Repentance - 3 Of 14 Series

Lent 3—March 15, 1998

Turning From—Turning To

Isaiah 55:1-9; Luke 13:1-9; Psalm 63:1-8; 1 Corinthians 10:1-13

The word for this week is "repentance".

Last weekend there was a blizzard over the Midwest and storms in the south. We got four inches of rain here; but it was a near-disaster 800 miles west of here. Chicago had a blizzard, and our church treasurer, Bill Esselstyn had to go out there for a business conference. One effect was that Bill got stranded in a luxury hotel and had to eat French gourmet food for two days.

Bill description of O'Hare airport and the general state of the travelers' distress sounded like a zoo to me. He said some of his co-workers told of being in such violent turbulence that the doors on the overhead compartments flew open and luggage fell out on the passengers. I'm glad I wasn't on that flight.

I thought as I was reflecting on today's scripture lessons— on "repentance"— 'I wonder what sort of prayers were generated in that violently bouncing jet plane?' "Oh God! I'll be different! I promise! I'm sorry for all the sins I've ever done!"

Is that repentance? Would God hear a prayer like that? [He heard Walter S. MacPherson praying in a foxhole in World War I !!] When do you pray a prayer of repentance? Just what is repentance, anyway?

One simple definition I was taught as a young believer is that Repentance is a godly sorrow for sin. And true repentance certainly has that element. But a godly sorrow is more than sorrow over the pain or shame or results of sin— more than remorse for being caught. Repentance is turning away. Repentance always includes a desire to turn away from sin.

In our text today Isaiah cries: "Let the wicked forsake their way, and the unrighteous their thoughts!" Both the Old and New Testament words for "repent" have this concept of a change of direction. (Shuv=OT= disappointment// Metanoia=NT=turning)

Repentance is more than turning away— it is turning to! Isaiah goes on: "Let them return to the Lord, for He will have mercy— and to our God for He will abundantly pardon!"

Repentance FROM sin is never complete until the turning away— the godly sorrow- - "connects" with God's forgiveness and becomes a "turning to" the heavenly father. God stands waiting— ready to tell us we are already pardoned— and we come by the route of repentance— a willingness to turn away - and to turn to! That is how we enter God's family.

But did you know that repentance is not just for unbelievers and sinners? Many people will say, and I am one of them, "I am not a willful sinner! I do not live in known sin!" With a Wesleyan definition of sin as 'a willful transgression of a known law of God,' we often relegate repentance strictly to the crisis of being saved— we confess and believe and repent once and for all.

But did you know that God's people find revival and renewal when they are willing to live in a spirit of repentance! This world is very much with us, and bangs on us relentlessly day after day. We get so used to living in Sodom and Gomorrah that we need to be careful to listen to the Still Small Voice. When we are careless we often get defensive, or we rationalize— excuse ourselves for our sins of neglect.

Paul sounds four warnings to Corinthian Christians. "Many who left Egypt and experienced God's miracles of the Exodus nevertheless died in the wilderness! WHY? Because they were not living to please God!" Those warnings are 2,000 years old, nearly— but they still call us to repentance:

Don't become idolaters: (7) Anything that threatens to take over our first allegiance we need to recognize as a potential idol— anything we hold so dear that we neglect God: prayer becomes a burden; the gathering together of God's people is easily shunned. Often good things become enemy of God's BEST. Even God's GIFTS cannot take God's place! Is it possible that we need to repent of any attitude that is close to idolatry?

Don't indulge in sexual immorality: (8) God's people are called to purity! Even God's people are tempted by our world to have a casual attitude toward what God intends to be sacred relationships. Statistics tell us that often attitudes of permissiveness and loose morals are inside the church as well as outside. If you are engaging in sexual activity outside of marriage you are sinning! You need to repent!

If you are entertaining and excusing unhealthy thoughts, you need to repent! "Let the unrighteous forsake their thoughts!" — not my sentence— it comes directly from God's Word.

Don't put Christ to the test: (9) is the next warning. Paul is not saying that Christ is not to be trusted in the crunch time. But he is saying that it is possible even to be selfish about the way we live the Christian life! We can seek to use Christ for the profit we think He brings— or for the health and good feelings we think is the height of spirituality - - or even for climbing the social ladder. If we think more of what Christ can do for us— and never of what we can do for Christ we need to repent!