Shortcut, Short Circuit (October 16, 2022)

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).