1 00:00:00,580 –> 00:00:05,160 Now, please open your Bibles at Matthew chapter 21 2 00:00:05,160 –> 00:00:09,600 this morning, Matthew’s gospel, and chapter 21. 3 00:00:09,600 –> 00:00:12,840 We’re going to look today at the teaching of Jesus 4 00:00:12,840 –> 00:00:16,280 about repentance, learning not only what it is, 5 00:00:16,280 –> 00:00:19,440 but also how you can pursue it. 6 00:00:20,959 –> 00:00:24,320 And I hope that this series, perhaps above everything else, 7 00:00:24,320 –> 00:00:27,080 has been helpful in enabling us to see 8 00:00:27,080 –> 00:00:29,799 that repentance is something positive 9 00:00:29,799 –> 00:00:33,520 that we would desire, and even that we would pursue. 10 00:00:33,520 –> 00:00:36,560 It is the hidden path to a transformed life. 11 00:00:36,560 –> 00:00:37,860 It is a very wonderful thing. 12 00:00:37,860 –> 00:00:40,080 It is indeed one of the blessings 13 00:00:40,080 –> 00:00:42,799 that is promised by the gospel. 14 00:00:42,799 –> 00:00:46,459 Indeed, Peter the Apostle speaks in the book of Acts 15 00:00:46,459 –> 00:00:50,759 about repentance as a gift, something to be celebrated. 16 00:00:50,759 –> 00:00:52,759 Acts chapter five and verse 31. 17 00:00:52,759 –> 00:00:54,959 He says Jesus is exalted 18 00:00:54,959 –> 00:00:57,759 that he might give repentance to Israel. 19 00:00:57,820 –> 00:00:59,959 It’s a wonderful thing. 20 00:00:59,959 –> 00:01:03,360 In Acts and chapter 11 and verse 18, 21 00:01:03,360 –> 00:01:05,139 where Peter reports what happened 22 00:01:05,139 –> 00:01:07,180 in the house of Cornelius, 23 00:01:07,180 –> 00:01:10,199 those who heard it responded with great joy. 24 00:01:10,199 –> 00:01:13,400 They said, well, God has granted repentance 25 00:01:13,400 –> 00:01:16,019 even to the Gentiles. 26 00:01:16,019 –> 00:01:19,599 Repentance is always something positive 27 00:01:19,599 –> 00:01:21,320 in the New Testament. 28 00:01:21,320 –> 00:01:23,760 It is therefore something to be desired, 29 00:01:23,779 –> 00:01:25,540 something to be sought, 30 00:01:25,540 –> 00:01:28,440 and something to be pursued, 31 00:01:28,440 –> 00:01:31,559 the hidden path to a transformed life 32 00:01:31,559 –> 00:01:35,620 that is found in Jesus Christ. 33 00:01:35,620 –> 00:01:37,480 Now I think this is very important 34 00:01:37,480 –> 00:01:42,279 because many of us instinctively think of repentance 35 00:01:42,279 –> 00:01:45,440 in purely negative terms, 36 00:01:46,360 –> 00:01:49,699 like driving school. 37 00:01:50,220 –> 00:01:51,040 You know? 38 00:01:51,940 –> 00:01:54,139 You get a ticket for speeding, 39 00:01:54,139 –> 00:01:56,559 and then you go to driving school 40 00:01:56,559 –> 00:01:59,739 as a kind of penance. 41 00:01:59,739 –> 00:02:02,080 You sit there for four hours 42 00:02:02,080 –> 00:02:04,620 thinking that you can hardly afford this time 43 00:02:04,620 –> 00:02:07,360 and how humiliating it all is, 44 00:02:07,360 –> 00:02:09,259 and driving school is something 45 00:02:09,259 –> 00:02:11,320 that you would desperately want to avoid. 46 00:02:11,320 –> 00:02:12,660 Nobody, in their right mind, 47 00:02:12,660 –> 00:02:14,460 actually wants to go. 48 00:02:15,860 –> 00:02:17,800 But it is something you have to do 49 00:02:17,899 –> 00:02:21,100 as a kind of discipline if you have broken the law 50 00:02:21,100 –> 00:02:22,740 and you’ve been caught, 51 00:02:22,740 –> 00:02:25,500 and it’s intended to kind of sober you up 52 00:02:25,500 –> 00:02:28,259 by focusing you on the fact you really have done wrong 53 00:02:28,259 –> 00:02:29,259 and by taking it in 54 00:02:29,259 –> 00:02:31,979 with some degree of inconvenience and embarrassment. 55 00:02:31,979 –> 00:02:33,619 Hopefully you’re going to improve 56 00:02:33,619 –> 00:02:36,520 and learn your lesson and not do the same thing again. 57 00:02:36,520 –> 00:02:39,380 I well remember Memorial Day a couple of years ago, 58 00:02:39,380 –> 00:02:41,720 beautiful day, blistering hot, 59 00:02:41,720 –> 00:02:44,179 and our family enjoyed a delightful time together 60 00:02:44,179 –> 00:02:47,360 except for our younger son, David, 61 00:02:47,360 –> 00:02:50,839 who said that he needed to earn some money 62 00:02:50,839 –> 00:02:53,660 and so went to work landscaping 63 00:02:53,660 –> 00:02:56,539 on this blistering hot day for someone who had hired him. 64 00:02:56,539 –> 00:02:58,360 He was off early in the morning, 65 00:02:58,360 –> 00:03:00,839 didn’t come back until seven in the evening, 66 00:03:00,839 –> 00:03:04,940 and I could tell as he walked in that all was not well. 67 00:03:04,940 –> 00:03:06,539 How was your day I said? 68 00:03:06,539 –> 00:03:07,860 Not good! 69 00:03:10,339 –> 00:03:12,080 I got a ticket on the way home. 70 00:03:12,960 –> 00:03:15,919 He had worked all day and earned $100 71 00:03:15,919 –> 00:03:18,679 and got fined 110 driving back home 72 00:03:20,399 –> 00:03:21,679 and he said and now Dad, 73 00:03:21,679 –> 00:03:23,940 I’ve gotta do a half day at driving school 74 00:03:23,940 –> 00:03:26,639 and that’ll cost me another half day of work. 75 00:03:26,639 –> 00:03:27,740 He was really miserable. 76 00:03:27,740 –> 00:03:29,399 By the way, if you’re wondering 77 00:03:29,399 –> 00:03:32,619 how I know so much about driving school, 78 00:03:32,619 –> 00:03:35,639 it is because I too have been there 79 00:03:35,639 –> 00:03:38,279 and it really is miserable. 80 00:03:38,279 –> 00:03:42,559 You’re with a group of people none of whom want to be there 81 00:03:42,559 –> 00:03:44,559 and all kind of shuffling into the room 82 00:03:44,679 –> 00:03:46,660 and trying not to be noticed 83 00:03:46,660 –> 00:03:48,679 and I was certainly in that mode 84 00:03:48,679 –> 00:03:49,880 and halfway through the morning 85 00:03:49,880 –> 00:03:51,759 when we got to the coffee break, 86 00:03:51,759 –> 00:03:53,179 sure enough it happened. 87 00:03:53,179 –> 00:03:55,820 A lady came straight across the room, right to me. 88 00:03:55,820 –> 00:03:58,559 You’re Pastor Colin aren’t you? 89 00:03:58,559 –> 00:04:00,539 I didn’t expect to see you here. 90 00:04:04,360 –> 00:04:07,279 Driving school is penance. 91 00:04:08,360 –> 00:04:11,419 It is a miserable business. 92 00:04:11,419 –> 00:04:13,940 It is a way of making sure that you know 93 00:04:13,960 –> 00:04:15,339 what it is that you have done wrong 94 00:04:15,339 –> 00:04:17,000 and that sheer misery of it 95 00:04:17,000 –> 00:04:19,059 hopefully will restrain you 96 00:04:19,059 –> 00:04:22,359 from driving too fast in the future. 97 00:04:23,959 –> 00:04:26,679 Now repentance obviously 98 00:04:26,679 –> 00:04:28,660 is something entirely different, right? 99 00:04:29,519 –> 00:04:32,059 If it is something positive and to be pursued, 100 00:04:32,059 –> 00:04:34,579 if it is something over which there is joy in heaven 101 00:04:34,579 –> 00:04:36,339 and therefore there must be joy for you, 102 00:04:36,339 –> 00:04:38,600 it obviously is something completely different. 103 00:04:38,600 –> 00:04:40,679 And if you’ve got these two things confused, 104 00:04:40,679 –> 00:04:43,500 you’ll never understand the meaning of repentance 105 00:04:43,559 –> 00:04:44,399 in the Bible. 106 00:04:44,399 –> 00:04:46,820 We’ve been learning that it’s a wonderful thing. 107 00:04:46,820 –> 00:04:48,660 In J. I. Packer’s words, 108 00:04:48,660 –> 00:04:51,500 it is turning from as much as you know of your sin 109 00:04:51,500 –> 00:04:53,380 to give as much you know of yourself 110 00:04:53,380 –> 00:04:55,940 to as much as you know of your God. 111 00:04:55,940 –> 00:05:00,420 It is a lifelong process of change from the inside out 112 00:05:00,420 –> 00:05:03,760 by which you are moved from one degree of glory to another 113 00:05:03,760 –> 00:05:06,940 increasingly conformed to the likeness of Christ. 114 00:05:06,940 –> 00:05:09,179 That is why there is joy in it for heaven 115 00:05:09,179 –> 00:05:13,420 and therefore there is joy in it for you. 116 00:05:13,420 –> 00:05:15,040 So I hope that we’re beginning to frame 117 00:05:15,040 –> 00:05:17,799 a whole different view of repentance, 118 00:05:17,799 –> 00:05:22,519 a gift to be desired and a path to be pursued. 119 00:05:23,980 –> 00:05:25,100 Now today, we’re going to look 120 00:05:25,100 –> 00:05:27,119 at the teaching of Jesus together 121 00:05:27,119 –> 00:05:29,420 with regards to this great subject. 122 00:05:29,420 –> 00:05:33,540 Our Lord, as you know, taught many things in parables, 123 00:05:33,540 –> 00:05:36,559 stories that gave shafts of light 124 00:05:36,559 –> 00:05:39,380 for those who had eyes to see. 125 00:05:39,380 –> 00:05:42,399 And one of the parables of Jesus 126 00:05:42,399 –> 00:05:45,000 was given very specifically to teach us 127 00:05:45,000 –> 00:05:47,619 about this business of repentance. 128 00:05:47,619 –> 00:05:50,859 And you find it in Matthew Chapter 21 129 00:05:50,859 –> 00:05:53,600 and beginning at Verse 28. 130 00:05:54,980 –> 00:05:56,600 Notice that in the NIV, 131 00:05:56,600 –> 00:06:00,619 it is called The Parable of the Two Sons. 132 00:06:01,700 –> 00:06:05,459 Now Jesus, of course, told two different stories 133 00:06:05,459 –> 00:06:07,640 about two sons. 134 00:06:07,640 –> 00:06:09,859 And the better known story is 135 00:06:09,859 –> 00:06:12,140 the parable of the prodigal son, 136 00:06:12,179 –> 00:06:14,940 which was read for us from Luke Chapter 15. 137 00:06:14,940 –> 00:06:18,440 And we will touch on that a little later this morning. 138 00:06:18,440 –> 00:06:22,820 But we start with the story in Matthew and Chapter 21, 139 00:06:22,820 –> 00:06:27,540 where Jesus speaks specifically about repentance. 140 00:06:27,540 –> 00:06:30,220 Hope you have it open in front of you. 141 00:06:30,220 –> 00:06:31,200 What do you think? 142 00:06:31,200 –> 00:06:33,339 Jesus says, 143 00:06:33,339 –> 00:06:36,859 There was a man who had two sons. 144 00:06:36,859 –> 00:06:38,519 He went to the first and said 145 00:06:38,519 –> 00:06:42,859 Would the second son go and work today in the vineyard? 146 00:06:42,859 –> 00:06:45,059 I will not. 147 00:06:45,059 –> 00:06:46,119 He answered. 148 00:06:47,160 –> 00:06:50,040 But later he changed his mind. 149 00:06:50,040 –> 00:06:52,200 Now, literally the word there is repented. 150 00:06:52,200 –> 00:06:53,980 Later he repented. 151 00:06:53,980 –> 00:06:56,260 He changed his mind. 152 00:06:56,260 –> 00:06:57,200 And went. 153 00:06:58,339 –> 00:07:00,480 Then the father went to the other son 154 00:07:00,480 –> 00:07:02,000 and said the same thing. 155 00:07:02,000 –> 00:07:02,820 And he answered, 156 00:07:02,820 –> 00:07:04,640 I will, sir. 157 00:07:04,640 –> 00:07:06,559 But he did not go. 158 00:07:07,500 –> 00:07:08,559 Now, Jesus asked, 159 00:07:08,559 –> 00:07:09,380 verse 31, 160 00:07:09,380 –> 00:07:13,760 which of the two did what his father wanted? 161 00:07:13,760 –> 00:07:16,559 The first they answered. 162 00:07:16,559 –> 00:07:17,420 Jesus said to them, 163 00:07:17,420 –> 00:07:18,459 I tell you the truth. 164 00:07:18,459 –> 00:07:21,600 The tax collectors and the prostitutes, 165 00:07:21,600 –> 00:07:23,459 that is people who would be perceived 166 00:07:23,459 –> 00:07:27,059 to be miles away from God and the things of God, 167 00:07:27,059 –> 00:07:29,959 these people are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you, 168 00:07:29,959 –> 00:07:30,880 Jesus says. 169 00:07:31,799 –> 00:07:33,899 For John came to you 170 00:07:33,899 –> 00:07:35,880 to show you the way of righteousness 171 00:07:36,519 –> 00:07:37,899 and you did not believe him 172 00:07:37,899 –> 00:07:40,720 but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. 173 00:07:40,720 –> 00:07:43,619 And even after you saw this, 174 00:07:43,619 –> 00:07:47,880 you did not repent and believe him. 175 00:07:48,839 –> 00:07:50,899 So this is clearly a story, 176 00:07:50,899 –> 00:07:52,839 a parable of Jesus dedicated 177 00:07:52,839 –> 00:07:55,940 to explaining the subject of repentance. 178 00:07:55,940 –> 00:07:58,000 He’s telling us what it is 179 00:07:58,000 –> 00:08:01,359 and he is telling us how it happens. 180 00:08:02,540 –> 00:08:04,619 Now, let’s begin with this second son, 181 00:08:04,619 –> 00:08:05,640 verse 30. 182 00:08:06,739 –> 00:08:08,720 The father says to him, 183 00:08:08,720 –> 00:08:11,799 go and work in my vineyard. 184 00:08:13,019 –> 00:08:14,959 And the second son says, 185 00:08:14,959 –> 00:08:16,459 I will, sir. 186 00:08:18,059 –> 00:08:19,739 Now this is impressive. 187 00:08:21,040 –> 00:08:25,000 The boy’s response is immediate and positive, 188 00:08:25,000 –> 00:08:26,079 I will. 189 00:08:28,299 –> 00:08:30,579 And that notice how polite he is. 190 00:08:30,579 –> 00:08:33,440 He even calls his father sir. 191 00:08:33,440 –> 00:08:34,780 Yes, sir. 192 00:08:34,799 –> 00:08:37,580 I will go and work in your vineyard. 193 00:08:39,260 –> 00:08:42,580 Now I think anyone who saw this clean cut lad 194 00:08:43,619 –> 00:08:46,340 would’ve been very impressed with him. 195 00:08:46,340 –> 00:08:50,099 He’s the sort of boy about whom old ladies would say 196 00:08:50,099 –> 00:08:52,739 oh he’s such a nice lad. 197 00:08:52,739 –> 00:08:54,719 Such a good boy. 198 00:08:54,719 –> 00:08:56,700 He respects his father. 199 00:08:56,700 –> 00:08:59,820 He’s always willing to help and to work. 200 00:08:59,820 –> 00:09:03,320 Any father would be proud to have a son like that. 201 00:09:04,239 –> 00:09:07,380 Go work in my vineyard, I will, sir. 202 00:09:09,960 –> 00:09:13,900 But now Jesus punctures the balloon in five simple words. 203 00:09:14,760 –> 00:09:17,859 But, he did not go. 204 00:09:19,440 –> 00:09:20,320 He didn’t go. 205 00:09:22,359 –> 00:09:24,020 The second son said he would go, 206 00:09:24,020 –> 00:09:27,039 he intended to go, but he did not go. 207 00:09:29,000 –> 00:09:30,400 And there’s a warning here 208 00:09:30,400 –> 00:09:33,200 that is very important for us today, 209 00:09:33,200 –> 00:09:35,619 and that is, Jesus is warning us 210 00:09:35,619 –> 00:09:39,000 about the danger of an empty profession. 211 00:09:39,000 –> 00:09:42,280 In other words, saying yes to God 212 00:09:42,280 –> 00:09:45,739 is of no value if you do not do what he says. 213 00:09:45,739 –> 00:09:49,280 That’s the point that Jesus is making in this parable. 214 00:09:49,280 –> 00:09:52,739 What this lad said was great, it was very impressive, 215 00:09:52,739 –> 00:09:57,000 but what he did, did not match the profession that he made. 216 00:09:58,059 –> 00:10:00,599 And, Jesus’ question is quite devastating here, 217 00:10:00,619 –> 00:10:03,580 which son did what the father wanted 218 00:10:03,580 –> 00:10:07,520 and, obviously, it was not the second son. 219 00:10:07,520 –> 00:10:09,840 Jesus is making the point that what matters 220 00:10:09,840 –> 00:10:11,919 is not so much what you say, 221 00:10:11,919 –> 00:10:15,200 but what matters is what you do. 222 00:10:15,200 –> 00:10:17,119 Now, this is a consistent theme 223 00:10:17,119 –> 00:10:20,119 in the teaching of the Lord Jesus in the Gospels. 224 00:10:20,119 –> 00:10:24,400 Matthew Chapter 7 and verse 21, it’s at its clearest. 225 00:10:24,400 –> 00:10:28,080 Jesus said, not everyone who says to me, 226 00:10:28,260 –> 00:10:30,000 goodly, Lord, Lord. 227 00:10:30,000 –> 00:10:31,919 You know, the interesting thing is 228 00:10:31,919 –> 00:10:35,440 that that word, Lord, Lord, it’s, sir, sir. 229 00:10:35,440 –> 00:10:37,760 It’s the same word as is used in the parable here. 230 00:10:37,760 –> 00:10:38,880 Curie. 231 00:10:38,880 –> 00:10:41,559 Not everyone who says to me, sir, sir, 232 00:10:41,559 –> 00:10:43,960 will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, 233 00:10:43,960 –> 00:10:47,880 but only he who does the will of my Father 234 00:10:47,880 –> 00:10:49,119 who is in Heaven. 235 00:10:50,119 –> 00:10:53,640 So entrance into Heaven isn’t a matter of simply 236 00:10:53,640 –> 00:10:55,960 saying that you’re going to follow the Lord’s way. 237 00:10:56,039 –> 00:10:58,739 It is a matter of actually following the Lord’s way. 238 00:10:58,739 –> 00:11:00,359 That is what Jesus is saying 239 00:11:00,359 –> 00:11:03,200 in Matthew chapter seven and verse 21. 240 00:11:04,080 –> 00:11:08,599 In other words, the Bible gives no assurance whatsoever 241 00:11:08,599 –> 00:11:12,239 for a person who professes faith, 242 00:11:12,239 –> 00:11:14,940 but does not follow the will of the Father. 243 00:11:15,960 –> 00:11:18,640 The Bible gives no assurance to the second son 244 00:11:18,640 –> 00:11:21,000 who says, I will, sir, to God, 245 00:11:22,200 –> 00:11:25,440 but does not follow through on what he has said. 246 00:11:25,440 –> 00:11:29,979 In other words, you cannot be saved by empty words 247 00:11:29,979 –> 00:11:31,739 or by good intentions. 248 00:11:32,619 –> 00:11:35,039 The second son said he would go, 249 00:11:35,039 –> 00:11:38,140 no doubt he intended to go, 250 00:11:38,140 –> 00:11:40,239 but he did not go. 251 00:11:40,239 –> 00:11:44,059 He did not do what the Father wanted. 252 00:11:47,000 –> 00:11:49,280 Now what we’re learning here is very important 253 00:11:49,280 –> 00:11:52,780 and is especially important in evangelicalism today. 254 00:11:53,659 –> 00:11:58,659 If you profess faith but knowingly continue in sin, 255 00:12:01,419 –> 00:12:04,400 you have no reason to believe that you are a true Christian. 256 00:12:07,099 –> 00:12:10,500 You are in the same position as the second son 257 00:12:10,500 –> 00:12:15,500 who said I will, sir, but did not do what his father wanted. 258 00:12:16,599 –> 00:12:19,039 And the teaching of Jesus is very clear here 259 00:12:19,039 –> 00:12:20,179 and throughout the gospel, 260 00:12:20,179 –> 00:12:22,700 Matthew chapter seven verse 21 particularly, 261 00:12:22,719 –> 00:12:25,619 saying yes to God is of no value 262 00:12:25,619 –> 00:12:28,479 if it does not lead you to do what He commands. 263 00:12:30,539 –> 00:12:34,380 Not everyone who says to me sir, sir, I will sir, 264 00:12:35,239 –> 00:12:36,580 will enter the kingdom of heaven, 265 00:12:36,580 –> 00:12:38,820 but only he who does the will of my father 266 00:12:38,820 –> 00:12:40,219 who is in heaven. 267 00:12:41,739 –> 00:12:45,479 Now the Bible speaks very clearly by way of warning 268 00:12:45,479 –> 00:12:48,340 to the person, usually the religious person 269 00:12:48,340 –> 00:12:49,780 who professes faith you know, 270 00:12:49,780 –> 00:12:52,679 who made a decision, who went forward at a meeting, 271 00:12:53,500 –> 00:12:54,859 who was part of a youth group, 272 00:12:54,859 –> 00:12:58,099 who reckons him or herself to be a Christian, 273 00:12:58,099 –> 00:13:01,159 but really continues in sin. 274 00:13:02,119 –> 00:13:05,739 And what the Bible says to such a person is simply this, 275 00:13:05,739 –> 00:13:09,659 if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die. 276 00:13:10,500 –> 00:13:13,739 Romans chapter eight and verse 13. 277 00:13:15,940 –> 00:13:20,940 Where did we get the idea that if you say yes to Jesus, 278 00:13:21,000 –> 00:13:24,619 you are eternally secure even though you show no evidence 279 00:13:24,619 –> 00:13:27,320 of pursuing a life that is pleasing to God. 280 00:13:28,719 –> 00:13:31,820 You certainly do not find that anywhere in the Bible. 281 00:13:32,719 –> 00:13:35,719 The mark of a true Christian in the Scripture 282 00:13:35,719 –> 00:13:40,719 is that he or she walks in repentance and in faith. 283 00:13:42,280 –> 00:13:44,119 That’s a growing thing. 284 00:13:44,119 –> 00:13:47,119 It’s never perfectly nor completely done. 285 00:13:47,119 –> 00:13:49,760 But the very nature of the fact that it’s progressive, 286 00:13:49,780 –> 00:13:53,200 it’s never complete, it’s not that we see everything 287 00:13:53,200 –> 00:13:56,679 but that we’re on the path of turning from 288 00:13:56,679 –> 00:13:59,859 as much as we know of sin to give as much as we know of self 289 00:13:59,859 –> 00:14:02,559 to as much as we know of God. 290 00:14:04,760 –> 00:14:06,780 Now, that’s authentic Christianity. 291 00:14:08,260 –> 00:14:11,219 And it’s been cheapened in our time 292 00:14:12,440 –> 00:14:14,159 to the point where many people think 293 00:14:14,159 –> 00:14:16,159 that if you put up your hand and have said a prayer 294 00:14:16,159 –> 00:14:19,539 if you say I will, sir, that that’s all that it is. 295 00:14:20,520 –> 00:14:23,520 Which is patently unbiblical 296 00:14:23,520 –> 00:14:26,479 and clearly so in the teaching of Jesus himself. 297 00:14:27,840 –> 00:14:30,359 So there is a warning here that we need to hear 298 00:14:30,359 –> 00:14:34,400 lest there be church folks who complacently assume 299 00:14:34,400 –> 00:14:36,880 that all is well when in fact, there is no evidence 300 00:14:36,880 –> 00:14:38,820 for thinking that all is well. 301 00:14:41,679 –> 00:14:46,679 I was 17 years old when I sat in a convention in England 302 00:14:47,619 –> 00:14:52,619 listening to Dr. Allan Redpath, preached powerfully. 303 00:14:52,840 –> 00:14:57,020 Now I still remember the impact of what he said. 304 00:14:58,280 –> 00:15:03,280 If you have an unchanged life, you have an unsaved soul, 305 00:15:05,479 –> 00:15:06,299 period. 306 00:15:07,679 –> 00:15:10,400 And I remember thinking as a 17 year old, 307 00:15:11,320 –> 00:15:14,320 so this is not just words, it’s serious. 308 00:15:17,039 –> 00:15:22,039 It really is about doing the will of the Father. 309 00:15:26,280 –> 00:15:28,559 Where in the Bible do we find the idea 310 00:15:28,559 –> 00:15:30,520 that a man can be saved without it making 311 00:15:30,520 –> 00:15:32,059 any difference to his life? 312 00:15:34,380 –> 00:15:35,200 It is not there. 313 00:15:37,719 –> 00:15:38,979 It’s not the gospel. 314 00:15:41,320 –> 00:15:42,859 The gospel’s well expressed 315 00:15:42,859 –> 00:15:44,039 right throughout the whole scripture. 316 00:15:44,039 –> 00:15:46,599 Let me give it to you from Isiah the prophet, 317 00:15:47,080 –> 00:15:49,219 chapter 55 and verses six and seven. 318 00:15:49,219 –> 00:15:52,659 Seek the Lord while he may be found. 319 00:15:52,659 –> 00:15:55,679 Call upon him while he is near. 320 00:15:55,679 –> 00:15:58,239 Let the wicked forsake his way 321 00:15:58,239 –> 00:16:00,239 and the evil man his thoughts. 322 00:16:00,239 –> 00:16:03,239 Let him turn to the Lord and he will have mercy on him. 323 00:16:03,239 –> 00:16:04,080 You see that? 324 00:16:04,080 –> 00:16:06,419 Let the wicked forsake his way 325 00:16:06,419 –> 00:16:08,059 and the evil man his thoughts. 326 00:16:08,059 –> 00:16:13,039 There’s a forsaking, a leaving, a decisive turning. 327 00:16:13,840 –> 00:16:16,739 And in this way we turn to the Lord 328 00:16:16,739 –> 00:16:19,500 who will have mercy upon us. 329 00:16:19,500 –> 00:16:20,960 In other words, Isaiah is saying, 330 00:16:20,960 –> 00:16:23,260 the whole gospel is saying that if we are going 331 00:16:23,260 –> 00:16:24,979 to turn to the Lord, what that means 332 00:16:24,979 –> 00:16:27,260 is that we have to forsake wickedness. 333 00:16:27,260 –> 00:16:29,179 If we are going to receive mercy, 334 00:16:29,179 –> 00:16:31,619 then we have to turn from evil thoughts. 335 00:16:31,619 –> 00:16:33,780 You cannot pursue evil thoughts 336 00:16:33,780 –> 00:16:35,460 and turn to the Lord at the same time. 337 00:16:35,460 –> 00:16:38,039 You cannot hold what God calls wicked 338 00:16:38,039 –> 00:16:40,460 and receive mercy at the same time. 339 00:16:40,460 –> 00:16:43,479 God has never promised to forgive one sin 340 00:16:43,479 –> 00:16:45,380 that you are not willing to forsake. 341 00:16:46,940 –> 00:16:48,299 You say, well I can think of some sins 342 00:16:48,299 –> 00:16:50,299 I’ve fallen into many times. 343 00:16:51,340 –> 00:16:53,539 Yeah well are you willing to forsake it now? 344 00:16:55,119 –> 00:16:57,580 Are you in the spirit that says, 345 00:16:57,580 –> 00:17:01,619 Lord have mercy upon me and create in me a clean heart? 346 00:17:01,619 –> 00:17:04,020 Or are you one who comes and says, 347 00:17:04,020 –> 00:17:06,819 forgive me, forgive me and I have every intention 348 00:17:06,819 –> 00:17:08,479 of doing it again? 349 00:17:10,520 –> 00:17:12,859 So, let the wicked forsake his way. 350 00:17:17,300 –> 00:17:20,040 You feel the power of that word, forsake. 351 00:17:22,619 –> 00:17:24,920 And the evil man, his thoughts. 352 00:17:27,800 –> 00:17:30,699 Let him turn to the Lord and have mercy upon him. 353 00:17:30,699 –> 00:17:33,000 Forsake this unbelieving. 354 00:17:33,000 –> 00:17:37,599 And turn to the Lord and he will have mercy upon him. 355 00:17:44,579 –> 00:17:45,880 Now, there’s a warning here, isn’t there? 356 00:17:45,880 –> 00:17:48,959 There’s a warning that comes from the second Son. 357 00:17:51,020 –> 00:17:53,520 A warning about the central importance 358 00:17:53,520 –> 00:17:56,040 of repentance in the Christian life. 359 00:17:57,680 –> 00:17:59,859 A warning that what Jesus is about 360 00:17:59,880 –> 00:18:02,819 is not the business of words only, 361 00:18:05,079 –> 00:18:06,199 but of changing our lives. 362 00:18:06,199 –> 00:18:07,780 That’s what the gospel is. 363 00:18:11,500 –> 00:18:13,660 Now, let’s move on to the second Son 364 00:18:13,660 –> 00:18:15,099 because I want to ask the question, 365 00:18:15,099 –> 00:18:16,939 how is this possible? 366 00:18:16,939 –> 00:18:19,260 How, if a person is on the wrong track, 367 00:18:19,260 –> 00:18:22,599 is it possible to turn around and change? 368 00:18:22,599 –> 00:18:26,819 And if the second Son is a warning to us 369 00:18:27,040 –> 00:18:29,339 of the danger of complacency 370 00:18:29,339 –> 00:18:31,479 just because we said we believed, 371 00:18:31,479 –> 00:18:35,140 then the first Son is a wonderful encouragement to us 372 00:18:35,140 –> 00:18:39,160 when we may feel that we are far from what we ought to be. 373 00:18:40,300 –> 00:18:42,000 The first Son in the story, 374 00:18:42,000 –> 00:18:44,040 the Father says to, in verse 28, 375 00:18:44,040 –> 00:18:48,420 Son, go work today in my vineyard. 376 00:18:49,760 –> 00:18:52,880 And, this first Son says, I will not. 377 00:18:53,060 –> 00:18:53,880 Wow! 378 00:18:56,020 –> 00:18:58,040 What an obnoxious Son. 379 00:19:00,640 –> 00:19:03,819 I will not, you can feel him leading 380 00:19:03,819 –> 00:19:05,439 with the chin there can’t you? 381 00:19:08,699 –> 00:19:10,219 There’s hostility here. 382 00:19:11,280 –> 00:19:12,699 There’s resentment. 383 00:19:14,199 –> 00:19:16,719 There’s rebellion, there’s defiance. 384 00:19:18,579 –> 00:19:19,920 It’s my life. 385 00:19:20,739 –> 00:19:22,880 You’re not gonna tell me what to do? 386 00:19:24,099 –> 00:19:25,739 Got my own plans today. 387 00:19:28,939 –> 00:19:30,719 Now the old ladies who were so impressed 388 00:19:30,719 –> 00:19:34,180 with the second son would be saying about this boy, 389 00:19:34,180 –> 00:19:37,640 oh it’s such a shame to see a lad like that isn’t it? 390 00:19:37,640 –> 00:19:40,300 What a pity he isn’t like his nice brother. 391 00:19:42,119 –> 00:19:44,959 But then Jesus tells us that a remarkable change 392 00:19:44,959 –> 00:19:48,040 took place in this first boy. 393 00:19:48,040 –> 00:19:49,699 I will not, he answered. 394 00:19:50,040 –> 00:19:54,739 Verse 29, but later he changed his mind, 395 00:19:54,739 –> 00:19:58,660 repented, same words, he changed his mind and went. 396 00:20:00,660 –> 00:20:02,599 Now you see what the two sons did 397 00:20:02,599 –> 00:20:05,260 shows what they thought of their father. 398 00:20:06,900 –> 00:20:10,819 The son who said I will sir and then did not go 399 00:20:10,819 –> 00:20:12,839 showed that actually he didn’t care too much 400 00:20:12,839 –> 00:20:14,780 for father, that the father’s words 401 00:20:14,780 –> 00:20:17,380 didn’t really carry much weight in his life, 402 00:20:17,380 –> 00:20:19,060 that he was very happy to help the father 403 00:20:19,660 –> 00:20:20,579 and he would go if it was convenient to him 404 00:20:20,579 –> 00:20:22,339 but if something else came along 405 00:20:22,339 –> 00:20:23,680 that seemed more attractive 406 00:20:23,680 –> 00:20:26,260 then he wanted to keep his options open 407 00:20:26,260 –> 00:20:29,060 and in that he shows that however polite 408 00:20:29,060 –> 00:20:32,219 he was on the surface, in his heart 409 00:20:32,219 –> 00:20:34,859 he was not devoted to the father at all. 410 00:20:36,300 –> 00:20:37,880 The other son is very different, 411 00:20:37,880 –> 00:20:42,619 he says I will not, but when he thought again 412 00:20:42,619 –> 00:20:44,479 he couldn’t live with that decision 413 00:20:45,780 –> 00:20:48,660 and that says something very wonderful about him. 414 00:20:48,719 –> 00:20:51,459 He could not be at peace 415 00:20:51,459 –> 00:20:54,140 while he was in conflict with the father 416 00:20:55,459 –> 00:20:56,760 and when he thought about the way 417 00:20:56,760 –> 00:20:58,819 he’d responded to his father 418 00:21:00,459 –> 00:21:02,300 he just couldn’t settle. 419 00:21:04,300 –> 00:21:07,619 Couldn’t live with being out of sorts 420 00:21:07,619 –> 00:21:09,560 with someone who in his heart 421 00:21:09,560 –> 00:21:11,599 he had come to love. 422 00:21:14,219 –> 00:21:16,939 So in the end he thought there’s only one thing to do. 423 00:21:17,459 –> 00:21:22,000 I gotta go do what my father has asked of me. 424 00:21:23,780 –> 00:21:25,319 He changed his mind 425 00:21:26,699 –> 00:21:30,660 and the two changes of mind actually reflect 426 00:21:30,660 –> 00:21:33,020 to the deepest level what these two boys 427 00:21:33,020 –> 00:21:35,380 really thought of the father 428 00:21:35,380 –> 00:21:38,160 and at the deepest heart level 429 00:21:38,160 –> 00:21:40,219 it was precisely the opposite 430 00:21:40,219 –> 00:21:43,660 of what you might first have thought. 431 00:21:44,420 –> 00:21:49,420 See, repentance shows what you think of God 432 00:21:49,859 –> 00:21:54,839 and that is why repentance is the highest form of worship. 433 00:21:55,699 –> 00:21:56,880 It’s why it’s such a positive 434 00:21:56,880 –> 00:21:58,719 and beautiful and wonderful thing. 435 00:22:00,459 –> 00:22:03,739 It shows that you are no longer hostile to God. 436 00:22:04,780 –> 00:22:07,099 It shows that you think of him so highly 437 00:22:07,099 –> 00:22:09,619 that you would choose to obey him 438 00:22:09,619 –> 00:22:13,020 even if your first instinct was otherwise. 439 00:22:14,020 –> 00:22:17,020 It shows that you can’t really bear to live 440 00:22:17,020 –> 00:22:21,099 in tension with him or to exist at a distance from him. 441 00:22:21,099 –> 00:22:24,180 You can’t settle if you’re in conflict with him. 442 00:22:24,180 –> 00:22:27,420 So you think again, you change your mind. 443 00:22:30,660 –> 00:22:33,859 Choosing obedience shows what you think of God. 444 00:22:35,140 –> 00:22:37,839 And this first son’s repentance 445 00:22:37,839 –> 00:22:40,579 shows what he really thought of his father, 446 00:22:40,579 –> 00:22:41,640 that he loved the father. 447 00:22:41,640 –> 00:22:46,520 Jesus said if you love me, you will obey my commands. 448 00:22:46,520 –> 00:22:49,380 That’s John chapter 14 in verse 15. 449 00:22:50,319 –> 00:22:54,300 The way that you respond to the commands of Jesus 450 00:22:54,300 –> 00:22:56,359 shows what you think of him. 451 00:22:57,739 –> 00:22:58,839 And if you love him 452 00:22:58,839 –> 00:23:02,020 your commandment keeping won’t be from guilt. 453 00:23:02,020 –> 00:23:05,719 It won’t be some kind of an artificial response. 454 00:23:05,719 –> 00:23:07,660 It will be an outflow of gratitude. 455 00:23:07,660 –> 00:23:09,979 If you love me, you keep my commandments. 456 00:23:09,979 –> 00:23:11,479 It won’t be obligation. 457 00:23:12,239 –> 00:23:14,040 It will be worship. 458 00:23:14,040 –> 00:23:15,479 The boy thinks again and he says, 459 00:23:15,479 –> 00:23:18,119 no, I’ve got to go and do what my father says. 460 00:23:18,119 –> 00:23:20,439 I cannot live with myself otherwise. 461 00:23:24,359 –> 00:23:29,319 So this first son then is a model of true repentance. 462 00:23:30,199 –> 00:23:33,000 And this very, very simple story of Jesus 463 00:23:33,000 –> 00:23:36,359 in a very penetrating way really gives us the key 464 00:23:36,359 –> 00:23:39,619 as to how it actually happens in a person’s life. 465 00:23:40,619 –> 00:23:43,160 And we’ve talked really a fair bit about what repentance is, 466 00:23:43,160 –> 00:23:44,959 but how does it happen? 467 00:23:46,540 –> 00:23:47,479 Well think of it this way. 468 00:23:47,479 –> 00:23:49,380 Repentance is a change of behavior 469 00:23:49,380 –> 00:23:53,400 that flows from a change of mind 470 00:23:53,400 –> 00:23:55,400 about God and about yourself. 471 00:23:55,400 –> 00:23:58,880 The word repent meaning a change of mind, a change of heart. 472 00:24:00,579 –> 00:24:03,939 And what this looks like that is modeled for us 473 00:24:03,939 –> 00:24:06,579 in this very short story of Jesus 474 00:24:06,579 –> 00:24:09,459 is really filled out in the much more familiar 475 00:24:09,540 –> 00:24:11,900 story of The Prodigal Son. 476 00:24:11,900 –> 00:24:13,459 And for just a few moments, 477 00:24:13,459 –> 00:24:18,219 let’s turn over to Luke’s Gospel in chapter 15 together. 478 00:24:18,219 –> 00:24:21,020 Luke’s Gospel in chapter 15. 479 00:24:21,020 –> 00:24:24,260 And you know this story very well. 480 00:24:24,260 –> 00:24:26,300 The man who had two sons, verse 12. 481 00:24:26,300 –> 00:24:28,079 And the younger one says to the father, 482 00:24:28,079 –> 00:24:31,579 give me my share of the estate. 483 00:24:31,579 –> 00:24:32,699 And he gets the money 484 00:24:32,699 –> 00:24:36,380 and he goes as far away from the father as he can. 485 00:24:36,380 –> 00:24:38,619 And he squanders the money and wild living 486 00:24:38,619 –> 00:24:41,979 and then Jesus says there was a famine in the country 487 00:24:41,979 –> 00:24:45,099 and this lad began to be in need. 488 00:24:45,099 –> 00:24:47,459 And he gets a job feeding the pigs 489 00:24:47,459 –> 00:24:49,939 and the irony is that the pigs were filled 490 00:24:49,939 –> 00:24:52,140 but the man who was feeding them was hungry 491 00:24:52,140 –> 00:24:55,839 and so the pigs were better off than the prodigal. 492 00:24:55,839 –> 00:24:56,900 At this point, 493 00:24:56,900 –> 00:25:01,900 Jesus says that he came to his senses, 494 00:25:02,880 –> 00:25:04,839 verse 17. 495 00:25:04,839 –> 00:25:07,780 He came to his senses. 496 00:25:07,839 –> 00:25:09,239 He thought again, 497 00:25:10,319 –> 00:25:11,800 he changed his mind. 498 00:25:13,359 –> 00:25:15,260 He said how many of my father’s hired men 499 00:25:15,260 –> 00:25:18,400 have food to spare and here I am starving to death, 500 00:25:18,400 –> 00:25:20,439 I’m going to set out and go back to my father 501 00:25:20,439 –> 00:25:21,260 and say to him, 502 00:25:21,260 –> 00:25:23,319 I’ve sinned against heaven and against you, 503 00:25:23,319 –> 00:25:25,359 I’m no longer worthy to be called your son. 504 00:25:25,359 –> 00:25:28,420 Make me like one of your hired men. 505 00:25:30,119 –> 00:25:31,479 Now notice what’s happening here. 506 00:25:31,479 –> 00:25:34,900 There is a change of mind towards the father. 507 00:25:35,699 –> 00:25:40,699 That’s how this change of character 508 00:25:41,300 –> 00:25:45,900 and life and behavior actually begins, 509 00:25:45,900 –> 00:25:47,099 that’s what it flows from, 510 00:25:47,099 –> 00:25:49,739 a change of behavior that flows from a change of mind 511 00:25:49,739 –> 00:25:52,020 about God and about ourselves. 512 00:25:52,020 –> 00:25:55,339 He changes his mind about the father. 513 00:25:57,459 –> 00:25:59,920 At the beginning he’s going to the father 514 00:25:59,920 –> 00:26:01,640 and it’s give me, give me, 515 00:26:01,640 –> 00:26:03,979 it’s all demand, you owe me. 516 00:26:05,140 –> 00:26:06,500 Give me what’s my right. 517 00:26:06,500 –> 00:26:07,719 Give me what’s my due. 518 00:26:07,719 –> 00:26:10,479 I got rights, what are you doing for me? 519 00:26:14,119 –> 00:26:17,140 Give me and I want to live as far away from you 520 00:26:17,140 –> 00:26:18,939 as I possibly can. 521 00:26:22,560 –> 00:26:24,880 But at the end of the story, 522 00:26:24,880 –> 00:26:26,800 it’s not give me, it’s make me. 523 00:26:30,040 –> 00:26:31,180 Make me. 524 00:26:31,300 –> 00:26:35,540 Like one of your hired servants. 525 00:26:40,719 –> 00:26:42,479 At the beginning of the story, 526 00:26:42,479 –> 00:26:44,339 all the focus of the boy is, 527 00:26:44,339 –> 00:26:47,839 how can I live my life independent of the father. 528 00:26:49,260 –> 00:26:50,439 At the end of the story, 529 00:26:50,439 –> 00:26:52,020 all of the focus is about, 530 00:26:52,020 –> 00:26:55,040 how can I live my life near to the father? 531 00:26:57,640 –> 00:27:00,339 He’s thinking again about the father. 532 00:27:01,800 –> 00:27:06,800 He’s thinking again about himself. 533 00:27:10,040 –> 00:27:11,180 The beginning of this story, 534 00:27:11,180 –> 00:27:12,459 it’s all, give me the money 535 00:27:12,459 –> 00:27:14,160 because I can control my life. 536 00:27:14,160 –> 00:27:18,300 If I have the resources, I can do well, I can do it. 537 00:27:20,239 –> 00:27:22,260 And then later in the story, 538 00:27:22,260 –> 00:27:24,699 he sits there and in a moment of great honesty says, 539 00:27:24,699 –> 00:27:26,760 here I am starving to death. 540 00:27:28,719 –> 00:27:29,719 What am I doing? 541 00:27:32,180 –> 00:27:34,280 What’s wrong with me? 542 00:27:36,780 –> 00:27:39,000 What have I spent all the money on? 543 00:27:41,680 –> 00:27:43,260 Why am I here? 544 00:27:45,579 –> 00:27:46,520 What am I doing? 545 00:27:49,239 –> 00:27:51,599 And you see, this is where repentance begins. 546 00:27:53,420 –> 00:27:56,119 Why am I living at a distance from God? 547 00:27:57,640 –> 00:28:00,819 What’s wrong with me that I bite the hand 548 00:28:00,859 –> 00:28:01,920 that feeds me? 549 00:28:04,859 –> 00:28:07,640 What is it that causes me to be so hostile 550 00:28:07,640 –> 00:28:11,339 to the one who gave me life, sustains me in life, 551 00:28:11,339 –> 00:28:14,140 shows me grace, provides for me? 552 00:28:15,579 –> 00:28:19,040 What is it about me that wants to be hostile 553 00:28:19,040 –> 00:28:21,339 to the one who would come into the world 554 00:28:21,339 –> 00:28:23,420 and lay down his life for me, 555 00:28:23,420 –> 00:28:26,099 and offers me grace and eternal life, 556 00:28:26,099 –> 00:28:28,400 and says, I will live in you by my spirit? 557 00:28:28,400 –> 00:28:30,680 What is wrong with me? 558 00:28:31,660–> 00:28:34,359 That I would be running from him? 559 00:28:39,739 –> 00:28:41,500 He came to his senses. 560 00:28:45,739 –> 00:28:46,579 He says to himself, 561 00:28:46,579 –> 00:28:50,079 I’d be better by far in my father’s house. 562 00:28:52,319 –> 00:28:53,660 What am I doing? 563 00:28:56,420 –> 00:29:00,420 Where has all this running from God really got me? 564 00:29:01,640 –> 00:29:04,199 It’s a question. 565 00:29:07,459 –> 00:29:11,140 Changed his mind about the father 566 00:29:11,140 –> 00:29:14,239 and he changed his mind about himself. 567 00:29:15,920 –> 00:29:17,300 And, verse 20, 568 00:29:17,300 –> 00:29:22,300 so he got up and went to his father. 569 00:29:22,300 –> 00:29:24,560 You see, that’s how the turn happens. 570 00:29:26,260 –> 00:29:28,439 Change your mind about God. 571 00:29:28,439 –> 00:29:30,780 The sinful mind is hostile to God 572 00:29:30,920 –> 00:29:33,400 but when you come to your senses you say, 573 00:29:33,400 –> 00:29:36,260 why am I fighting him? 574 00:29:39,199 –> 00:29:40,839 You change your mind about God. 575 00:29:40,839 –> 00:29:42,560 You change your mind about yourself. 576 00:29:42,560 –> 00:29:43,400 You’ve been saying, 577 00:29:43,400 –> 00:29:45,800 I can live my life, I can do it. 578 00:29:47,319 –> 00:29:48,479 Come to your senses. 579 00:29:48,479 –> 00:29:50,280 You say, why am I starving to death? 580 00:29:50,280 –> 00:29:51,959 Here at a distance from the father 581 00:29:51,959 –> 00:29:54,140 who has all things in his hands. 582 00:29:56,219 –> 00:29:58,439 And when you change your mind about God 583 00:29:58,439 –> 00:30:00,400 and you change your mind about yourself, 584 00:30:00,900 –> 00:30:02,900 you’re in the position where you’re able to move. 585 00:30:02,900 –> 00:30:07,900 So He got up and went to his father. 586 00:30:11,859 –> 00:30:13,479 Do you know, one of the things that we learn here 587 00:30:13,479 –> 00:30:15,599 that is so very, very important 588 00:30:16,479 –> 00:30:21,459 is that repentance and faith are so closely intertwined 589 00:30:22,400 –> 00:30:25,619 that the one cannot exist without the other. 590 00:30:26,560 –> 00:30:30,280 You can’t believe without repenting 591 00:30:31,319 –> 00:30:35,800 and you can’t repent without believing. 592 00:30:35,800 –> 00:30:39,180 To belong inextricably together 593 00:30:39,180 –> 00:30:43,819 like the sun’s heat and the sun’s light. 594 00:30:43,819 –> 00:30:48,119 They’re distinct, but they cannot be separated. 595 00:30:49,839 –> 00:30:50,760 Remember this. 596 00:30:50,760 –> 00:30:55,439 If you would believe, you must repent 597 00:30:55,439 –> 00:30:59,160 and if you would repent, you must believe. 598 00:30:59,160 –> 00:31:01,339 You cannot separate these two. 599 00:31:01,339 –> 00:31:03,020 They always go together. 600 00:31:03,020 –> 00:31:06,339 They are the twin response to the gospel, 601 00:31:06,339 –> 00:31:09,719 but they are inseparable as a response to the gospel. 602 00:31:09,719 –> 00:31:10,560 Think about it. 603 00:31:10,560 –> 00:31:13,900 If you would believe, you must repent. 604 00:31:13,900 –> 00:31:16,280 Jesus said on one occasion to some folks 605 00:31:16,280 –> 00:31:18,880 who said that they were struggling to believe in him. 606 00:31:18,880 –> 00:31:20,920 He said, well how can you believe 607 00:31:20,920 –> 00:31:23,439 if all you’re doing is seeking the praise of other people 608 00:31:23,520 –> 00:31:25,119 and you’re making no effort to seek the praise 609 00:31:25,119 –> 00:31:26,280 that comes from God? 610 00:31:28,300 –> 00:31:29,400 See if you’re not repenting, 611 00:31:29,400 –> 00:31:31,180 if your life is just about yourself 612 00:31:31,180 –> 00:31:33,319 and about the impression that you’re making on other people, 613 00:31:33,319 –> 00:31:34,719 you will never be able to believe. 614 00:31:34,719 –> 00:31:36,099 That’s what Jesus says. 615 00:31:38,160 –> 00:31:39,520 The way you come to believe 616 00:31:39,520 –> 00:31:41,280 is that if you are really my disciple, 617 00:31:41,280 –> 00:31:42,099 then you will know the truth 618 00:31:42,099 –> 00:31:44,020 and the truth will set you free. 619 00:31:45,619 –> 00:31:48,819 If you would believe, you must repent. 620 00:31:49,819 –> 00:31:51,199 The only way to believe, 621 00:31:51,199 –> 00:31:52,680 if you say you’re struggling to believe, 622 00:31:52,880 –> 00:31:55,439 is to humble yourself before God 623 00:31:55,439 –> 00:31:59,400 and to stop saying, give me and to start saying, make me. 624 00:32:04,099 –> 00:32:06,800 Cause you can’t believe if you’re not ready to repent. 625 00:32:10,479 –> 00:32:13,280 And the other, the reverse is also and equally 626 00:32:13,280 –> 00:32:14,479 and at the same time true, 627 00:32:14,479 –> 00:32:16,780 that if you would repent, you must believe. 628 00:32:18,160 –> 00:32:19,680 See, some of us are coming from the other end 629 00:32:19,680 –> 00:32:21,880 and we say, well how can I really change? 630 00:32:23,119 –> 00:32:27,400 The Prodigal was absolutely miserable 631 00:32:27,400 –> 00:32:28,680 in the distant country. 632 00:32:29,560 –> 00:32:31,780 And that picture of him, you know, with the pigs 633 00:32:31,780 –> 00:32:34,040 and them being full and him being hungry, 634 00:32:34,040 –> 00:32:35,839 it’s a desperate picture. 635 00:32:38,800 –> 00:32:42,140 But you can be very desperate and still not come back home. 636 00:32:44,099 –> 00:32:47,699 See, it takes courage to come back home. 637 00:32:50,040 –> 00:32:52,319 And when you’ve gone far from the Lord, 638 00:32:52,979 –> 00:32:55,640 you know that that’s the reality. 639 00:32:55,640 –> 00:32:59,060 The big question is where do you find the courage 640 00:33:00,079 –> 00:33:01,140 to come back? 641 00:33:02,800 –> 00:33:04,260 And the answer is very simple, 642 00:33:04,260 –> 00:33:07,040 that the Prodigal finds the courage to come home 643 00:33:07,040 –> 00:33:09,880 when he believes that there will be a welcome. 644 00:33:11,560 –> 00:33:13,280 If he doesn’t think he’ll be welcomed, 645 00:33:13,280 –> 00:33:15,000 he’ll never come back. 646 00:33:16,619 –> 00:33:19,180 But if, sitting there among the pigs, 647 00:33:19,420 –> 00:33:22,800 he comes to feel and to believe in his mind 648 00:33:22,800 –> 00:33:25,619 and in his heart, if I go back to my father, 649 00:33:25,619 –> 00:33:27,660 I think he will receive me, 650 00:33:29,219 –> 00:33:32,819 then that belief will give him courage 651 00:33:32,819 –> 00:33:35,540 to begin the long trudge, the long journey home, 652 00:33:35,540 –> 00:33:38,180 and that is exactly what happens in the story. 653 00:33:38,180 –> 00:33:40,500 And of course, when he gets back in the story, 654 00:33:40,500 –> 00:33:41,939 Jesus wants to make the point 655 00:33:41,939 –> 00:33:45,660 that the Father is far more generous in the welcome 656 00:33:45,660 –> 00:33:48,239 than the Son would ever have dared to imagine. 657 00:33:49,439 –> 00:33:50,979 The Father runs to meet him, 658 00:33:50,979 –> 00:33:53,099 filled with compassion, kisses him. 659 00:33:53,099 –> 00:33:54,920 There’s forgiveness right there. 660 00:33:56,060 –> 00:33:59,060 And more than that, puts a robe on him. 661 00:33:59,060 –> 00:34:01,160 The Father will not have his Son 662 00:34:01,160 –> 00:34:03,979 walking about in shameful rags. 663 00:34:03,979 –> 00:34:08,780 He puts new clothes on him, so the boy will not be ashamed. 664 00:34:08,780 –> 00:34:10,899 This is what God does for us in Jesus Christ, 665 00:34:10,899 –> 00:34:12,899 clothes us in his righteousness. 666 00:34:12,899 –> 00:34:14,979 And then the Father puts the ring on his finger, 667 00:34:14,979 –> 00:34:18,620 the sign, the seal of sonship, 668 00:34:20,020 –> 00:34:25,020 because this Son is restored to his dignified position 669 00:34:25,219 –> 00:34:28,739 as a family member, so that he can face the world 670 00:34:28,739 –> 00:34:33,500 as a new man restored to a new position. 671 00:34:35,360 –> 00:34:39,000 And Jesus is telling this story so that you will know 672 00:34:39,000 –> 00:34:41,479 how the Father will receive you 673 00:34:42,639 –> 00:34:45,840 if you will come to him in repentance and faith, 674 00:34:45,840 –> 00:34:49,679 if you will come to God in repentance and faith 675 00:34:49,679 –> 00:34:52,919 through Jesus Christ today, he will welcome you 676 00:34:52,919 –> 00:34:56,439 with that kind of welcome in Jesus’ story. 677 00:34:56,439 –> 00:35:01,439 Believe this and you will find the courage to repent. 678 00:35:04,040 –> 00:35:06,080 Believe that God loves you 679 00:35:06,080 –> 00:35:09,600 and that he sent his Son into the world for you, 680 00:35:09,600 –> 00:35:11,260 that he stands ready to forgive you 681 00:35:11,260 –> 00:35:14,939 and accept you and restore you and embrace you. 682 00:35:16,719 –> 00:35:20,600 And you will find with the prodigal 683 00:35:20,600 –> 00:35:25,600 the strength to get up and go to the Father. 684 00:35:28,659 –> 00:35:30,800 If you would believe, you must repent. 685 00:35:31,639 –> 00:35:35,060 If you would repent, you must believe. 686 00:35:37,560 –> 00:35:40,439 Now you know, these two stories of the two sons 687 00:35:40,439 –> 00:35:41,719 that we’ve looked at this morning 688 00:35:41,719 –> 00:35:43,500 really teach us the great irony 689 00:35:44,260 –> 00:35:49,260 that those who seem far away from God 690 00:35:49,620 –> 00:35:52,360 may actually be very near. 691 00:35:53,719 –> 00:35:56,020 And those who seem very near to God 692 00:35:57,000 –> 00:35:59,399 may actually be very far away. 693 00:35:59,399 –> 00:36:00,820 And it comes through in both of the stories 694 00:36:00,820 –> 00:36:02,020 that Jesus told. 695 00:36:07,100 –> 00:36:11,360 The first thing comes to us as a warning. 696 00:36:13,919 –> 00:36:17,479 If you’re Christianity amounts to something you said 697 00:36:18,520 –> 00:36:21,080 25 years ago or whatever it was, 698 00:36:21,080 –> 00:36:22,520 when you were six years old. 699 00:36:22,520 –> 00:36:24,040 I said I received Jesus. 700 00:36:27,000 –> 00:36:28,439 And that’s really all it is. 701 00:36:30,459 –> 00:36:34,260 And there’s no serious application for you now 702 00:36:34,260 –> 00:36:36,800 of walking the path of repentance and faith. 703 00:36:36,800 –> 00:36:41,439 I say, those who may seem very near 704 00:36:42,139 –> 00:36:47,320 may turn out to be those who are far away. 705 00:36:48,959 –> 00:36:51,139 It’s possible to be like the elder brother at home 706 00:36:51,139 –> 00:36:53,699 or the second son in Jesus’s stories 707 00:36:53,699 –> 00:36:55,120 who said I will sir, I will sir. 708 00:36:55,120 –> 00:36:57,459 But actually, they didn’t care very much 709 00:36:57,459 –> 00:36:59,560 for what the father told him to do at all. 710 00:37:02,739 –> 00:37:03,639 That’s a warning. 711 00:37:06,379 –> 00:37:09,300 That those who may seem to be very near 712 00:37:09,320 –> 00:37:13,439 may actually be far from God in reality. 713 00:37:17,120 –> 00:37:18,439 Then the encouragement 714 00:37:19,800 –> 00:37:23,760 that those who may seem to be very far away from God 715 00:37:23,760 –> 00:37:26,939 may actually be very near. 716 00:37:30,600 –> 00:37:32,360 If you would repent, you must believe. 717 00:37:32,360 –> 00:37:36,300 If you would believe, you must repent. 718 00:37:37,199 –> 00:37:40,639 But the promise of the gospel is that God in his grace 719 00:37:40,639 –> 00:37:43,879 is ready to welcome back all who will come, 720 00:37:43,879 –> 00:37:46,800 whether they be from near or from far. 721 00:37:49,000 –> 00:37:54,000 And if you believe, you will find the courage to repent.