Sermon: The Sorry Game
Scripture Ref: II Corinthians 7:5-11
‘For when we were come into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side, without were fightings, within were fears. Nevertheless, God, that comforts those that are cast down comforted us by the coming of Titus, & not by his coming only, but by the consolation wherewith he was comforted in you, when he told us your earnest desire, your mourning, your fervent mind toward me, so that I rejoiced the more. For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent; for I perceive that the same epistle has made you sorry, though it were but for a season, Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that you sorrowed to repentance, for you were made sorry after a godly manner, that you might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow works repentance to salvation not to be repented of; but the sorrow of the world works death. For behold this selfsame thing, that you sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things you have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.’
Introduction:
Have you ever played the BOARD GAME SORRY? You move your TOKENS around the BOARD & if you happen to land on the SAME SPOT of ANOTHER PLAYER then you say the word SORRY & you send them BACK to the very BEGINNING POINT. How many know the JOY of that game? SORRY!
I enjoy playing GAMES especially when I’m WINNING the GAME. It is no FUN to be the one who is KNOCKED BACK to the BEGINNING POINT of the GAME. However I LOVED to be the one who KNOCKED somebody else back.
When someone PRONOUNCED the word SORRY & then sent you BACKWARDS their SORRY was NOT SINCERE, it was very HYPOCRITICAL. The WORDS were SAID but they were NOT MEANT SINCERELY from the HEART.
This morning I want us to LOOK at the SORRY GAME that is OFTEN PLAYED when it comes to GOD & our RELATIONSHIP with HIM. The WORD SORRY is SAID but there is NO REAL GENUINE REPENTANCE & NO REAL CHANGE in their LIFE & the WAY they LIVE.. SORRY but there is NO REAL SPIRITUAL GROWTH. They SOON SLIP BACK into their SAME OLD INSINCERE LIFESTYLE.
Many PEOPLE PLAY that SORRY GAME with GOD. They SIN & then say the WORD -- SORRY but they NEVER COME OUT of SIN. They NEVER get VICTORY & they NEVER COME OUT of SIN. That’s the SORRY GAME:
As we LOOK at this PASSAGE from II Corinthians chapter 7 it is a VERY STRONG WORD from the APOSTLE PAUL.
Let me EXPLAIN to us BRIEFLY the CONTEXT of PAUL’S writing of this SECTION of his LETTER to the CHURCH in CORINTH.
PAUL wrote TWO LETTERS to this LOCAL CHURCH in CORINTH that is RECORDED for us in the BIBLE. There is 1 CORINTHIANS & there is 2 CORINTHIANS.
PAUL had PLANTED this CHURCH in CORINTH & he PASTORED there for a NUMBER of YEARS. He had great TROUBLE & TRIALS there but he PLANTED a CHURCH there.
CHURCH HISTORY tells us that PAUL WROTE at least FOUR LETTERS to this LOCAL CHURCH during his LIFE’S MINISTRY.
The 1st LETTER we don’t have. It was just referred to as the PREVIOUS LETTER.
The 2nd LETTER is what we call 1 CORINTHIANS.
The 3RD LETTER is referred to as the SEVERE LETTER.
The 4TH LETTER is what we call 2 CORINTHIANS.
PAUL had to WRITE 3 STRONG LETTERS to the CORINTHIANS to REBUKE them because of their SINFUL LIVING & LIFESTYLES. ONLY this 4TH LETTER, 2 CORINTHIANS does PAUL WRITE & COMMENDS them for their FAITHFULNESS & their OBEDIENCE to GOD.
There were 3 LETTERS filled with a STRONG REBUKE.
GET RID of the SIN that is among you. STRAIGHTEN UP & LIVE by the STANDARD of the WORD of GOD. REPENT & LIVE RIGHT.
3 STRONG LETTERS of REBUKE:
& THEN we come to 2CORINTHIANS from where we read our TEXT this morning.
In this PASSAGE in CHAPTER 7 PAUL is COMMENDING THEM for FINALLY OBEYING the LORD & for DOING WHAT they NEEDED TO DO with their HEARTS & their LIVES.
Here PAUL DEFINES the DIFFERENCE for us between GODLY SORROW & WORLDLY SORROW. He OUTLINES for us TWO DIFFERENCES of being SORRY for OUR SINS.
WORLDLY SORROW & GODLY SORROW:
This morning let us EXAMINE those TWO KINDS of RESPONSES to SIN & those TWO KINDS of APOLOGIES before the LORD. The SORRY GAME:
What the SORRY GAME is all about: WORLDY SORROW
Let us LOOK at FOUR TRUTHS of the SORRY GAME.
WORLDLY SORROW:
1st there is the ROUTINE.
The ROUTINE involves the HABITUAL SINNING & SORROWING.
You SIN on a TUESDAY & you say SORRY on TUESDAY NIGHT. You SIN on WEDNESDAY & you say SORRY on WEDNESDAY NIGHT. You SIN on THURSDAY & you say SORRY on THURSDAY NIGHT. On & on it goes. It BECOMES a ROUTINE. It is a CONTINUAL HABITUAL LIFE of SINNING & SORRYING before the LORD but there is NO CHANGE. There is NO VICTORIOUS LIVING.
Do you get the PICTURE?
This SORRY GAME involves this CONTINUAL INVOLVEMENT & INDULGENCE of SIN & then a SORRY is given to the LORD.
2ndly the REALITY of that ROUNTINE:
The REALITY of such a ROUTINE is that it DEVELOPES a HOLLOW SPIRITUAL SHALLOWNESS.
The word SORRY is EMPTY if there is NO CHANGE or NO GROWTH or NO MOVEMENT.
The TRUTH is that MANY PEOPLE only say SORRY because they just got CAUGHT.
They’re NOT SORRY for WHAT they’ve DONE, they’re just SORRY that they got CAUGHT.
An INSINCERE SORRY is EMPTY & it is WORTHLESS.
#3: THE RISK INVOLVED in PLAYING the SORRY GAME:
The RISK is the DANGER of DEVELOPING a HARDENED SENSITIVITY to the SPIRIT of GOD.
When we COME to a PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP with GOD & THEN we begin to WINK at SIN & we IGNORE the CONVICTING of the HOLY SPIRIT & we SAY “NO” to the LORD’S CORRECTION & to the LORD’S DISCIPLINE THEN the STRONGER our “NO” BECOMES to the LORD & the HARDER our HEARTS become.
DEEP SPIRITUAL CALLOUSSES are DEVELOPED in OUR HEARTS.
If we KEEP saying “NO LORD” “NO LORD” “NO LORD” ( & it does NOT have to be SPOKEN from our MOUTHS – ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER than WORDS) THEN WHEN the HOLY SPIRIT TRIES to TOUCH OUR HEARTS – we have BECOME HARDENED to the MOVING of the SPIRIT of GOD. We become UNTOUCABLE!
Oh the PEOPLE that I have WITNESSED as they STOOD in the MIDST of a VERY STRONG WORKING & MANIFESTATION of the HOLY SPIRIT & they STOOD there as if NOTHING out of the ORDINARY was TAKING PLACE.. UNTOUCHABLE:
Then I WONDER WHAT WILL IT TAKE for them to BE TOUCHED by GOD?
PAUL WARNED, “Quench not the SPIRIT.” It’s a DANGEROUS THING to QUENCH the SPIRIT of GOD.
Then before very long we DON’T FEEL any CONVICTION or CONDEMNNATION from GOD.
I’ve often heard people say SOMETHING like this:
“Well, IF IT WAS WRONG I would FEEL IT.’
But NOT if OUR FEELER is BROKE!
Every time we SAY NO we become LESS SENSITIVE & LESS TENDER HEARTED.
Hebrews 3:7-8 ‘Wherefore TODAY (as the Holy Ghost says, TODAY if you will hear HIS voice, Harden not your hearts) But exhort one another daily, while it is called TODAY, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.’
TODAY lest we become HARDENED through the DECEITFULNESS of SIN:
The DECEITFULNESS of SIN! SIN will LIE to us!
#4: THE RESULT of PLAYING the SORRY GAME:
CONTINUAL SINNING that LEADS to SPIRITUAL BONDAGE & SLAVERY:
II Peter 2:19 ‘A man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.’
We are a SLAVE to WHATEVER has MASTERED us.
One REASON WHY it is WRONG to have MORE than ONE WIFE:
No man can SERVE TWO MASTERS.
It is often EASY for THINGS to BECOME OUR MASTER.
People say “I CAN QUIT THAT ANYTIME I WANT TO.’ YEAH!
VICES that GET CONTROL of us:
Romans 6: 16 ‘Know ye not that to whom you yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants you are to whom you obey, whether of sin unto death or of obedience unto righteousness?’
We become SLAVES to WHAT we OBEY!
No one STARTED OUT as SLAVES. They didn’t START OUT in BONDAGE in ADDICTION.
They BECAME ADDICTIONS when they BECOME BIGGER than OUR POWER to OVERCOME them.
The STORY of SAMSON & DELIAH: Even after she TRIED to have him KILLED by the PHILLISTINES, he CONTINUED to go to where she was & then LAY HIS HEAD in HER LAP.
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Then PAUL talked about the OPPOSITE of WORLDLY SORROW & that is GODLY SORROW.
Let’s LOOK at GODLY SORROW for a few moments.
Let us NOTE 4 TRUTHS concerning GODLY SORROW.
II Corinthians 7:10 ‘Worldly sorrow brings death but godly sorrow leads to repentance.’
GODLY SORROW is when we GRIEVE in OUR HEARTS over the SIN that we have LET INTO OUR LIVES.
#1: GODLY SORROW ARISES OVER THE OWNERSHIP OF SIN:
EVERBODY say MINE: MINE –
That was ONE of the 1ST WORDS we LEARNED to SPEAK as CHILDREN. MINE:
My OLDEST SON CHRIS & SHARON’S NEICE DANITA were about the SAME AGE..
When they were about 3 years old I would NOTICE them PLAYING TOGETHER.
DANITA had a SMALL LISP in her SPEECH.
She had a LITTLE PURSE with a SHOULDER STRAP. She would SLING her PURSE over her SHOULDER & PUSH her LONG BLOND HAIR BACK & say ‘This is MINE, PRISH’
MINE --- means that we CLAIM OWNERSHIP:
GODLY SORROW – GRIEF OVER SIN – ARISES when we CLAIM OWNERSHIP of OUR SINS.
Those SINS are MINE. I am the GUILTY PARTY. What MOST PEOPLE TEND TO DO is to FOCUS on the GUILT of OTHERS while MINIMIZING what THEY’VE DONE.
But GODLY SORROW says “I DID IT. I am RESPONSIBLE.”
I John 1:9 ‘If we CONFESS OUR SINS, HE is faithful & just to forgive us OUR SINS..’
That is the 1ST THING that GODLY SORROW will do.
It will cause us to CONFESS, ‘THIS THING is WRONG in MY LIFE.’
#2: GODLY SORROW is AWARE of OUR OBLIGATION to JESUS, OUR SAVOUR:
It causes us to RECOGNIZE that JESUS CHRIST DIED to SAVE US from OUR SINS.
JESUS then EXPECTS us to LIVE UNDER HIS LORDSHIP & HIS LEADING.
John 14:15 ‘If you love ME, keep MY commandments.’
IF we LOVE the LORD then we REALIZE that HE EXPECTS OBEDIENCE from us.
Just ANY OLE LIFESTYLE won’t do!
When JESUS FORGAVE the WOMAN that was CAUGHT in the ACT of ADULTERY the CROWD wanted her STONED to DEATH. JESUS sent her away with these WORDS, ‘GO & SIN NO MORE.’
You don’t have to get in this predicament AGAIN:
GODLY SORROW doesn’t want to DO ANYTHING that would BRING a REPROACH upon JESUS.
GODLY SORROW causes us to WALK CAREFULLY.
#3: GODLY SORROW ACHES WITH an OVERWHELMING SORROW:
When we are SINCERE in OUR RELATIONSHIP with GOD & the HOLY SPIRIT TOUCHES US & SHOWS us SOMETHING is WRONG, it HURTS us SO BADLY that we want to HURRY & GET it UNDER the BLOOD.
There is an INWARD BURDEN of HEARTACHE & GRIEF. We have to HAVE RELIEF!
Once the HOLY SPIRIT REVEALS to us AN AREA of WRONG, UNTIL it is REPENTED OVER it will AFFECT OUR RELATIONSHIP & OUR ANNOITING & OUR WALK with GOD.
That’s HOW we are CHANGED from GLORY to GLORY.
When we GET SAVED the HOLY SPIRIT doesn’t STOP CONVICTING US, HE just BEGINS.
GODLY SORROW will CAUSE us at TIMES to BECOME GRIEVED with THINGS we BEFORE did NOT FEEL GRIEVED about.
It’s CALLED SPIRITUAL GROWTH.
The LORD is COMING for a GLORIOUS CHURCH WITHOUT SPOT or WRINKLE or BLEMISH or any SUCH THING.’
#4: GODLY SORROW ACTIVATES an OBEDIENT SURRENDER, NATURALLY:
When GODLY SORROW gets a FIRM GRIP upon us it will NATURALLY LEAD US to an OBEDIENT SURRENDER to the LORD.
In other words, GODLY SORROW PRODUCES within us a GENUINE REPENTANCE.
Not SINNING & saying SORRY & then SINNING & saying SORRY & then SINNING & saying SORRY.
That was what people did UNDER the OLD TESTAMENT LAW.
There wasn’t MUCH GENUINE REPENTANCE because people knew they COULD NOT TRULY GET VICTORY OVER THEIR SIN & the POWERFUL GRIP it had on them.
They were in BONDAGE to SIN.
A person could NOT LIVE IT THEMSELVES.
The BLOOD of BULLS & of GOATS could NOT EMPOWER them.
So there wasn’t MUCH GODLY SORROW under the LAW.
But there is GODLY SORROW UNDER GRACE TODAY.
The HOLY SPIRIT will CONVICT US & CONDEMN US because it is POSSIBLE TODAY to GET COMPLETE DELIVERANCE OVER the SIN that is TRYING to DESTROY US & TRYING to KEEP US from BEING ALL that WE CAN BE.
JESUS came to SET US FREE from the POWER of SIN.
Listen church, IF we WANT to BE SET FREE from SIN – WHATEVER SIN it may be-
JESUS can SET US FREE.. HE DID NOT COME to just FORGIVE US when we said the WORD SORRY.
HE CAME to give us POWER OVER SIN & POWER OVER SATAN.
The APOSTLE PAUL refers to the STRUGGLE he had with SIN. ADDICTIONS OF THE FLESH:
Romans 7:21 ‘I find then a law, that when I would do good, evil is present with me.’
Romans 7:24 ‘Oh wretched man that I am: who shall deliver me from this body of death?’
PAUL WANTED DELIVERANCE from the POWER of SIN.
He KNEW he could NEVER BE WHAT GOD WANTED him to BE with SIN in CONTROL of him.
He KNEW he could NEVER BE WHAT he WANTED him to BE with SIN in CONTROL of him.
I don’t know the SIN that had such a GRIP on PAUL. It doesn’t matter. SIN is SIN.
‘Who shall deliver me from this body of death?’
He wasn’t WITHOUT HELP.
Verse #25: ‘ I thank GOD…..through JESUS CHRIST our LORD.’
JESUS CHRIST died on the CROSS. What a SAD DAY.
The DEVIL surely THOUGHT he was VICTORIOUS.
They LAID JESUS’ BODY in a TOMB & SEALED it with a STONE.
3 DAYS & 3 NIGHTS JESUS’ BODY was INSIDE the TOMB.
But while JESUS’ BODY was within the TOMB HIS SPIRIT was on a MISSION.
HE went DOWN into the DARKNESS of HELL & there HE SNATCHED the KEYS of DEATH & of HELL & the GRAVE from SATAN.
Because of WHAT TOOK PLACE those 3 DAYS; then EVERY ONE of us CAN HAVE TOTAL VICTORY & TOTAL DELIVERANCE OVER SIN.
The BLOOD of JESUS The DEATH of HIS BODY Taking the KEYS of SIN & of DEATH away from SATAN & finally the TRIUMPHANT RESURRECTION of HIS BODY from the TOMB.
That VICTORIOUS POWER is AVAILABLE still TODAY:
There is MORE than SINNING & saying I’m SORRY & then TOMORROW REPEATING the SAME SIN you just said you were SORRY of.
We can WALK in VICTORY.
John 8:36 ‘Whom the SON sets FREE is FREE indeed.’
Would you be free from your burden of sin, there’s power in the blood, power in the blood
Would you ore evil a victory win, There’s wonderful power in the blood.
The SORROW of this WORLD leads to DEATH
But GODLY SORROW leads to REPENTANCE not to be REPENTED of.
