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The Upside Down Life #4 – Blessed Are Those Who Mourn

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I. Intro

Matthew 5:4; Hebrews 12:14-17

Today we will continue in our series The Upside Down Life, looking at the first 16 verses of Matt 5.  Today we will do some review work and unpack a few concepts in Matt 5 and then we will move into Heb 12.

(Review) Both Gene and Chris did an excellent job defining the words “blessed” (and what it means to be “poor.”)  Those notes are available here on the blog…

Review “poor in spirit”…

  • Two weeks ago Chris said being “poor in spirit” is seeing our desperate need for God.
  • And then last week Gene said some pretty heavy things…
    • He said that as a church we are to be thankful that SBF has been privileged to go through all the struggles we have. God must be thrilled that there is somebody here who is broken and hungry for more… (Heavy words…a perfect message to begin our week-long fast as a church).
    • Gene went on to say SBF has lost pastors, people, programs, reputation, visible success, and a downward trend in the bank account…  [God comforts the afflicted – and afflicts the comfortable]
    • Your church is flat broke, you do not have it all together, you do not have it all figured out, and you cannot muscle, or buy, your way out of this one.
    • Blessed are those bankrupt in spirit, because they are entering the eternal reserves of the reservoirs of the God of true riches.
    • As a church we’ve been taken out to the woodshed…we’ve been spanked. Are you glad yet?  [I have a tremendous amount of respect for those of you who have stayed.]

Where do we go from “bankrupt in spirit”?  We mourn…

Today, we will look at 5:4 “Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted”

Once we see and acknowledge our deep spiritual poverty, it gives way to a deep and utter repentance.  (There’s a difference between repentance and “relentance.”)

There is a transforming grief, or repentance, that surfaces – not only for our own lives, but also for the injustice, greed, and suffering that grips our world.  (“Meanwhile we groan.”)

I’ve titled the message this morning, The Unlikely Route To Joy (borrowed from a chapter heading in Dan Allender’s’ book Wounded Heart).

  • In order to become rich, we need to acknowledge and own our poverty.
  • And in order to know “joy inexpressible and full of glory” (1 Pet 1:8) we must mourn.  This is the essence of living the upside down life (or counterintuitive).

I would like us to refer to mourning as a lifestyle of repentance.

For those of us who have read Pete Scazzero’s book, The Emotionally Healthy Church, we remember that the 3rd principle of the EHC is to live in brokenness and vulnerability.

This means living and leading out of our failure and pain, questions and struggles…[1]

This is how Paul led.  In 2 Cor 12 – Paul speaks of being caught-up to the third heaven – and then he shares about his thorn in the flesh… “a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself! 8 Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. 9 And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.”

Dr. Dan Allender – “An about face movement from denial and rebellion to truth and surrender… Repentance involves the response of humble hunger, bold movement, and wild celebration when faced with the reality of our fallen state and the grace of God…It is a shift in perspective as to where life is found…It is melting into the warm arms of God, received when it would be so understandable to be spurned.” (Wounded Heart)

**Mourning, or lifestyle repentance, is living WITH our failures, but not UNDER them.

II. BODY

With that said please turn to Hebrews 12…

If we had to boil down the book of Hebrews to a one-word description, the word would be perseverance. It is written specifically for a group of Christians who were about to quit.

Vs. 14-17 are full of some very specific admonitions to help us with engaging in a lifestyle of repentance…

14Pursue peace with all [people], and the sanctification without which no one will see [to perceive, to know, to become acquainted with by experience] the Lord.

15See to it [Looking diligently – episkapao] that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled [stained];

16that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal.

17For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance [NIV – he could bring about no change of mind], though he sought for it with tears.

This is a heavy passage: Esau found no place for repentance – even though he sought for it with tears.  (What are we supposed to do with this text?)

This passage offers us some insight into the reasons for Esau’s inability to come to a place of true repentance – and I believe it will help us to consider some possible issues that may be keeping us from fully knowing the privilege of repentance.

Listed in this passage are (at least) 6 admonitions that will move us toward embracing a lifestyle of true repentance…

1.  Pursue peace with all people.

Pursue: to run swiftly [NIV –  Make every effort]

Peace: from a primary verb eirēnē (harmonized relationships)

“If therefore you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.”  Matthew 5:23,24 (NAS)

Roms 12:18 – “If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.”

(In a few weeks we’ll be talking about Mat 5:9 – Peacemaker vs. peacekeeper.)

I once flew from Reno, NV to Tulsa, OK and then rented a car and drove 3 hours just to ask someone’s forgiveness after reading this passage and taking it to heart.

2.  Pursue sanctification.

Sanctification: hallowed [NIV – Make every effort… to be holy] The Lord’s Prayer (Mat 6) hagiasmos (Heb 12 – noun), hagiazō (Mat 6 – verb)

We have positional sanctification and progressive sanctification…

The Gospel Is for Believers.  We Christians need to hear the gospel all of our lives because it is the gospel that continues to remind us that our day-to-day acceptance with the Father is not based on what we do for God but on remembering what Christ did for us.  (That is what communion is all about…)

**Esau was rejected by God because he steadfastly refused to serve the purpose of God and instead served his lust for the immediate and the tangible.

3.  Pursue grace.

“See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God.” (v.15)

Grace: All that God is lavishly poured into you. If God has acted lavishly toward you, could you not be lavish to others?  Or yourself??

Jerry Bridges, in his masterpiece says, “The idea portrayed here is analogous to the ocean waves crashing upon the beach. One wave has hardly disappeared before another arrives.[2]

Pursue the truth in love (Eph 4:15).

“See to it that…no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled.”  (v.15)

Notice the word, “many.”

Like a small root that grows into a great tree, bitterness springs up in our hearts and overshadows even our deepest relationships.

A “bitter root” comes when we allow disappointment or expectations to grow into resentment, or when we nurse grudges over past hurts.

Eph 4:15: But speaking the truth in love we are to grow up…” In my view this passage speaks to the epitome of what it means to be spiritually and emotionally healthy

5.  Pursue purity.

“See to it that…there be no immoral…person like Esau.” (v.16)

pornos – male prostitute.  Again, Esau steadfastly refused to humble himself to serve the purpose of God.  Instead he served his lust for the immediate and the tangible.

6.  Pursue God.

Instead of being godless (or, “unhallowed, profane” – Vine’s]

Esau found no place for repentance (metanoia), though he sought for it with tears.

We usually associate tears with repentance.  And it’s true that tears very often accompany true repentance.  But here we have the instance of Esau crying for repentance but not finding it.  Why?  Esau was in “relentance,” not true repentance.

III.CONCLUSION

“Repent therefore and return, that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.”   Acts 3:19 (NAS)

Nothing will cause a renewed soul to hate sin so much as a realization of God’s grace; nothing will move him to mourn so genuinely over his sins as a sense of Christ’s dying love. It is that which breaks his heart: the realization that there is so much in him that is opposed to Christ. But a life of holiness is a life of faith (the heart turning daily to Christ), and the fruits of faith are genuine repentance, true humility, praising God for His infinite patience and mercy, pantings after conformity to Christ.  —The Doctrine of Sanctification by A.W. Pink.

[1] EHC: 110.

[2] Jerry Bridges, Transforming Grace.

The Fruit of Repentance

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Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.  –Matthew 3:8

…They should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance. –Acts 26:20

Repentance is a decisive reorientation of one’s life away from self and toward God. Commenting on Matthew 3:8 John Calvin writes, “Repentance is an inward matter, which has its seat in the heart and soul, but afterwards yields its fruits in a change of life.”[1]

When John the Baptist told the Jewish people that they must bring forth fruit in keeping with repentance, what did he mean?

There are three additional questions that will help to understand what the Bible means by fruit:

1.     What is repentance?

a)     The Greek verb that is translated repent in the New Testament is metanoia. The word literally means to think after. It suggests the idea of thoughtful reflection regarding a deed after the commission of it. In the case of a sinful action, the idea would be a retrospection of the act and the subsequent feeling of godly sorrow that leads to repentance (see 2 Cor 7:9-10).

b)    Thomas Watson, an English Puritan (ca. 1620-1686) said, “Repentance is a grace of God’s Spirit whereby a sinner is inwardly humbled and visibly reformed.”[2]

c)     Repentance involves a God-initiated resolve to acknowledge the wrongful conduct and surrender ourselves to the empowering grace of God, which alone will accomplish in us and through us what we have never been able to accomplish on our own.

d)    Dan Allender, a contemporary Christian educator and author, writes that repentance is “an about face movement from denial and rebellion to truth and surrender…[that] involves the response of humble hunger, bold movement, and wild celebration when faced with the reality of our fallen state and the grace of God…It is a shift in perspective as to where life is found…It is melting into the warm arms of God, received when it would be so understandable to be spurned.”[3]

e)     Paul writes that, godly sorrow leads to repentance (2 Corinthians 7:10). The repentance of this text is life reformation, not mere grief over the act.

2.     What is the significance of the expression, in keeping with repentance? (NKJ: worthy of; AMP: consistent with.)

a)     The expression in keeping with is the Greek word axios and originally had to do with objects that were of equal weight, i.e., one item corresponds to another in weight. The metaphorical use in the NT may be employed regarding actions — either good or bad.

b)    The change of life that is characteristic of repentance must correspond to the gravity and nature of the offence. Otherwise, it is not biblical repentance.

3.     What is implied by the phrase, produce fruit?

a)     The Greek word for fruit is karpos and means “the visible expression of [God’s] power working inwardly and invisibly, [and] the character of the fruit being evidence of the character of the power producing it (see Mat 7:16). Just as the visible expressions of hidden lusts are the works of the flesh, so the invisible power of the Holy Spirit in those who are brought into [a] living union with Christ (see Jn 15:2-8, 16) produces ‘the fruit of the Spirit’ (Gal 5:22).”[4]

b)    In addition to the fruit of the Spirit what does it mean to produce the fruit of repentance? Here are a some signs of fruit that will typically be found in a truly repentant person[5]:

i)      Repentant people are willing to confess all their sins, not just the sins that got them in trouble. A house isn’t truly clean until we open every closet and sweep every corner. People who truly desire to be clean are completely honest about their lives. No more secrets. Christian psychologist and author Larry Crabb defines integrity as pretending about nothing.[6]

ii)    Repentant people face the pain that their sin caused others. They invite the victims of their sin (anyone hurt by their actions) to express the intensity of emotions that they feel — anger, hurt, sorrow, and disappointment. Repentant people do not give excuses or shift blame. They made the choice to hurt others, and they take full responsibility for their behavior.

iii)   Repentant people ask forgiveness from those they hurt. They realize that they can never completely “pay off” the debt they owe their victims. Repentant people don’t pressure others to say, “I forgive you.” Forgiveness is a journey, and people need time to deal with the hurt before they can forgive. All that penitent people can do is admit their indebtedness and humbly request the undeserved gift of forgiveness.

iv)   Repentant people remain accountable to a small group of mature Christians. They gather a group of friends around themselves who hold them accountable to a plan for honest living. They invite the group to question them about their behaviors.

v)    Repentant people accept their limitations. They realize that the consequences of their sin (including the distrust) will last a long time, perhaps the rest of their lives. They understand that they may never enjoy the same freedom that other people enjoy. Adulterers, for example, would be wise to place strict limitations on their time with members of the opposite sex. That’s the reality of their situation, and they willingly accept their boundaries.

vi)   Repentant people are faithful to the daily tasks God has given them. We serve a merciful God who delights in giving second chances. God offers repentant people a restored relationship with him and a new plan for life. Consider Hosea’s promise to rebellious Israel:

Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence. (Hosea 6:1-2)

The conscientious student of the Bible is led to conclude that any repentance, without the full compliment of the elements that define that term, is simply not a biblical repentance.

[1] John Calvin, Commentary on Matthew, Mark, & Luke, Vol 1.

[2] Thomas Watson, The Doctrine of Repentance, Banner of Truth, 1999: 18.

[3] Dan Allender, The Wounded Heart, Navpress, 1990: 217.

[4] W. E. Vine, Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, Vol 2, Revell 1940: 143.

[5] Adapted from the article Six Signs of Genuine Repentance by Bryce Klabunde.

[6] Larry Crabb, Finding God, Zondervan 1993: 16.

Lifestyle Repentance

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This is an outline for a sermon to be delivered on 10/10/10.  This outline is way too long for the time allotted, so I am placing it here for reference.

I. INTRO

A.   Brennan Manning has said, “The temptation of the age is to look good without being good.”

B.    Before we get any further it’s important to distinguish between life-style repentance and conversion repentance…

1.     Christian conversion, or salvation, occurs when genuine repentance and sincere faith in Jesus intersect.

2.     These are not two separate actions – but one motion with two parts:

a.     As we turn to Christ for salvation we turn away from the sin that we are asking Jesus Christ to forgive us from.

b.     Neither repentance nor faith come first – they must come at the same time.

3.     Repentance and faith are two sides of the same coin.[1]

C.    So, there is an initial repentance (with faith) that leads to salvation, but what does life-style repentance look like in the life of a believer?

D.   The Beatitudes seem to affirm this…Mat 5

3“Blessed are the poor in spirit, [who see their need for God]
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn, [this a call to a lifestyle of repentance]
for they will be comforted.

E.    For those of us who have read Pete Scazzero’s book, The Emotionally Healthy Church, we remember that the 3rd principle of the EHC is to live our lives in brokenness and vulnerability.

1.     Scazzero says this means living (and leading) out of our failure and pain, and out of our questions and struggles…[2] (Did you know that the words intimacy and intestine come from the same root word… share your guts. This is a picture of what the church is to be.)

2.     At best, life-style repentance is counter intuitive to our normal way of thinking.

3.     One of my favorite authors on the subject of life-style repentance is Dan Allender.

a.     In one of his books Allender relates repentance to the “unlikely route to joy.” A more complete description of his premise would include 3 conditions: (1) complete honesty (Larry Crabb – integrity is not pretending about anything), (2) repentance, and (3) bold love.  This is what he says about repentance:

b.     “Repentance is an about face movement from denial and rebellion to truth and surrender…it involves the response of humble hunger, bold movement, and wild celebration when faced with the reality of our fallen state and the grace of God…It is a shift in perspective as to where life is found…It is melting into the warm arms of God, received when it would be so understandable to be spurned.”

F.    Some definitions:

1.     “Some of us will wear ourselves out trying to change ourselves before we
realize that it is not about fixing; it is about letting go…[3]

2.     CS Lewis describes repentance as the “process of surrender…full speed astern.”[4]

3.      “A shift in the direction of our soul from self-protection to trusting love… The richest love grows in the soil of an unbearable disappointment with life… The fruit of repentance is a changed style of relating that replaces self-protective maneuvering with loving involvement.”[5]

4.     Tim Keller refers to “gospel repentance.”[6]

a.     With reference to the parable of the Prodigal Sons (in Luke 15), Keller says that we don’t only need to repent for things we have done wrong, but that we also need to repent of the things we’ve done right! – or, under our own power. He notes that the older brother said he had never disobeyed his father and his father did not dispute this. Keller calls the sin of seeking to be our own Lord and Savior.

b.     The purpose of gospel repentance is to repeatedly tap into the joy of our union with Christ in order to weaken our need to do anything contrary to God’s heart.

5.     Thomas Watson, English Puritan (ca. 1620-1686) wrote a helpful treatise on repentance. He said, “Repentance is a grace of God’s Spirit whereby a sinner is inwardly humbled and visibly reformed.”[7]

6.     Repentance is not a decision of the will to do right instead of wrong. It’s an internal shift in our perceived source of life. [8] –Dan Allender

G.   “Repent therefore and return, that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” Acts 3:19 (NAS)

H.   Repentance is one of the great privileges of the unconverted as well as the Christian.  Why do we usually postpone repentance until after nothing else seems to be working??

II. BODY

A.   Hebrews 12:14-17 (NAS)

B.    The overarching theme of Hebrews is that the implications of the Christ Event are superior to Judaism.[9]

C.    The author moves seamlessly between teaching doctrine and exhorting (meaning to draw near – cheerleader) (or application). This is distinctive from Paul’s style, which is to teach doctrine in the first section and save exhortation/application for the second section.

1.     Context: If we had to boil down the book of Hebrews to a one-word description, the word would be perseverance. It is thought to have been written by a pastor to his congregation, who were struggling to hang in there.

2.     As we move into Hebrews 12, we find the first half of the chapter speaks of God’s admonition to fix our eyes on Jesus, submit ourselves to God’s instructive disciple (disciple?), and strengthen one another. Verses 14-17 instructs us in how to do engage, specifically, in a lifestyle of repentance…

14Pursue peace with all [men], and the sanctification without which no one will see [to see with perceptive insight – the author is speaking about an Aha! moment] the Lord.

15See to it [Looking diligently – episkapao for 3 things:] (1) that no one comes short of the grace of God; that (2) no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled [stained];

16 (3) that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal.

17For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing [Esau was double-minded – we tend to want the glory of God w/o the discipline of God], he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance [NIV – he could bring about no change of mind], though he sought for it with tears.

D.   In the words of Jesus (Matt 6:24) we sometimes get stuck trying to serve two masters. We seem to want God’s blessing w/o responsibility…

E.    To quote one commentator: “The only one who experiences the radiance of joy and light is the one who chooses a single goal with a single eye.”[10]

F.    Listed in this passage are (at least) 6 instructive admonitions to biblically engage a lifestyle of repentance.

1.     Pursue peace with all (v.14)

a.     Pursue: to run swiftly [NIV – Make every effort]

b.     Peace: from a primary verb eiro (to join or bind together that which has been separated).

“If therefore you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.” Matthew 5:23,24 (NAS)

“…As far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” Roms 12:18

c.     Are you a peacemaker or peacekeeper? (Mat 5:9)

d.     We tend to think of peace as the absence of conflict, yet biblical SHALOM is MUCH more than that…SHALOM means the knitting together of God, humankind, and all creation in equity, fulfillment, and delight.[11]

e.     I once flew from Reno, NV to Tulsa, OK and then rented a car and drove 3 hours just to ask someone’s forgiveness after reading Matthew 5:23-24 and taking it to heart.

2.     Pursue sanctification (v.14)

a. Sanctification: hallowed [NIV – and to be holy] The Lord’s Prayer (Mat 6) hagiasmos (Heb 12:14 – noun), hagiazō (Mat 6 – verb)

b.     The Lord’s Prayer is a prayer for and about sanctification…

c.     The prayer Jesus taught us is a prayer of community and reconciliation, belonging to a new kind of people who have left the land of “me” … Here our God teaches us the interconnectedness of grace and liberation in a new social order.[12]

d.     “Hallowed be your name,” then, is a prayer that God would teach us to live a new way of life…

e.     …We form habits of hoping that our lives will look more like God’s life. And at the same time, we give ourselves over to an extended family of all God’s children, in which we learn to give ourselves as Christ gave himself for us.

f.      As we’ve talked with God this way, we’ve also begun to see that we gain a community of others who are learning to give themselves for us. Which is another way of saying that we find our lives in Christ. We become the kind of community that is the answer to our request: Make your name holy, Father, by bringing your kingdom here on earth. Christian community is the gift of a life that is worthy of God’s name. Forgetting our- selves, we become the sort of joyful people who hallow God’s name by how we live with one another.

g.     When we see God’s Name as hallowed, it “lift[‘s] us right out of the prison of the self.”[13] (217)

h.     “…Just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.”   Romans 6:19 (NAS)

i.      Sanctification means to be set apart for God’s purpose.

j.      Notice the word “present.” That’s where it starts – it’s not about ability, its about surrender.

k.     Esau was rejected by God because he steadfastly refused to serve the purpose of God and instead served his lust for the immediate and the tangible.

3.     Pursue grace

a.     “See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God.” (v.15)

b.     Grace: All that God is lavishly poured into you. If God has acted lavishly toward you, could you not be lavish to others?

c.     Why do we call grace amazing? Grace is amazing because it works against the grain of common sense… Realistic common sense tells you that you are too weak, too harassed, too human to change for the better; grace gives you power to send you on the way to being a better person…[14]

  • Saving grace to us
  • Sanctifying grace in us
  • Serving grace through us

d.     Jerry Bridges, in his masterpiece Transforming Grace says, “The idea portrayed here is analogous to the ocean waves crashing upon the beach. One wave has hardly disappeared before another arrives.[15]

e.     We don’t need a changed life, we need an exchanged life…

f.      Donald Miller in Blue Like Jazz said, grace is living in a system where nobody owes anybody anything…We don’t mind giving charity, but we don’t like being [God’s] charity…[Miller asks himself] why would I forsake the riches of God’s righteousness for the dung of my own ego? …Our role in our relationship with God is to humbly receive God’s unconditional love. [16]

g.     “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age.” Titus 2:11-12 (NAS)

  • “Disciplining us…”
  • Deposit grace into each other’s account.

4.      Pursue the truth in love

“See to it that…no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled.” (v.15)

a.     Notice the word, “many.”

b.     Esau despised his birthright. (Gen 25:34b); So Esau bore a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him; and Esau said to himself, ‘The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.’ (Gen 27:41)

c.     Like a small root that grows into a great tree, bitterness springs up in our hearts and overshadows even our deepest relationships.

d.     A “bitter root” comes when we allow disappointment to grow into resentment, or when we nurse grudges over past hurts. Bitterness brings with it jealousy, dissension, and immorality.

e.     “God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love – like Christ in everything.  We take our lead from Christ, who is the source of everything we do.” Ephesians 4:15,16 (The Message)

  • In my view this passage speaks to the epitome of what it means to be emotionally healthy – the capacity to speak the truth in love…
  • Peter Scazerro speaks to this in his book, The Emotionally Healthy Church – as differentiated people we fully enter into another’s world while holding on to ourselves and live in the tension of the two.

4.     Pursue purity

a.     “See to it that…there be no immoral…person like Esau.” (v.16)

b.     pornos – when we lust, we stop loving.

c.     “I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. But I am afraid, lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds should be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 11:2b-3 (NAS)

5.    Pursue God

a.     Instead of being godless (or, “unhallowed, profane” – Vine’s]

b.     “In everything you do, put God first, and He will direct you and crown your efforts with success.” Proverbs 3:6 (TLB)

c.     Esau found no place for repentance (metanoia), though he sought for it with tears.

d.     We usually associate tears with repentance.  And it’s true that tears very often accompany true repentance.  But here we have the instance of Esau crying for repentance but not finding it.  Why?  Esau was in relentance, not repentance.

e.     This may be similar to the difference between Peter and Judas on the evening before the crucifixion of Jesus…

  • Both men committed the most grievous sins of their lives that night – Judas betraying Jesus and Peter denying Jesus.
  • Yet Judas committed suicide and Peter was ordained into the ministry about 2 weeks later.  What’s up with that???
  • Judas relented (or lamented), while Peter repented.
  • Judas said “no” to forgiveness, while Peter said “yes” to forgiveness.
  • Judas said “no” to the future, while Peter said “yes” to the future.

b.     I want my heart to remain soft and pliable before the Lord through humility, honesty, and integrity – quick to confess and forsake my sins.

c.     I want to live my life in grateful surrender to the plans and purposes that God has ordained for my life.

d.     I want to experience the blessings of being in right relationship with the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, as well as exalted joy and true happiness – through the privilege of repentance.

III. CONCLUSION

A.   The truest fruit of repentance is always hope…which is not optimism; rather it is moving forward in anticipation of redemption in spite of the improbability of rescue.  (Dan Allender, Sabbath: The Ancient Practices.)

B.     The results, or the fruits, of repentance are a series of freeing movements in our lives that return us to the wonder of the cross.[17]

C.    How do we live with our failures? [I will share how I seek to live with my failures at the conclusion of the message.]

[1] Wayne Gudem, Systematic Theology, p. 713.

[2] EHC: 110.

[3] Ruth Haley Barton, Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership: 53.

[4] CS Lewis, Mere Christianity: 44.

[5] Larry Crabb, Inside Out: 213-214, 196.

[6] Tim Keller, Prodigal God: 78-79.

[7] Thomas Watson, The Doctrine of Repentance, Banner of Truth 1999: 18.

[8] Wounded Heart Workbook

[9] The Christ-Event is fivefold: (1) the virgin birth, (2) the miraculous ministry, (3) the shameful death, (4) the glorious resurrection, and (5) the triumphant accession of Jesus. Each of these facets of the incarnation, over a 33-year period of time, inaugurate – or establish – the kingdom of God upon the earth.

[10] Louis Evans Jr., Hebrews: The Communicator’s Commentary Vol. 10, Word 1985: 233.

[11] Neal Plantinga

[12] Shane Clairborne & Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, Becoming the Answer To Our Prayers: Prayer for Ordinary Radicals, IVP 2009:18-31.

[13] Simone Weil, Waiting for God, Harper 2009: 217.

[14] Lewis Smedes, “How Can It Be All Right When Everything Is All Wrong?” Christianity Today-Vol. 39, #13.

[15] Jerry Bridges, Transforming Grace.

[16] Donald Miller, Blue Like Jazz: 83-85.

[17] Dan B. Allender, Tremper Longman, Dreams and Demands: 62.

Art, Truth, & Creativity

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Did you know that about 30% of the Bible is poetry?

We need the artists to help us unpack the truths in the Bible. We have gotten very good at slicing and dicing the Bible through the transliteration of biblical languages. While this has been – and will continue to be – immensely helpful to biblical scholarship, we also need the nuance of the artists to help us see what only they can see.

The artists are often the first to see and feel a truth – active intentional followers of Christ, or not. They bring it out of their subconscious and into their art – even when they have no idea what they are really doing and cannot fathom the depths of truth their art is expressing. John Wimber used to say that while the Bible is all truth, not all truth is in the Bible.

Having said that, we certainly need a grid to run truth through… For me that includes Scripture and counsel from those whom I respect and admire in the Lord.

Back to art… C. S. Lewis said that art is often a backdoor to truth – and that his imagination was baptized when he was still an atheist because of excellent art.

The creativity that forms art is certainly biblical. The first sentence in the Bible speaks to its prominence:

“In the beginning, God created…” God initiates creativity.

Jesus modeled artful creativity as well. He was always changing his approach to expressing the gospel narrative.

“He did not say anything to them without using a parable” (Matt. 13:34).

He spoke in many different venues and employed many different object lessons including drawing in the sand, turning over tables, picking up a coin, pointing to a sower, and setting a child on his lap.

Just some thoughts…