Questions of Jesus Series #6
Pastor David T. Elms 10/14/2025
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33:21
Summary
Pastor David Elms explores how Jesus used the headlines of His day to teach that human tragedy is not a measure of sinfulness, but a universal call for all people to seek repentance and heart-transformation.
Key points
- •Jesus used probing questions not just to provide easy answers, but to force listeners into deep, 'pot of coffee' reflection on their spiritual state.
- •Misfortune and tragedy are not necessarily indicators that the victims were greater sinners than anyone else; death comes to all, regardless of the cause.
- •The human tendency to compare ourselves to others often leads to self-righteousness, which Jesus dismantles by reminding us that everyone needs repentance.
- •True repentance (metanoia) is more than just feeling guilty or confessing; it is a fundamental shift in mind and heart that results in turning toward God.
- •The priorities of the Kingdom often invert human logic, such as the idea that the one who serves is greater than the one who is served.
Scripture
Repentance
Divine Judgment vs. Human Tragedy
Kingdom Culture
Servanthood
Life application
This week, instead of reacting to tragic news or personal hardships by judging others or questioning God's fairness, use those moments as a prompt to practice personal repentance and re-align your own heart with Christ.
Reflection questions
- When you hear about a tragedy, do you find yourself subconsciously thinking the victims must have done something to deserve it? Why?
- Pastor Elms mentioned that repentance is a 'forgotten word' for this generation. What does a daily lifestyle of repentance look like for you?
- In what areas of your life are you currently like the 'double-minded man,' wavering between two opinions?
- How can you practically choose the role of a servant this week in a way that reflects the priorities of Jesus?
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Full transcript
0:00those spray tans work pretty good, don't
0:00they? They work pretty good. Amen. Well,
0:01open your Bibles with me to Luke the
0:0213th chapter.
0:06We will we will read Luke 13 and then we
0:08will go into these questions that are so
0:11piffy, so penetrating, so enlivening.
0:19You you can't just grab a question Jesus
0:21asks and say, "Oh yeah, I got the
0:24answer." He he his his questions are so
0:27deep that it's like you sit down and
0:30talk with it and you say, "Well, I need
0:32to go make a pot of coffee if I'm going
0:33to deal with you today." Well, I I can't
0:36just I can't deal with this question
0:38just in a couple of minutes. I got to go
0:40get a Let's get a pot of coffee
0:42together. You sit there, Mr. Question.
0:44I'll sit here and we'll go through
0:46these. Well, once again, here we are and
0:49Jesus is teaching with the power of a
0:53question.
0:55There were present at that season some
0:59that told him of the Galileans
1:02whose blood Pilate had mingled with
1:06their sacrifices.
1:09And Jesus answering said unto them,
1:13"Suppose ye that these Galileans were
1:16sinners above all the Galileans?
1:21Is that what you suppose?
1:24Because they they suffered such things.
1:27[Music]
1:29I tell you,
1:31nay or no,
1:34but except ye repent,
1:37ye shall all likewise perish.
1:42We all sort of like think we're pretty
1:43good, don't we? We like to think we're
1:46pretty good.
1:48So if something bad happens to someone
1:50else and maybe we miss it, uh maybe it's
1:55because we're kind of good.
2:00So Jesus is saying those Galileans
2:03that's blood, their blood was mixed with
2:05the sacrifice, I I'll I'll break this
2:07down. He said, "No, you're just like
2:10them except you repent.
2:15you shall perish in a like manner. Now,
2:19that didn't mean they wouldn't die of
2:21cancer, die of some normal cause, maybe
2:24die in their sleep after eating a bowl
2:25of ice cream. The the the bottom line is
2:28death comes to everybody. And in our
2:31limited view of dying, we start
2:34measuring the measure of death by wow,
2:36it took him six days to die or that one
2:39that was a that was a a 10 months dying.
2:42And look at him. He fell over and died
2:44like my Uncle Roy. He just died after he
2:46got a shed clean. I mean, what a way to
2:47go. I'm jealous, Uncle Roy. You know, he
2:50got all of his saddle gear put away and
2:52fell over at the door. Go quick. No.
2:57When you're looking from God's point of
2:59view,
3:02you're looking from a different platform
3:04than men who we get all these measures.
3:07Man, they died after eating a bowl of
3:09ice cream in their sleep. That's what my
3:11wife's uncle did. I I want to do that.
3:13Lord, listen. Our our brother and sister
3:16Pew, brother JT Pew, died and his wife
3:22died the same day.
3:25This wasn't a car accident. This wasn't
3:28self-induced, okay? They literally died
3:31in the same day.
3:33I don't I don't know how to measure that
3:36with my mind. But then Jesus said,
3:42"Or those 18 upon whom the tower of
3:44Salom fell
3:47and slew them,
3:49do you think that they were sinners
3:50above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?"
3:54I tell you, no. Nay, but except ye
4:00repent, ye shall also likewise perish.
4:05Questions Jesus asked. Now, Lord, speak
4:08through me tonight and let this word be
4:10uh penetrating to our hearts. Uh uh
4:13we're not just here, oh Lord, going
4:15through the motions. We are here doing
4:17the business of the eternity,
4:20the business of forever, the business of
4:23the throne room of the divine Jehovah
4:27Gyra. Let this night be one that opens
4:31our spirit
4:32[Music]
4:34to continue to run the race that's set
4:36before us. Not looking to the earth, but
4:39looking unto Jesus, the author and the
4:43finish of our faith in Jesus name. You
4:46may be seated in the name of the Lord.
4:52I have gone through five series in this
4:57lesson process teaching about questions
5:00Jesus asked. And while it doesn't
5:02necessarily
5:04feel like a flow to me other than the
5:06fact that we're using an initial launch
5:10pad by finding questions, Jesus taught
5:13by many questions and there are so many
5:16more than what we could use as a
5:18leverage point. But the first one we
5:20talked about how he used questions to
5:23awaken faith. He labeled faith in
5:28different ways. And he he used faith as
5:32a tool to expose doubt. He literally
5:37said, "Why t ye between two opinions in
5:40one place?" Uh uh he was exposing what
5:44doubt is. It's not that you're afraid.
5:48It's not even that you lack courage.
5:51Doubt is when you're between two
5:54opinions. You won't decide. And that is
5:58uh that place that uh the Bible refers
6:01to as a double-minded man. That you
6:05women get off easy. I'm telling you. I
6:07spoke last night at a synagogue and I
6:10used Job as an illustration um in that
6:14illustration
6:15and I I just had so much fun for just a
6:18moment because Job wrote the book of
6:20Job. I don't know if y'all knew that or
6:22not but uh Job was the first book
6:25written in the Bible and Job gave us
6:28like 40 plus chapters of complaints. And
6:32I I I mentioned I said I I'm so
6:35sometimes it's convicting. A woman
6:37couldn't have written this book because
6:38they don't complain like a man does. And
6:41uh boy those those those people in that
6:44synagogue they appreciated that. In fact
6:46I got a standing ovation when I was
6:48done.
6:51Uh but you know the truth is is it talks
6:55about a double-minded man.
6:59You know, the Bible tells us that a man
7:02has a propensity
7:04to critique.
7:06We women, you can do it, too. My wife is
7:09really good at critiquing me. I love
7:11you, Melanie. Pay attention and get on
7:13your knees when I'm done. She's with her
7:15mother who just had major surgery, so
7:17she went to be with her mom for a few
7:19days. But and then she'll join me in the
7:22morning. She literally leaves Denver at
7:233:00 a.m. in the morning.
7:27Have fun.
7:32Oh Lord, it's terrible when you've been
7:34married 36 years and you just have fun
7:36laughing about tough stuff on your wife.
7:39You know, she's a trooper. I mean, to be
7:41married to me, you got to be, you know,
7:43but she is a she's But you know, here
7:46here's the thing. A double-minded man.
7:48The Bible said, "Oh, that men
7:51would lift up holy hands without
7:58wrath and what?
8:00>> Doubting."
8:02That just nailed all you dudes. That
8:05just nailed every one of you right now
8:08because this is these are two of the
8:11propensities that men have. Brother
8:14Sean, if you're wanting to run the
8:15aisles at any time, it's wide open.
8:18right through there just back and forth.
8:20It's not in the Bible, but that's what
8:22we call Pentecostal. So, you know, uh
8:24anyway, uh and so here here's the thing.
8:28Men have a challenge with wrath. We're
8:32men of authority in a place and we want
8:34to guard our spot. And that's all right.
8:37God made us that way. And if you don't
8:39feel that, get it. Okay? Be a man. Uh
8:42the Bible doesn't The Bible says the
8:43affeminite will not go to heaven. So
8:46that's a man who's acting like a soft
8:48woman and not even a tough woman. The
8:52affeminite will not go to heaven. I
8:54didn't put that in there. That wasn't
8:55convenient for me. It's in there. And if
8:58you don't preach it, you're not
8:59preaching the word. And so I mean, it's
9:02one of those things you got to know and
9:04understand. But here is the two things
9:06that a man has a problem. I keep moving
9:08back, Brother Greg. I don't think it's
9:10this mic anymore because I know that's
9:13where the ring supposedly is coming
9:14from. Uh but it might be. I'm just
9:17keeping moving back because I know
9:19you're working on that ring. Um and so
9:22men have to battle anger, wrath,
9:26defending everything and and and you
9:29know, it's just it shows up at the at
9:32unneeded times. You know, I was driving
9:35brother Carter back the other day and a
9:37car cut me off and And uh you know just
9:41real fast I had to catch myself. He said
9:43brother I understand completely. Go
9:45ahead.
9:48I said you might even get to come back
9:50brother. I mean if you if you understand
9:51that right there I'm not going to get in
9:54a fight. I just want to let them know
9:56that I knew I was in that spot.
9:59come lifting up holy hands without
10:04this is why you men need pre-ervice
10:06prayer
10:07>> because it takes a a little bit of time
10:10to readjust
10:12our attitude sometimes from all the
10:14stuff we've been in through the day
10:17>> so you come lift up holy hands without
10:21wrath
10:22you know the devil hits you on the way
10:23to church especially if you ride to
10:25church with your wife you know
10:28you You know, if you ride to church with
10:31your wife, the enemy will try to get a
10:34little fussy going. And uh I know from
10:37experience. Um so we don't ride to
10:40church together anymore.
10:44That's not true. We do on Sunday
10:46morning. That's the reason I'm really
10:47happy on Sunday mornings. Uh we do most
10:50of the time. Um but you know, without
10:52wrath that takes a minute to do it and
10:55without doubting.
10:57And so the Lord asked questions to get
10:59through doubting. Second week uh was
11:02confronting the shadows of hypocrisy. He
11:06asks questions to get hypocrisy out of
11:08us. The third, the Lord asked questions
11:11of do you know the measure of your
11:14giving? Do you know the value of what
11:17you're handling? He said, do you give
11:20what's holy to dogs? And wasn't that uh
11:24that was a powerful demonstration at the
11:26concert about uh sister Lisa did with
11:29her grand her little granddaughter. I
11:32almost forgot. I thought it was her
11:33daughter for a minute there. But with
11:35her granddaughter about Lord, but the
11:38dogs even get the crumbs. And I'll take
11:41the crumbs was the song that was
11:42recorded. And do you know what you're
11:46handling? And do you know the value of
11:48it? He said, ' Do you throw pearls
11:50before swine?' Well, I don't own a
11:54pearl.
11:56I don't. Me, David, Timothy, I do not
11:59own a pearl. Not right now. I don't own
12:02one pearl. I've never shoed for a pearl.
12:05I don't even know how to shop for a
12:08pearl. I don't know if you grade pearls
12:10A, B, C, or D, or if you grade them one,
12:14two, three, or four. You jewelers out
12:17there may know how to judge a pearl.
12:19Maybe a pearl. I don't even know how to
12:21judge a pearl. But the Bible said that
12:24the kingdom of heaven is like a great
12:27pearl that's worth taking whatever other
12:31pearls you get and trading them in and
12:36trading them all in to get one great
12:41pearl. Now, as you get living for God a
12:43little while, you got that great pearl
12:44and you want to add pearls to it.
12:47And the Lord never said, "Well, you get
12:49that great pearl, then you can have a
12:50lot of other pearls." No, he said the
12:53kingdom is that one great pearl that
12:58took every pearl.
13:01In other words, it's take the whole
13:04world,
13:05give me Jesus.
13:07>> Take all the pearls that I'm able to
13:09accumulate through my life and give me
13:12Jesus because I have to make this
13:15continual assessment. Uh if a child asks
13:18for bread, do you give him a stone?
13:21These seem to be uh simple questions to
13:24answer. If you ask for a fish, do you
13:26give him a serpent? I I need to know the
13:29context of my choices. If he asks for
13:31grapes, do you give them thorn? If
13:33you're looking for figs, do you look
13:35among thistles? Shall the blind lead the
13:39blind? So, he's assessing and giving you
13:42instruments whereby you can tune up your
13:45spirit and get in alignment. These are
13:48not random metaphors. They are they
13:50force us to see the static that exists
13:53between things that are sacred and
13:56things that are profane. And there's
13:59always static.
14:01I said it before and I preached it
14:02several years ago. There are not 50
14:05shades of Pentecost.
14:09There's going to be the saved and the
14:12lost. There won't be the kind of
14:14Pentecostals that get to the first
14:16dimension and then a second dimension
14:18Pentecostal and a third dimension
14:20Pentecostal. No, no, no. It's It's like
14:22the Titanic. They only had two lists.
14:25The saved and the lost. Not race, not
14:29religion, not culture, not citizenship.
14:32Saved and lost.
14:35>> And that's the way it's going to be when
14:36the Lord comes. Two shall be walking in
14:38the field, one taken.
14:42The other left. Two grinding of the
14:45meal. One taken. It didn't say the
14:48culture. It didn't say if they were
14:49wearing the right uh All nations Sunday
14:53outfit. None of that. And I'm not
14:55against these things at all. I'm just
14:57telling you when you narrow things down,
15:00you better pray not like a culture. You
15:03better pray like a hungry, desperate,
15:06child seeking Abba. Father, I need you.
15:12I need every part of you, Lord.
15:18So, there's the assessment of given.
15:19Then the last week was teaching kingdom
15:22culture. And this was uh talking about
15:25how in the middle of all our things, we
15:28we are not of this world. We've got to
15:30reformat
15:32the way we think. This is why Bible
15:35study is so critical. If all you do is
15:38come to church on Sunday and get a bless
15:39me kind of message, and there's nothing
15:41wrong with that. We all want to bless
15:43me. But if you don't learn how this
15:44kingdom thinks and talks and walks and
15:47eats and fellowships and marries and
15:51befriends the world and evangelizes the
15:54world and has in the world, but not of
15:57the world,
15:59all those kingdom culture things.
16:02Repentance resets us and the new birth
16:05transforms us. And now it's not just
16:07that the church is in the world, but the
16:10whole world is the field for the church.
16:14Everything is a story of seeds and soils
16:17and wheat and tears and fish of every
16:20kind that's pulled into the great net.
16:22and the good are kept and the bad are
16:25thrown out and pearls and then the great
16:28pearls. So you see this kingdom culture
16:31in the world not of the world in it not
16:36of it. And our lesson tonight is the
16:39priorities of mercy. And this is a
16:42stunning uh thing to me. The Lord is
16:46teaching us what are appropriate
16:49measures
16:50to judge ourselves. What is appropriate
16:53measures? Matthew fi 9:15, the Lord
16:57asked and they came to him and asked,
16:59"How can the guest of the bridegroom
17:03fast
17:05while he is with them?" And the Lord
17:08said,
17:10"My disciples will fast."
17:13But and he's the one who said these
17:15things. They said, "Why? Why don't your
17:16disciples fast? The disciples of John
17:19fast? Why do yours not fast?" And this
17:23shows you that there wasn't some law and
17:26rule of you got to do this every day or
17:29you won't be saved
17:31because here's Jesus sanctioning his
17:33disciples, not fasting.
17:36I mean, he's there three and a half
17:38years. Are you saying that these guys
17:39got out of fasting for three and a half
17:41years?
17:42I don't know. I don't know if they got
17:44out of it for that fasting that long,
17:46but the Lord does essentially admit
17:49while we're here, we are eating.
17:53We are having fish dinners.
17:56We are breaking bread. I'm eating with
17:58sinners while the bridegroom is here.
18:02They will fast. He said they will fast
18:05when the bridegroom is gone. He was
18:08already admitting that you and I will
18:10fast. But there's a there's a time that
18:13it's not appropriate to fast. Should you
18:16fast when it's a wedding time? You know
18:19those people that really want to ever be
18:20real spiritual? They go to a wedding
18:22party and fast. No, it's a wedding. Come
18:25on.
18:28Get on the Jesus train. Get off the
18:31Pharisees train that's always trying to
18:33show how spiritual you are.
18:36the the disciples were picking corn on
18:38the Sabbath and they thought, "My
18:40goodness, they they've broken some major
18:43law. It's they're breaking the Sabbath
18:45law." And Jesus asked,
18:48"Was man made for the Sabbath
18:53or was the Sabbath made for man?"
18:57You better pour. You better make two
18:59pots of coffee for that one.
19:02>> Because when you sit down with that
19:04around some apostolics I've known, they
19:07would have us going right back to this
19:10march and march and march and always be
19:13uptight because I might bust hell wide
19:17open. And I want to tell you, you need
19:20to understand the balance of Jesus. He's
19:24not devaluing fasting. He's not
19:27devaluing the Sabbath. He's just saying
19:29in the measure of things, I have come to
19:32seek and to save men, the lost, lost
19:38souls.
19:40And in that process, you've got to get
19:42the priorities of mercy. Luke 22:27,
19:45whether it's greater, he asked this
19:46question, whether it's greater, who is
19:49greater, he that siteth at meat or he
19:52that serveth? I mean, that's a big
19:54question. If I I I took brother Carter
19:57to Tropical Acres, brother and sister,
19:59I'm telling you, y'all have opened up a
20:02problem here. Brother and sister
20:03Garfinkle introduced me to Tropical
20:04Acres. And some of y'all don't know what
20:06Tropical Acres is. It's one of the old
20:10original gangster steakhouse places in
20:13Florida and it's amazing. They're prime
20:15ribs. Fantastic. And I I'd only go when
20:18I've got guests in town, but I filled my
20:20card all the way up. My next one, I
20:22think I get free or something. I don't
20:23know. But here's here's the my point. My
20:27point is that here we're dealing with
20:31the chance to sit at meet
20:35or serve.
20:41You got to wrestle with that for a
20:42minute because you think the advanced
20:44soul would be the one that is finally
20:46sitting at meat.
20:48And the Lord is wanting you to know the
20:51greater is he that serves. Now that
20:54turns everything upside down, doesn't
20:56it?
20:58And then here here he asked a question
21:00about the man who fell among the
21:01thieves. And he told the story of the
21:04scribe and the rabbi that passed by.
21:07And he told of a Samaritan
21:10that picked him up.
21:12And he this was his answer to who is my
21:17neighbor?
21:19Who's my neighbor?
21:21Well, one guy had all these credentials
21:23to be a rabbi. One guy had all the
21:25credentials to be a scribe. And one guy
21:27had all the credentials to be laughed at
21:29by all the Jews. A Samaritan.
21:33A Samaritan. Now, you don't know what
21:36that means. Even if you've heard it
21:38taught, you don't know what it means to
21:41say Samaritan from the view of the
21:44prejudice that existed in that nation.
21:48I'm telling you, prejudice is everywhere
21:49and it's always going to be here until
21:51the rapture. So you're when you run into
21:54it, don't act surprised.
21:58Don't have a reaction. Have an action.
22:02Let there be something in you that says,
22:04"Oh, when I said prejudice again, I'm
22:06not surprised. Messiah hasn't come yet.
22:10It's just you're not going to pull uh uh
22:12me out of a holy response as opposed to
22:15a fleshly response.
22:18These questions emphasize love and
22:21forgiveness and care and it all provoked
22:25to good works by stirring up compassion
22:28and and here in our text is one of the
22:30most significant
22:33scriptures which tells us that Jesus
22:36paid attention
22:38to the news.
22:41You didn't know he liked the paper, did
22:43you?
22:45You had no clue that Jesus appreciated
22:48the news feed.
22:51Jesus
22:52understood the headlines.
22:55He's taken this entire Texas. There were
22:58present of that season some who told him
23:00about the Galileans. Now, you got to
23:01imagine walking up to Jesus. How do you
23:03small talk with Jesus?
23:06What's up, dude?
23:08Hey, my man. Like this bump. Yeah.
23:13Or or or maybe maybe you walk up say,
23:15"Good day, sir." I don't I don't know
23:18how you you're with him everywhere you
23:21go. I'm telling you, I I'd be shoulder
23:23bumping with him. I'm telling you, I
23:25don't know what it would be like, but I
23:27just think he's the funnest is that a
23:29word? The most fun guy in the whole
23:31world. I think when that group had the
23:34most joy of any group ever in the whole
23:37world, these disciples and Jesus is
23:40there and they tell him, "Hey, did you
23:45hear what Pilate did the other day?"
23:48Now, he could have automatically got
23:50super spiritual. I mean he how could I
23:53tell you how I have caused
23:57the moon to continually swing at such a
23:59degree around the earth to provide light
24:03at night? No, he's sitting there and is
24:07interested.
24:08Pilate, if you know historically about
24:11Pilate or if you know anything about
24:14history, we live in the best time to
24:16ever live in the history of the world
24:17right now. The most nonbarbaric
24:21time the world has ever known is right
24:24now.
24:26And there's still barbarism on the
24:28earth. But comparatively, this is a very
24:32tame world we live on. Pilate, he would
24:36walk in and he killed people just almost
24:39for no reasons. If you go to where his
24:42house overlooks uh Petra, I think that's
24:46it. Is that known? Messada. His his
24:48Msada is the place where they all died.
24:50But that was a house of Herod. That was
24:52I mean, yeah, it was Herod, not Pilate.
24:55But Pilate was the governor from Rome.
24:57And Pilate was a a man that was very
25:00cruel in his keeping control of the
25:03Jews. And so apparently what had
25:05occurred uh was that there were some
25:07Jews that were making sacrifices in the
25:09holy place. and tamp down another
25:12rebellion, Pilate sent his soldiers into
25:17the place of sacrifice.
25:20And while these Jews were making
25:23sacrifice,
25:24he killed them to where the blood of the
25:27sacrifice had human blood mixed in. Now,
25:32if that happened, just like them
25:34rounding up these Holy Ghost, these are
25:35tongue-talking Chinese uh pastors that
25:38they're rounding up right now, the house
25:39church pastors, they do talk in tongues.
25:41It's the group, the Mount Zion uh group
25:44that's there. Uh that that group,
25:46they're Holy Ghost people
25:49and they're r this bothers me to know
25:53that some of my brothers are in jail
25:55tonight. And not American jail.
25:59Okay. little different kind of jails in
26:01this world if you don't know.
26:04Americans the best of the batch.
26:07All right, we have some bad ones, but
26:10you ain't seen a jail yet until you've
26:12been around the world. Okay, so there's
26:16these they're in jail and this bothers
26:18me right now. It bothers me. I've
26:20mentioned it. Well, it was enough to
26:23imagine how bothered Jesus would be when
26:26he heard
26:28Pilate has murdered people while they're
26:31making a holy sacrifice unto the Lord
26:35God. Jehovah
26:38bro
26:40I
26:41if one of my pastor buddies or if one of
26:43members of another church gets killed
26:46while praying, I don't know what I'm
26:48going to do.
26:50I don't want to have to I don't want to
26:51have to think about it, but it's going
26:53to be hard for me to respond like Jesus
26:55did.
26:57Jesus wasn't like the zealots who were
26:59constantly saying, "Well, let's go fight
27:00him." No, he said, "Uh, so you think
27:03that's bad?"
27:09Yes, it's bad.
27:12It's almost unheard of.
27:16What are you talking about, sir?
27:20You might be able to walk on water,
27:23but what do you think you're talking
27:25about?
27:26They were killed while sacrificing.
27:29And the Lord level sets the attitude of
27:32our flesh.
27:34And he said,
27:37"Except you repent,
27:40you shall likewise perish.
27:43You better pour five pots of coffee on
27:45that one
27:47because it doesn't seem to square. And
27:50Jesus isn't done. He said, "Let's move
27:53to something that seems to be bad luck."
27:57You hear about that tower at Salom that
28:00fell and 18 people couldn't get out of
28:03the way. Or maybe they were up on top
28:06when it went over. I don't know exactly
28:07how it happened, but 18 people died when
28:11a tower of Salom, which is in Jerusalem,
28:14fell down.
28:17And Jesus said,
28:20"So you think those men had it worse
28:22than you? Except you repent,
28:26you shall likewise perish."
28:31Repentance is the word the Lord was
28:33trying to drill into his church.
28:37It's the forgotten word of this
28:38generation.
28:40969 times it's in the Bible. The news he
28:43told of had terror. It had death by
28:46chance. It had death by governmental
28:49oppression. Those three things alone are
28:52enough to deal with. But he said not
28:55terror, not governmental oppression, nor
28:59death by bad luck. And I don't even
29:02believe in luck. Whatever. Amen.
29:05>> In fact, the Bible says Ecclesiastes
29:079:11, "Time and chance happenth to them
29:10all." Some are going to die by car
29:12accident. It's not the judgment of God.
29:15Some are going to die because a tower
29:16falls on them. It's not the judgment of
29:18God necessarily. Some are going to die
29:20because the government that there's self
29:23fire, friendly fire.
29:25Can you imagine being in a war and
29:27getting shot by your own side?
29:30It's terrible.
29:32It happens.
29:34And the Lord said, "If that happened to
29:36you, except you repent,
29:42what he's trying to do is give by
29:43questions appropriate measures of how to
29:48live for the Lord." The first sermon
29:50Jesus preached from that time Jesus
29:52began to preach and to say, "Repent
29:55for the kingdom of he heaven is at
29:57hand." The last message Jesus preached
30:00wasn't, "Go ye into the whole world."
30:03No, that's we know the message he
30:05preached before he ascended. The last
30:07message scripturally that Jesus preached
30:09is given to us in the book of
30:10Revelations. Revelations 3:19. As many
30:14as I love, I rebuke and chasen, be
30:18zealous therefore
30:21and
30:26oh cathedral,
30:28I pastor a bunch of really good people.
30:31Some of you all are amazing.
30:34When we get to heaven, I'm going to be
30:36so happy that I know you. I want an
30:39autograph.
30:41I want you to give me an autograph when
30:43we get to heaven. You're going to have
30:45all kinds of waiting lines for people to
30:47come up and hear your story because
30:50there's some amazing people in this
30:52church.
30:54Many of them do not want me to even talk
30:56about them, but I get to watch them, not
31:00in the spotlight, give and go and do and
31:04pray and reach and go and pray and reach
31:06and do and never hardly get any
31:10limelight.
31:11But it doesn't matter if you're the top
31:13of the good
31:15or at the bottom of the bad,
31:18you better get acquainted with
31:20repentance.
31:23Some may not think repentance is
31:25important, but those in hell do.
31:28The rich man was in hell and he said,
31:29"Go tell my brothers not to come to this
31:32place."
31:34And the angel of the Lord spoke back to
31:36him. It was presented as Abraham who
31:38said, "Though one went to them from the
31:42dead,
31:44they would not
31:46repent."
31:49Judas repented,
31:51but he didn't change. Repentance is not
31:54just conviction.
31:56Repentance is not just confession.
31:59Repentance is change.
32:03Just because you know you're in sin,
32:05it's not enough. Just because you're
32:08convicted of that sin, it's not enough.
32:11Repentance is the from the Greek word
32:13metaninoia which means not only changing
32:16mind and changing heart but turning to
32:20the Lord.
32:22Repentance. The word repentance is never
32:25mentioned in the gospel of John. Imagine
32:27that. Not one time will you find the
32:30word repentance in the gospel of John.
32:32But over and over and over John says
32:36follow him.
32:38Follow the Lord. All these things were
32:41written that ye might believe and by
32:44believing you would have life
32:47everlasting.
32:49The faith of the devils are they tremble
32:51and they believe
32:53but of course they would not change.
32:57I want this church
33:00be a church of repentance.
33:04Shall we stand together?
33:06God bless you. Take a little time and
33:08talk to the Lord tonight, will you
33:10please? Thank you, Jesus. Master, I love
33:14you. Master, I I hunger for you. Master,
33:18I thirst for you.