 So before the break, we looked at 2 Corinthians chapter 7 verses 9 to 10 which talk about Godly sorrow. Now we can understand repentance better, this whole concept of repentance. We are able to understand it better when we understand the difference between Godly sorrow and worldly sorrow. Because people who are displaying worldly sorrow are not actually repentant. So we are able to better understand repentance once we understand the actual difference between Godly sorrow and worldly sorrow. We will begin by looking at an example of worldly sorrow, someone who expressed worldly sorrow rather than Godly sorrow. So if we could have someone read out for us, 1 Samuel chapter 15 verses 27 to 31, 1 Samuel 15, 27 to 31 please. Well I hope people have come back from the break and rejoined at least a few. If we have at least one listener who is actually there in the class, could you please read out 1 Samuel chapter 15 verses 27 to 31. You know there is just one student who has joined the class, could you please now read out 1 Samuel chapter 15 verses 27 to 31. 1 Samuel chapter 15 verses 27 to 31, 1 Samuel chapter 15 verses 27 to 31, 1 Samuel chapter 15 verses 27 to 31. Yes. And as Samuel turned around to go away, so sees the age of his robe and it tore. So Samuel said to him, the Lord has turned the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to the neighbor of yours who is better than you. And also the strength of Israel will not lie nor relent for he is not a man that he should relent. Then he said, I have sinned yet honor me now please before the elders of my people and before Israel and return with me that I may worship the Lord your God. So Samuel turned back after so and so worship the Lord. Okay so here we have Saul who admits that he has sinned. Okay so he does not try to make up any more excuses. You know he realizes that what he has done is sinful. So we have Saul admitting that he has committed a sin. But when he desperately reaches out to Samuel and catches hold of his garment, it's not out of a desperation that he's losing Yahweh or that he's going to be deprived of Yahweh's presence. You know brother Collins, you know if you could just mute yourself because it's kind of creating static at my end. Yes, thank you so much. So when he reaches out desperately and catches hold of the robe, it's not because you know he's terrified that he's going to be losing Yahweh or losing his approval. He catches hold because he wants to say yes it's true that I have sinned but you know all the people are watching and I'm going to lose face in front of them if you just walk away. Then people will look down on me. So come back along with me and then you know we will go and worship the Lord. So this man is not worshiping the Lord to worship the Lord. He is going and worshiping the Lord so that you know to maintain the ceremonies, to maintain his status you know to kind of continue showing people that he is still the king and he's doing a cover-up job. So there is a lot of sorrow over here but the sorrow is over the loss of face you know which is going to happen now. It's sorrow over losing the kingdom. It is sorrow over you know being deprived of God's approval where because God you know he had God's approval up to now. Things were going really well for him but now God is no longer going to be on his side backing him up. So in that sense you know there's sorrow about that. So if you look at worldly sorrow it's all about me, me, me. I'm losing out on this. Oh I'm going to be deprived of this. Oh I think I'm going to get punished by God now. Oh my goodness how terrible. It's all me, me, me. Worldly sorrow is me feeling really sorry for myself and I think worldly sorrow is all about feeling really bad that I got caught. Oh I wish I had not got caught. You know I wish my sin had not been exposed. So worldly sorrow it's all about you know feeling really bad that this person that I'm worshipping me whom I have been worshipping is now going to get a real blow. So worldly sorrow is all about me. On the other hand we look at an example of godly sorrow and how you know David responds when he is corrected by a different prophet. So Saul gets corrected by Samuel. David on the other hand gets corrected by Nathan and after Nathan has you know corrected David. This is David's response which we see recorded in Psalm 51 and if someone could read out Psalm 51 verses 10 to 12. Psalm 51, 10 to 12. Maybe the other students have not yet joined in. Brother Collins if you could repeat. Psalm 51, 10, 10 to 51. I need the faster. Oh yeah, 51, 10 to 12 please. Thank you. Create in me a clean heart or good and renew the steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence and do not take your whole spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and uphold me by your generous spirit. Amen. I know that should be enough. Thank you. So here David is saying do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Is it for him? Yeah, if you, yes it's muted. Thank you. So here we see that you know David is saying for him the main concern is that you know he'll in some way lose out on God's presence. He has always loved the Lord from a young age. He's always you know put God first in his life and now after this terrible sin that he has done. He is so worried that he will lose God. And so he says do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. You know he says you know instead why don't you work on me? Why don't you clean me up? You know so he says create in me a pure heart of God. You renew a steadfast spirit because my spirit you know my human spirit is always wandering away from you. But Lord if you could make it steadfast so that it really loves you so that it really honors you. And you know he says restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit because on my own I'm not able to follow your laws. But if you will give me a willing spirit you know that will sustain me. That will help me to continue in your presence. So here Godly sorrow is feeling ashamed of what you have done to the Lord. You have betrayed his trust. You have dishonored him. You know that's why he says in the earlier verse you know he says against you and you alone have I sinned O Lord. So he is ashamed that he dishonored God. He is deeply regretful that you know he brought that he brought a bad name you know to Yahweh being the king. He behaved in this way and so he kind of brought a bad name to Yahweh in front of all the nations. He's so deeply ashamed of what he has done. So here the sorrow is all God focused and he's saying you clean me up Lord you change me because then I'll be able to honor you. You put a steadfast spirit within me and you grant me a willing spirit he says you know so it's all God focused. So if my repentance is all about you know me having lost certain privileges because I got caught in sin and now I will have to you know and now I'll have to straighten out my act and I'm feeling really bad that you know now I have to give up so many things just to honor God and I'm feeling really miserable that is worldly sorrow it's all me focused. On the other hand godly sorrow is acknowledgement that Lord what I have done is sin in your eyes. You have trusted me all along you have been so loving and compassionate and how have I repaid you? I have done this horrible thing. So you know you're ashamed and you're hurt you're wounded that you did something so miserable to someone so beautiful you know and you think how could I do something so wretched to someone who has shown me nothing but love and compassion and you know you're so regretful for that and so you cry out and say Lord you please change me. I'm so rotten I can never change on my own but I really long to honor you. I really long to be different so you Lord help me and you come to a point where you say Lord whatever I need to give up to straighten myself out Lord I'm willing to give up that whatever needs to be cut off Lord I'm willing to cut it off cut it out of my life. You know that would be true repentance. So if a person has got godly sorrow in their heart that genuinely leads to true repentance. On the other hand if all we are feeling is worldly sorrow then there's no actual repentance involved over there. So and the second thing that we need to you know understand an equally important teaching about godly sorrow and worldly sorrow is regarding our response you know when we realize that what we have done is sinful and we feel a deep conviction regarding the sinful thing that we have done. How do we respond to that deep conviction that is very very important as well. So we will look at you know Judas you know and the worldly sorrow which he expressed. Matthew chapter 27 verses 3 to 5. So if someone could read out for us Matthew 27 3 to 5. Matthew chapter 27 verse 3 to 5. And then Judas his betrayers seeing that he had been condemned was removed and brought back the 30 pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders saying I have sinned by betraying innocent blood and they said what is that to us you see to it. Then he drew down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed and went and hanged himself with the chief priest. That should be all right that should be enough. Here we see that Judas is genuinely really sorry for what he has done. When he saw that Jesus was condemned he was seized with remorse and returned the 30 pieces of silver. This whole thing that he you know indulged in was for the sake of that 30 pieces he was greedy for that for those 30 pieces. Now he is so deeply regretful he doesn't even care about those 30 pieces. So he goes back and he gives it back to those people and he says I don't want this anymore. What I have done is really horrible really sinful you know if he could have changed it he would have changed it. He is genuinely deeply remorseful deeply regretful for what he has done and so he tries to return the money you know he no longer has a desire for it. He is no longer greedy for it. He is cured of his lust for wealth you know and he says I have sinned for I have betrayed innocent blood. And then they say that's your responsibility so we don't want the money you know they say. But he doesn't want the money he doesn't want to take it back so he actually just throws it on the floor and he leaves. But one thing about him is that he has given up all hope this only dark despair and that causes him to go and hang himself. So that is worldly sorrow where you have completely lost hope in God where you think it's over it's finished. Now there is no redemption for me there is no hope for me and that is actually a very very sad thing. It's a huge lie of the evil one and you know Judas falls prey to that lie. He believes what Satan is saying to him in his heart that now he is beyond all hope because Jesus when he came he came for the forgiveness of all sins. Every kind of sin that a person could possibly commit. The only sin in fact that leads to judgment is sins in which there is no repentance and there is no turning around. And of course sins where people who have tasted of the Holy Spirit choose to go back and say I have tasted of the things of God and I don't want them anymore. So only in those two extreme cases you have sin leading to judgment and death. But here this man he believes the lie of the evil one that he is beyond hope and so he goes and hangs himself. So one thing very very vital to remember when you are feeling crushed by what you have done, when you probably being in a godly person with godly values have fallen so low, have fallen so horribly, have you know disgraced yourself, disgraced your family, disgraced your church. What you have done is abominable, it's miserable, it's terrible. At such a time you know you need to believe the truth in the word of God when it says that if you come to God, God will forgive and God will purify you from your unrighteousness and God will rebuild your life. You need to believe the truth more than anything at that point, at that lowest point of your life where you have shamed yourself, shamed the Lord's name and you know you've made something really done something terrible. At that time it is important to remember that God's truth is God's truth. Bow to that, submit to that, grab on to it, hold on to it. Because the truth is that Jesus Christ came to forgive people and give them a second chance, okay, a hundredth chance, whatever. You know, he is willing to give that. So rather than believing in the lie of Satan and giving up hope, we choose to believe what the Bible says. We choose to believe that if we go to God humbly and confess our sins, he will forgive and he will purify us from all unrighteousness. It's something that God will do for us because he has no interest in destroying us. In fact, it would bring him great joy to restore even such a person and bring them to a place where they have close union with God once more. That would bring great joy to his heart. So that is the kind of God that we serve. So we should never allow sorrow and regret and remorse for our sins to make us take our eyes away from the truth of Scripture which says that anyone who goes back to God will be forgiven. Never ever forget the truth that is there in God's word. So let Godly sorrow lead us to repentance and restoration. It is worldly sorrow which leads us to complete despair where we think that the only solution is killing ourselves. Or just going back into the world and just living in the world because now there is no hope. God doesn't want you anymore. All those are our negative, evil, Satanic ways of responding to the sorrow that we feel over sin. So rather we should have a Godly sorrow where we commit ourselves into the Lord's hands and say, Yes, Lord, I am coming to you because I believe that you will still forgive me, that you will still restore me. We have another example of sorrow. I am not sure to what extent this would pertain to everyone. But I just wanted to touch upon this because there are people who kind of experience this. We do something really terrible, really sinful and the consequences of that are very great. Not only are we affected, family members are affected, the church members who looked up to us and trusted us, they too are shaken and hurt and all of that. And at that time, there are some consequences which cannot be reversed. And at that time, how do we just submit ourselves under God's hand? So I think there is some relevance and maybe we could touch upon that. So maybe we can look at 2 Samuel chapter 12 verses 15 to 23. 2 Samuel 12, 15 to 23, if someone could... Yeah, and it's a rather large chunk. Maybe we can have... Okay, maybe we can read out 2 Samuel 12, 15 to 17. Yeah, 15 to 17, if someone could read out. 2 Samuel chapter 12 was 15 to 17. Then Nathan departed to his house and the Lord struck the child that years why he bore to David. And it became David therefore treated with God for the child and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. So the elders of his house arose and went to him to raise him up from the ground. But he would not, nor did he eat food with them. Okay, so David has done something very sinful. He has confessed his sin. He reaches out to God and says, Lord, I do not want to lose your presence. Change me, help me, is cried out for all of that. But there are consequences. And now God has stricken that little baby that has been born with some sickness and the child is now dying. And David, because he has understood the heart of God all his life and knows how merciful God is, how gracious the Lord is. Even now David is hoping that maybe God will know, will relent and allow the child to live. And so he literally fasts like he's probably never fasted in his life. And he's just lying there, prostrate on the ground. They say, at least get up and sit up. He says, no, I'm just going to keep lying over here. I want to humble myself before God and really admit that what I have done is so terrible. And if the Lord can just have mercy upon the child and spare him. So that is his whole attitude in this situation. And then of course on the seventh day we get to know that the child dies. And it says over there in verse 18, it says, David's attendants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead. Because for seven days David had probably not eaten anything. Probably just had been living on water and maybe they might have given him some fruit juice or something. And he's just survived in that manner. And he's in a really terrible condition. So they are scared. What will he do when he gets to know that the child is actually dead and that God did not answer his prayer? What will his response be? And in fact it's clarified over there at the end of verse 18. The way it says, they say he may do something desperate. What if he tries to commit suicide? What if he tries to die? Because he's not able to bear the pain of God saying no to his prayer request. And then it says in verse 19, when David sees them whispering among themselves, he realizes what has happened. And he understands the child is dead. And then we look at the correct response to what God has done. Verse 20, what a beautiful verse. If someone could read out, 2 Samuel 12 verse 20. 2 Samuel 12 verse 20. So David arose from the ground, washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes. And he went into the house of the Lord and worshipped. Then he went to his own house and when he requested, they said food before him and he ate. Okay, so here David doesn't go into the temple of the Lord wearing sackcloth in his terrible condition. Because for seven days he's just been lying over there in God's presence, hoping that God will change something. So now when he actually goes into the temple, he does it in an honorable way. He cleans himself up, he washes himself, he puts on lotions, all the things which a king would put on. So he changes his clothes. And so in all dressed up and looking good, he goes into God's presence to honor the Lord. And it says over there, he went into the house of the Lord and he worshipped. Okay, so he worships God, he submits to what God has done. And then he returns back home and he gives up his attitude of mourning and he chooses to eat food. And the people are very surprised to say, why are you acting this way? Because when the child was alive, you were fasting. Now here you are, you hear that the child is dead, but here you are eating and you put on lotions and perfumes and all of that. And so he just says, I did all that because I thought maybe the Lord would have mercy and saved the child. But now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting? His whole attitude is, Lord, you have your way. Okay, so while he still had hope, he did what he could from his side. He really fasted, he really prayed. He hoped that God would spare him the consequences of the terrible sin that he had done. But then once God gave his final decision, he so beautifully submitted to God's final decision. No more sulking, no more mourning. Of course, in his heart, the pain would have gone on. I mean, who knows, for months or maybe a year, he would have continued to feel the pain in his heart, but he chooses not to dwell on that. He has chosen to honor God by accepting God's decision and saying, okay, Lord, let your will be done. You have your way. And so he doesn't allow his sorrow to turn into a worldly sorrow. There is grief that he feels for his child. There is pain that he is feeling. That is there. It's genuine. But he doesn't allow that to fester and turn into a worldly sorrow where your sorrow and pain is the only thing and you feel that God has betrayed you and that God does not care about you anymore. It has not grown into all of those negative things because that's one thing which can happen when a person sins and they have done something very terrible and the consequences are very great and you cry out to God because you have heard sermon after sermon about how merciful the Lord is and you are hoping that God will just wave a magic wand and make all the bad side effects of your sin go away and in cases where it does not happen, you have to accept Godly attitude and submit to him and say, Lord, let your will be done and you need to lay aside your mourning. You need to lay aside the pain that you feel and say, yes, it is true in my heart and I will probably go on feeling pain for a while longer but I am willing to get healed. I am willing to let you work in me and start putting your joy inside me once again. I am not going to sit in the corner and go on longing for what I had before. No, that would be a very very wrong attitude and so here we see this man who submits himself to God he in fact honors God by wearing perfumes and going into his presence and not going over there in sackcloth in one desperate state but rather as of declaring and saying, I know that I still have a future in you. I still know that I have a hope in you. I still know that you are for me. I still believe that you will build me up. So you see it's got none of the Judas story over here. Judas just gave up complete despair and that's worldly sorrow. David does not give up even though what he had longed for did not happen. He continues to believe in God. He continues to trust God and honors him with the right attitude and that is so important when we are talking about repentance we choose to submit to the Lord and say, Okay, Lord, this is your way of dealing with what I have done with the sin that I have done. So be it Lord. You know, I choose to accept because I know that ultimately you want to build me up. Not crush me. That is one basic truth. God always wants to build us up. He of course wants to correct us. He wants to discipline us. He will in fact allow us to go through painful things that till we learn our lesson. He will do all of that, but it's always with the goal of building us up never ever to destroy us or crush us. And David understood this and he honored God by accepting this and going to God in an honorable manner and saying, Yes, Lord, I worship you because I know that you will do what is best for me. He did not lose hope. It's very, very important that we must not lose hope in the Lord after we have sinned and gone away. So true repentance will continue to retain hope in God. So that which is why when Jesus comes to Peter at the very end of the Gospel of John and Jesus says, feed my lambs, take care of my sheep. When Jesus says those things, Peter's not sitting over there and saying, I'm done. I'm finished. Where on earth will you be able to use me? What feeding of lambs will I do? I'm pathetic. Doesn't go on like that. He says, Yes, Lord, I will do it. You see, he totally believes that God is a God of restoration and he believes that God is willing to use him once again, build him up once again. He approaches God so positively believing in who God is and believing in his character. That is Godly sorrow. On the other hand, if you had sat over there by the fire saying, Oh, where will I ever change? How on earth will I ever feed lambs? You know what I am. You know what I did. No, that is satanic worldly sorrow and Peter does not display that. So we must never ever lose hope in our God when these things happen. And in fact, that's what we see in 2 Timothy chapter 2 24 to 26. Okay, someone could read out 2 Timothy chapter 2 24 to 26, please. 2 Timothy chapter 2 verse 24 to 26. And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all able to teach patient in humility, correcting those who are in opposition. If God perhaps will grant them repentance so that they may know the truth they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil having been taken captive by him to do his will. So you see, genuine repentance always involves knowing the truth. Genuine repentance helps you to come to your senses, realize the truth and escape from the trap of the devil. So for Judas, you know, he believed in the lie of Satan. He was trapped by Satan and, you know, he went and committed suicide. On the other hand, when you have, you know, godly sorrow, which leads to genuine repentance, genuine repentance always involves a knowledge of the truth. You understand the truth of God's word and you hold on to that and you don't allow Satan to trap you. Okay, so we choose to think, okay, so when we sinned we fell away. Okay, we fell away. We betrayed God's trust. We did all of that. But now we get back on our feet and we say, I will now come back to the scriptures and hold on to the scriptures. I will align my mind with what the scripture says. Rather than thinking what Satan is saying, I choose to align my mind with the word of God because the word of God is truth. And rather than believing falsehood, I choose to believe what the truth of God's word says. So an important aspect of repentance is we choose to start realigning ourselves even after having fallen away. Now we have, you know, repented. We have asked the Lord for forgiveness. He has forgiven. And now we get back to realigning ourselves once more with God's word, thinking the way God wants us to think. Thinking in line with scripture. Okay, and so this is a very important aspect of repentance where we choose to believe in the word of God, in the truth of God's word, rather than in the lies that have been, that are being told to us. So maybe another one aspect of repentance that we can talk about is, I think maybe one of the most important things that we can talk about repentance is about doing it quickly. The quicker you are, the more quickly you come back to the Lord and submit the safer you and I would be. You know, so the more we delay, the more we hesitate to come back to God, the more we think, ah, okay, maybe I'll sin for a few more days and then I will go back to God or if we say, my goodness, after the terrible thing that I've done, how do I show my face to the Lord? What words do I use? How can I even go approach him after what I did? So whether it is, you know, that love for sin which is causing us to delay or whether it is this deep sense of shame that is making us delay, it is dangerous to delay. The faster you can come back to the Lord, the more quickly you are now under the shelter of His wings and there He will protect you, there He will rebuild you. The longer you're out there, greater the chances that Satan will meddle with your mind and, you know, cause all kinds of wrong attitudes to come into your heart and then you will find it more difficult to come back to God. So quick responses I think are like really vital, really important. So there's this passage, you know, which kind of talks about that. Matthew chapter 13 verses 10 to 17, which is like a large chunk. Maybe we can just quickly go through it. Matthew 13 verses 10 to 17. Okay, so the disciples basically come to Jesus and they say, why do you, okay, the reason that we are kind of covering this particular passage is because it's there in your notes and also there's some very important learning regarding repentance that, you know, that can come out of this. So which is why we are kind of, you know, taking the time to dwell upon this. I think we will not really be able to finish our repentance teaching today itself. It's all right. You know, whatever is left over, we'll, you know, cover it in the next class and then we will get into the, you know, overcoming life. But I think these are basic important things that we need to reflect upon because these all are very practical in nature. So, you know, let's do this. I mean, let's do it how much of a time it may take. So Matthew 13, 10 to 17, the disciples come to Jesus and they ask, why do you speak to the people in parables? Because you know, it's little, the myth that we have today is that Jesus used parables to make it very, very simple for the people to understand. But that's not the fact, right? I mean, if you look in the Gospels, you realize that whenever Jesus spoke in parables, the people didn't quite catch what Jesus was saying. Only some people, the ones who genuinely were open in their hearts, the Holy Spirit would reveal the truth to them, okay? Or if they have not caught it directly from the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ would arrange to either explain directly to them or one of his disciples would later go to the people and explain the essence of what he had actually been saying. So, in fact, Jesus used parables to hide valuable truths from all the people who are just there for the fun of it. They are there for the drama to watch the miracles and watch the fun that's going on. They're not really serious about the things of God. And Jesus regards the truths that he is speaking as valuable pearls. He's not going to throw his pearls in front of pigs. Because what do the pigs do? The pigs will just trample it because they don't even realize the value of what they are trampling. So, Jesus is very, very careful that he reveals his pearls to only those who are willing to catch it, who are willing to appreciate its value. And so, Jesus says, the reason I speak in parables and the reason I don't speak openly is because the knowledge of the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven has been given only to certain people. He later on goes on to clarify what he means by that. He says in verse 12, Matthew 13, verse 12, whoever has will be given more and they will have an abundance who does not have even what they have will be taken from them. And then he goes on to say, this is what was actually explained even in the Old Testament, he says. So, he talks about in verse 15, he says, this people's heart has become calloused. They hardly hear with their ears and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise, they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn and I would heal them. But blessed are your eyes because they see and your ears because they hear. So, the people have chosen to close their eyes. They have chosen to close their ears. They don't really want to know the truth. They just want to watch the fun of the miracles and the drama of it all and to go back home and say, this is what I saw. They're not really interested in repenting. They are not interested in changing their ways. They are not interested in submitting to what God is saying and genuinely turning away from their sinful ways. They are not interested in those things. Their hearts have become calloused. They have become hard hearted because if they genuinely wanted to understand, Jesus says, such people, they would turn around and I would heal them. But those people, they don't have that attitude. But on the other hand, he says to his disciples in Matthew 13, 16, he says, blessed are your eyes because they see and your ears because they hear. And then he goes on to say in verse 17, truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it and to hear what you hear but did not hear it. So Jesus is saying, what I'm giving to you are valuable pearls, very, very precious. The prophets in the Old Testament and the righteous people who lived back then were longing for such things but they didn't receive it. You guys are being given that. So a very, very great privilege is being bestowed upon them and so he says, it's specifically to you people that I'm revealing these things because you are open to receive what I'm saying. You're eager to act upon what I'm teaching you. It's like, you know, you're hungry and the minute I say something, it's like you're willing to grab it, accept it, act upon it and start implementing it in your life. So when Jesus sees that eagerness in a person, it makes him want to give more and more to that person. On the other hand, if we have this casual attitude and say, yeah, I know what's such a lovely message that I heard over there in the church and yeah, my heart felt touched. But yeah, when I'm on time permits, I'll get around to it. I know I'm supposed to make some changes. Yeah, when I have the time, I'll do that. You're not valuing what is being given to you. It says over here, whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. Very, very serious words spoken by Jesus directly. And so in that same, you know, following that same vein, he touches upon this topic again in Mark chapter four, verse 24 to 25. And there actually is the crux of, you know, what I'm trying to lead up to. Mark chapter four versus 24 and 25, if someone could read out. Mark four, 24 and 25. Mark chapter four was 24 to 25. Then he said to them, take heed what you hear with the same measure you use, it will be measured to you. And to you who hear more will be given for whoever has to him more will be given, but whoever does not have even what he has will be taken away from him. Yeah, not sure of the translation that you read out from, but I'm okay, it brings out that sense in another way. But this is what, you know, Jesus says in, you know, in the NKJV, in the NIV and in many of the other versions, it says, consider carefully what you hear with the measure you use, it will be measured to you and even more beyond the measure that you used. You know, so with the measure you use, it will be measured to you and even more. So whoever has will be given more, whoever does not have even what they have will be taken from them. So what is the measure that you use in accepting and acting upon God's word when God reveals something to you? Now this actually applies both to the promises of God and to the correction of God. So what is our response to the promises of God and to the correction of God? So if the Lord is speaking some word of correction, what is the measure that I use in the way I respond to it? So if my measure, the measure which I am using is indifference, okay, so I, when God corrects me regarding something, you know, something pricks my heart during my quiet time when I'm spending time in His presence, God says something and I'm like kind of indifferent. Yeah, I know it's true what God is saying is correct. I need to deal with that area of my life. Yeah, I'll get around to it when I get around to it. So the measure that you're using is indifference. This is what God says, with the measure you use, it will be measured to you and even more. So if you're indifferent about the things that I'm revealing to you, I too will be indifferent in revealing more things to you. In fact, I will add to your measure. I will be even extra, you know, indifferent. I'll be even more indifferent. I'll be more indifferent than you are and I will stop revealing things to you. So it's kind of very dangerous because what He's offering us is something that the prophets longed for, something that the righteous people longed for in the Old Testament and they did not get it. That is just being given to us so freely, so generously. So people who don't value it, they are in danger of losing even what they have. Okay, so this is something that we should take very seriously with regard to God's promises and to His words of correction. So when the Lord corrects, if we are like, you know, like the disciples who are eager to change themselves, who are eager to respond and act upon what God is saying, such people, He uses the, you know, the measure that they are using is one of eagerness. They really want to accept what is being told and they want to act upon what they are being told. So in the case of such people, Jesus uses their measure because they are eager. He is also eager to reveal more and more to them and it's not just that, you know, His is eager. He says, and even more, which means He will take an additional 10 steps to reveal to them more than they even expected. So whatever measure you're using, that is the measure that God will use with you and He'll in fact add to that measure. So it is dangerous to have an attitude of indifference when God gives us a word of correction. It is also very, very dangerous to ignore, you know, when God gives a word of promise and we're like, yeah, I know it's nice promise, but it sounds a little too elaborate to believe. Should I believe it? If you have that kind of an attitude, then it's kind of dangerous because the Lord says, consider carefully how, you know, what you hear, how you hear will determine the future revelations that God will continue to give. So God appreciates repentance that is done quickly, eagerly with a longing to respond to what God is saying. On the other hand, if we have a very casual attitude, God will also use the same measure. He will be casual in his future revelations to us. So because these are not potatoes and tomatoes that he's, you know, dealing out to us. These are the very words of a divine God containing divine power in them. So if we can catch hold of these scriptures and be eager to, you know, accept them and act upon them, you know, it can, you know, change and transform our lives. Gosh, this noise level is really bad over here. I'm just so glad that our class is almost done. Yeah, all right. Okay, we will be there are just a few more things that we need to deal with, you know, with regard to repentance. So we will cover those things in the next class. But maybe for the midterm exam, we will only have the portion which has been covered up to, you know, now. So if you were to, in fact, think about your notes, you know, the textbook given to you, that would be up to chapter eight of repentance. All right, so for your midterm exam, you will have up to chapter eight of repentance, right from the first beginning, right from the section on holiness from the first chapter there, up to the repentance section, chapter eight of the repentance section. So for your midterm, that would be the portion. And yeah, all the very best to know, even as you work on that. So let's just close with a word of prayer for now. Yeah, Lord, we just thank you so much for today's class. Thank you, Lord, for the practical learnings that we could reflect upon regarding this whole subject of repentance. Lord, give us hearts that are eager to know your word, that are very, very eager to respond to you. And Lord, I pray that because we have that kind of an eagerness in us, that would, you know, make you want to give us even more so that we can walk deeper and deeper into who you are and become more and more like you, so that we will literally reflect your holiness, Lord, in the way we speak in the choices that we make in our very mind, which is getting renewed day by day. I pray, Lord, that you would do all of this for us. So we just commit ourselves into your hands and also, Lord, bless the students and be with them, even as they work on the midterm assessment. Thank you, Lord. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Thank you so much. And yeah, we'll meet again next class. Thank you so much. Thank you, ma'am. Thank you.