Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today I’d like to take a look at a passage of scripture, but before we do that I wanted to tell you a little story.
Can you imagine walking into a county courthouse to appear for a traffic violation, and when you talked to the county clerk, you recognized her from the school bus. Your kind of shocked that she’s working there because after high school, she got herself involved in prostitution. When you saw the bailiff, he too looked very familiar. You realize that he was a classmate of yours from college, but he later went to jail for stealing cars. When the judge finally appears you immediately recognize him from the newspapers, because he had been dishonorably discharged from the military and served some time in prison.
As you stand there, you’re wondering to yourself, why would people like this be working here, and put in charge of judging me?
This reminds me of the Christian Life.
Do these events sound a little far fetched? Maybe it does here upon the Earth, but someday, the same kind of thing is going to happen in the Kingdom of heaven. Many people who you might expect to be in heaven, will be denied access, and others who you might deem as a worthless sinner, are going to enter into eternal life. It all comes down to whether or not they converted, and did the will of God from their heart. A saint is just a sinner who repented, and became humbly obedient to God’s purpose and calling. It is the saints who will judge the world, and they are certainly worthy of that honor. This is because they chose to repent at the preaching of God. Because of this, they will rise up to judgment and condemn those who repented not. Someday, things are going to be all turned around.
Matthew 12:41-42 The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
To repent means to feel pain, sorrow or regret for something wrong that you have done or omitted to do. It is to be sorry for a sin or an evil act that you have committed, and to seek forgiveness. Ninevah was a city that openly displayed their repentant hearts towards God.
Jonah 3:2-10 Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee. So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days’ journey. And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water: But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands. Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not? And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.
The process of repentance begins with a change of heart which is led by Godly sorrow for sin. God sees inside of our hearts and knows if we are sincere. When we approach Him with a humble and contrite heart, only then can we find a place of mercy in His sight.
James 4:8-10 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
Throughout the Old and New Testaments, the Prophets and Apostles of the Lord were warning people about God’s punishment against sin and impenitence. Someone who is impenitent is incapable of apologizing or even feeling sorry for wickedness that they have committed towards God or others. Without repentance, they most certainly will be damned. If they hold that frame of mind, they will perish, and punishment will be unavoidable.
Romans 2:5, 8 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,
Luke 13:3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
Luke 13:5 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
Acts 26:20 …… repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.
When the Son of God preached God’s Word to the people, certain cities we’re lofted up in their own spiritual pride and refused to repent. Today there are many cities who are doing the exact same thing and unless they repent of their deeds God’s punishment will certainly come upon them.
Matthew 11:20-24 Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not: Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.
Repentance is to overcome the desires of the carnal nature and to do the will of God from your heart. It is to submit and obey His purpose rather than your own. Many religious leaders in high places of authority, both then and today, refuse to repent and submit to the truth. They exalt themselves in their own spiritual pride, and in their own mind are above repentance, which is one of the snares of the devil. Interestingly enough, those who they looked down on and deemed unworthy of salvation, we’re actually the ones who were repenting of their sins.
Matthew 21:28-32 But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went. And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not. Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.
To inherit the kingdom of heaven requires doing God’s will, and this will require repentance. Why should those who arrogantly refuse to repent be allowed in heaven? Well I guarantee you they won’t.
Jude 1:14-15 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
Who better to stand in judgment over them, than those who have repented themselves? I think some people are gonna be in for a big shock because someday, things are going to be…..
……..All Turned Around
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody. ❤️
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