SHORTCUT, SHORT CIRCUIT
Text: John 10:1 -2 and Matthew 5:10-12
John 10:1 "Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.
Matthew 5:10-12 "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (11) "Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. (12) Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Robert Wood Johnson, the former chairman of Johnson & Johnson, was known to be a terror when he inspected his plants. On one such unannounced visit, the plant manager had a fortunate 30-minute tip prior to his arrival. Hastily he had things spruced up by ordering several large rolls of paper transported to the roof of the building. When Johnson arrived, he was furious. "What in the hell [probably better to use the word “blazes”] is all that junk on the roof?" were his first words. How were they to know that he would arrive in his personal helicopter? [robert-wood-johnson-the-former-chairman-of-by-sermon-central... Edward Buxton, Promise Them Anything (Stein & Day), in Reader’s Digest, March 1980]. The executive surprised them when he chose to come by helipcoper and lad on the roof only to see the rolls of paper they tried to get out of site. How many times have we taken shortcuts that cost us?
Shortcuts lead to short circuits in our spiritual lives. Today we will talk about repentance, confessing faith and persecution.
REPENTANCE
Are there any shortcuts to repentance? The answer to that question in a definitive “No!”
1) Insincerity: How can anyone have an honest change of heart if their confession of sin is half-hearted? How can we say we are being honest if we say we are sort of sorry but not completely sorry? Have you ever heard of anyone getting caught, saying that they were sorry only to turn around and later renege by saying “sorry but not sorry” for their actions?
2) A wedding cashers regret: Remember when Jesus taught the parable of the Wedding Feast (Matthew 22: 1 – 13)? An excerpt from that parable illustrates a man who tried a shortcut and got caught: Matthew 22:11- 12 "But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, (12) and he said to him, 'Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?' And he was speechless” (NRSV). That guest showed contempt for the king because he was not dressed in the required attire.
3) A symbol of righteousness: Since the wedding garment is a metaphor for righteousness, being improperly dressed meant that he must have had contempt. The common speculation among commentaries is that the king provided everyone with a wedding garment. (College Press Bible Textbook Series). This is analogous to having put on Christ (see Galatians 3:27). “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive (1 Corinthians_15:22), because in Christ we are a new creature” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
4) Weeping and gnashing of teeth: This wedding crasher was tied up and thrown out where there was weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 22:13). Matthew Henry said that the “binding” was indicative of an irreversible sentence that the wedding crasher “ would not be able to resist or outrun. ….. “Constant weeping, constant torment and gnashing of teeth an expression of the greatest rage and indignation” (Mathhew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible). The torment of hell---eternal separation from God for eternity is beyond comprehension.
5) Consequences: This wedding crasher’s shortcut became a short-circuit----a bad and destructive choice. “… he would be weeping at his great loss and gnashing his teeth in anguish at the realization that his failure is completely his own”. College Press BibLe Textbook Series). God had provided wedding garments and the wedding crasher chose his own dirty clothes other than God’s provision of the wedding garment which is synonymous with rejecting God’s grace. >>>> He was rejecting the plans God had for him with a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11). >>>> His righteousness was a filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6).
6) True Repentance: It is said that there are two kinds of sorrow, “worldly sorrow” and “godly sorrow”. Worldly sorrow says, “I am sorry I got caught” which is usually superficial with a temporary reformation. Unlike worldly sorrow, godly sorrow some from true conviction of the Holy Spirit and leads to genuine repentance. (Quoted and paraphrased form Galaxie Software. (2002). 10,000 Sermon Illustrations. Biblical Studies Press. [original source: - H.G.B. Our Daily Bread, Monday, July 16).
7) All are invited: Matthew 22:14 tells us that many are called but few are chosen. In the Greek the word for invitation is synonymous with calling. >>>>> To be clear, the Lord has called, appointed some to be apostles, others prophets, others evangelists, other to be pastors and teachers (Ephesians 4:11). God did this to prepare all God's people [Christian disciples both laity and clergy] for the work of Christian service, in order to build up the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:12 GNB paraphrased). >>>>>> 2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. (NIV).
Does repenting mean that we will be condemned if we ever sin again? Of course, the answer to that question is an emphatic “No”!
1) Repentance: The Greek word for repentance is metanoia which means to make a 180 degree turn or an about face. Repentance means that we confront our wrongdoing and confess it. Repentance is not just expressing sorrow for past sins, it is also a way of life in which we produce fruit in keeping with repentance (Matthew 3:8).
2) Grace: God’s grace is greater than our sin!
Consider 1 John 1:7-10 “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. (8) If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. (9) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (10) If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us” (NIV).
CONFESSING FAITH
Is confession enough? No, confession is not enough without Jesus!
1) Transition: Confession followed by baptism marks the beginning of our journey as sinners. If we are baptized, then we are sinners saved by God’s grace so that we cannot boast (Ephesians 2:8) because in Jesus Christ our sins are washed away, because through His death on the cross. Being new creatures in Christ means that we walk in the newness of life.
2) Coworkers with Christ: Romans 10:10 says “For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved” (NIV). >>>> Our joining in the work of Christ to destroy the work of the devil (1 John 3:8) living sacrificially (Romans 12:1) carrying our own crosses, and following in the footsteps of Jesus provokes the devil. And if we don’t pick up our crosses and follow in his footsteps, then we are not worthy of Him (Luke 14:27)! >>>>> Satan, whom Jesus calls the father of lies (John 8:44) hates it when we debunk his lies with the godly knowledge of the truth of the Gospel that sets those who believe free (John 8:32).
3) The cross: Jesus did not take any shortcuts when He died on the cross for you and me, friends, and enemies alike to take away our sin!
Is there a connection between our profession and our confessing?
1) Sheepfold: Satan wants to rob us and lie to us hoping that we will believe the lie and the lies that we can receive salvation without going through the sheepfold----Jesus Christ who is the door (see John 10:9) to receive salvation. The Bible Believer’s Commentary explains what a “sheepfold” is very well: “The sheepfold is both the doorway and the enclosure that shepherds would guard by their presence as if they were the door to open and let sheep in or close and protect the flock”. There are two groups of sheep, those that are in the sheepfold---in Christ and those that are not of this fold (John 10:16) who are like sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:36). We continue the ministry of Jesus to make disciples while pursuing the lost sheep. Romans 10:13 says “for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (14) How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” (NIV),
2) Sheep thief: Satan wants to steal, kill and destroy us (John 10:10). The Greek word that is used in John 10:1 is klepto which in modern day is also used to describe habitual stealing---kleptomania---- a “persistent neurotic impulse to steal” according to the Webster Meriman Dictionary.
PERSECUTION
Why are we persecuted for following Christ? As we just mentioned a moment ago, our work as Christians to bring the lost sheep into the sheepfold provokes the devil.
1) Bull’s eye: Satan is relentless and incorrigible. Satan attacks us when we tell others that there is no such thing as a shortcut to salvation. There is no such thing being saved through a Christless Christianity! Satan wants to attack us because we warn others that a Christless shortcut belief could end in a short-circuit disaster with no eternal hope!
2) Two prong attack: Satan attacks us directly through his fiery dart system (Ephesians 6:16) and indirectly through the efforts of others. 2 Corinthians 4:4 explains how satan employs the efforts of those who he has blinded: The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
3) Personal: Satan even attacks those who are close to us when they express their disapproval or even disowning us. Sometimes they are friends, sometimes they are family and sometimes they are even employers.
How well do we fight the good fight remembering those who fought before us?
1) The blessed persecuted: Matthew 5:10-12 "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (11) "Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. (12) Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
2) Tearing down strongholds: 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (3-4) For although we live in the natural realm, we don’t wage a military campaign employing human weapons, using manipulation to achieve our aims [and I interject, as many are manipulating and injecting ungoldy things in real time]. Instead, our spiritual weapons are energized with divine power to effectively dismantle the defenses behind which people hide. (5) We can demolish every deceptive fantasy that opposes God and break through every arrogant attitude that is raised up in defiance of the true knowledge of God. We capture, like prisoners of war, every thought and insist that it bow in obedience to the Anointed One (The Passion Translation).
3) Contradictions: We are called to tear down the ugliest of strongholds where evil in its most ungodly of forms is “called good and good is called evil” (Isaiah 5:20).
4) Last call: What if God is enlisting us and deploying us to issue His last call for salvation? How many will take shortcuts that will end in short-circuit conclusions if we don’t witness to them?
In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
