wasn't my intention. You know I have such noble intentions I have is really noble of a noble person with noble intentions, not just some horrible review, but I have noble intentions in here that all the time. Hey, I'm sorry that you got hurt when set me what you want so sensitive to be nothing to apologize for. I'm sorry you got hurt. That's not repentance. She is not repentance of all repentance is I'm sorry it's totally my fault. I was completely wrong.
I have no excuses. We forget me. This sounds a lot different doesn't what is hard for us were always time at some way to rationalize our action so let's go to the three questions we started with one of the marks of a genuine wine or what is the mark of genuine repentance for simple answers this change start because in your heart changes your thoughts change in your heart and thoughts change your life changes is a changed heart new repent now again when working fun was send the responses we often give when it comes to a changed heart is sometimes we just go into denial as a candidate. Remember, hey, where's your brother. I don't know my my brother's keeper. You buried him got a no worries that see this denies it. That's him that's that's Kane I'm just denying it. Secondly, another response evasion someone confront your sin and you would start evasion. That's what I call word games you make up excuses. By the way, this is usually the teenage mantra.
Hey, I was really not even knowing they were going to do that will just all the car. Then they all went there I called everybody was and I was just going along for. That's not new by the weight of your parenting you buy that give another issue.
You see there's some kind of word game. Some kind of excuses I'm a victim that happens a lot in our culture. I did some the toe will be up understand I'm a victim like this can help. I'm just a victim of what the circumstances were not, I was victimized by the holding sometimes evasion, sometimes the Nile remember what President Clinton remember this. This is evasion.
It all depends on what the meaning of the word is is that's what he said before he came to repentance. He said it all depends on what the meaning of the word is is that's evasion. Third way and this is what he talks about here sorrow that the world produces worldly regret. Worldly regret if I could summarize it. I'm so sorry but not sorry enough to quit. That's worldly bathrobe.
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