 Okay, let's pray it is not we want to thank you for this time. Lord, we humble ourselves before you once again We pray of God as we are going to Continue to learn about the holiness. We pray of God that you would teach us and let your Holy Spirit minister to us Announce your servant to deliver your word that we would be filled with your presence and Follow and understand the desires of your heart God. We thank you in Jesus name we pray Amen. Oh, yes So the last two sessions We were focusing on repentance And how if the repentance is genuine then it will lead to recovery and restoration So we kind of looked at different aspects of this whole concept of Repentance and we'll have a few more thoughts on this subject today Maybe during our second session after the break We could maybe move into the overcoming life and you know, just have a brief introduction to that Which would be based on your the first chapter of your Overcoming section, you know in your notes, but Before the break, you know, let's just take some time to look a little further At the different concepts that are involved in Repentance so today we will be mainly looking at chapters 9 to 12 of your notes in the repentance section so To start off with chapter 9 which talks about the process of repentance What exactly are the things involved in genuine repentance? So we will look at an example from the New testament of this particular Congregation how they repented What are the emotions that they showed What are the actions which they you know displayed and those You know could be things that we can practice When we wish to really demonstrate true, you know true repentance so If we could have someone read out Second Corinthians chapter 7 versus 11 to 12 just to give a little background um, you know in first Corinthians chapter 5 when paul had written his first letter he had warned them that uh the adultery which they are, you know Allowing and which they are overlooking in their congregation is something very evil And so he very strictly tells them that he you know They need to expel the people who are involved in the adultery And he also wants them and tells them that they need to change their entire attitude And so he you know writes very strict things in his first letter Then when we look at the second letter second Corinthians, we see that These people took to heart whatever paul had said and they in fact You know, they expel the person The people the the man was expelled. In fact, he repents of his sin And the entire church in fact is very repentant of their entire attitude I know and their casual nature towards sinful things and all of that. So there's a great change. So here in Second Corinthians 7 11 to 12 paul is pointing out all the Um different elements of repentance, which they are demonstrating, you know, uh in their attitude now And he admires them for it So, um, we need to have the same attitude that these people had, you know If we want to be really genuine in our repentance. So, uh, that's the background context So let's look at second Corinthians 7 11 and 12 If someone could read out for us, uh, what exactly does godly repentance godly sorrow look like? Yeah For observe is very thin that you sorrowed in a godly manner What diligence it produced in you? What clearing of yourself what indignation what fear what remand desire what zeal what medication In all things that you proved yourself to be clear in this matter Therefore, although I wrote to you, I did not do it for the sake of him who had done for wrong Not for the sake of him who suffered wrong But that our care for you in the sight of god might appear to you Yes, uh now different, uh versions will use different words I to describe these, you know aspects of repentance But let's just look at what these words actually mean in the Original greek new testament. So the first, um Element that Paul points out is he says see what this godly sorrow has produced in you what earnestness That we see is one of the most, uh, important Elements involved in genuine repentance where there is earnestness It's not that the people feel bad For a day or two and then the you know the emotions evaporate and then you're back to your normal You know sinful lifestyle. That's not the case over here. There is earnestness. There's continued persistence week after week to continue maintaining this attitude of change, you know the so, um We christians sometimes are good at getting emotional You know so someone preaches a powerful sermon and then we feel very emotional and we think Yeah, these are things that I need to change about myself And then we may in fact even try to you know practice that For a couple of days and then after that the emotional component is gone You know, we can no longer hear that sermon resounding in our ears. So the emotional component is gone And then we you know, we may in fact back off and no longer Uh, you know stick with a resolution that we have made to give up that particular sinful, you know, uh deed So that should not be the case here. We see genuine repentance in the sense. There was earnestness It continued on and on Whether they were feeling emotional about the sin or not feeling emotional about it They had made up their minds that they will Um honor god in this matter. So the attitude was one of earnestness Then the second thing that we see over here. It says what eagerness to clear yourselves So once god had pointed out the defect in them um Because the problem with the scurrantian church is that they had got their doctrine all wrong um Because they had been told that uh christ has said them free from the law They were under this, uh, you know, silly, um, you know, uh illusion that because now they are free from the law They can you know indulge in whatever sin they wish to because they are now free They are no longer under the control of the law and I know paul explains to them Uh, you know the reason that you were first of all set free from the law is so that you can know honor god now can live for him and follow his leading and uh, so, um over here, you know, um He corrects them. He tells them that so the sin which you are entertaining in your church is evil You know is the correction that he gives and uh, so they are now eager to clear themselves Of this wrong thing that god has pointed out So they make sure that every trace of this kind of a sinful behavior is removed from their congregation They no longer are casual and entertain people who are indulging in such things. They quickly take, you know, um Steps to speak to the people concerned You know, uh, help them to come to repentance and all of that. So no longer are they, uh, casual about such things They are eager to clear themselves of this wrong. You know, which god has, uh, pointed out Uh, yeah, we have a question here. Is it? um Well, it it is accessible. Um I reset the whole thing again, you know, because because uh One or two persons in fact did submit so it doesn't does not seem to have affected them. You know, the old settings Uh, but then I reset the whole thing once again Uh, so I'm assuming that now there should be no issues So, uh after last night if anyone has, um, you know Try to access they should be able to I don't think there are any other issues involved. Yeah. Yeah um all right, uh, so, um What were we talking about? Yeah, we we took that the eagerness to clear, uh themselves Then the third term that is used is uh, what indignation they were in fact um indignant and upset And angry about the sin, you know, what was acceptable in their eyes earlier now Was something that was evil So their perspective actually changed No longer were they looking at this sinful thing that they had been involved in as something, you know, casual Now they understood the seriousness of it and in the same way god would be angry about the sin They too had a dislike for this sin So that is very important in the case of true repentance Uh, because sometimes because the lord has said, you know, no, no, no, you should not do that We come to him and we say, okay, lord. I will not do it But deep down in our heart. We still love that sin. We still love, um, in, you know Indulging in those wrong attitudes, we don't think that there's anything really wrong in it It's just because god said that we should not, you know, have that wrong attitude We are now kind of trying to give up, uh on it But deep down our, um Our perspective how we feel about those sinful attitudes or actions has not really changed And that actually can be dangerous. Uh, so, you know, we need to, um We need to Ask the lord to purify us from unrighteousness and to help us Align our thinking, you know, in line with god's word Because when we do that, then, you know, we were we are able to, um, feel about sin The same way god does if he finds it disgusting, uh, we too should find it disgusting So it's so important that at the, uh, thinking level, uh, the way we we think about that Sinful thing itself changes We we hate it the same way god hates it. Okay, that that is a very very important component of, uh, repentance Uh, yeah Then, um The next word that is used is alarm Now this is something, you know, what were they alarmed about? This is the warning which paul gives them in first quranthians chapter five versus six and seven First quranthians five six and seven if someone could read out Your gloating is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven that you may be a new lump Since you truly are unleavened For indeed christ our past over was sacrificed for us So the warning that paul issues is that, you know, you are entertaining this, uh, this yeast this leaven You know that that that element which is used in bread and which is symbolically compared to something, uh, sinful so, um You know using metaphorical language paul is saying over here You know, you have allowed this little bit of yeast this little bit of leaven to you know, um Creep into your church and if you don't get rid of it, it's going to spread Not only will it be this once in now, you know, it'll be many many more sins because once that attitude of casualness comes in Uh, you know, it spreads and so he says, you know, what will be left of your congregation? You know, that's what he he seems to have been indicating in that first letter No, so this is the way that you're going to go ahead. Um, you'll no longer be a church You'll no longer be a part of the body of christ So it's a very dangerous thing, you know, so they are alarmed by this, uh, you know Warning that has been issued and they very much want to remain in christ You know, so, um, they take quick action To repent of the wrong that they have done and there is this longing. That's the word that is used Uh, you know next, um, it says they they have a longing. It's a longing to please god to once more be acceptable in his eyes and Then that is followed by that word, you know, um zeal in in Some some versions it just says concern concern is not a strong enough word because the greek word over there It's talking about passion and zeal. So, you know, now that they are alarmed about the wrong You know about the danger of their wrong They are now longing to please the lord and they are filled with zeal and passion You know to set right what has gone wrong and you know to come back into um, you know into an honorable lifestyle and uh, so Then he says readiness to see justice done So we do not know how uh, you know influential and powerful those particular people were in the congregation You know who had been openly indulging in sin, but then they um take action against them Um, even though it must have probably led to a lot of conflict Uh, I know they actually uh go to the extent of asking those people to leave the church and not come back You know, so all of that is done and because of that, uh, it's you know It says that that one man one particular man He repents in fact of what he has done and then he's you know appalled says now you can restore him back to the church So all of that takes place. There was a readiness to see god's justice done You know, even though it might have been awkward even though it would lead to um, you know social, um conflicts in their community And uh, so he the last thing that he says is you proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter Until god could say to them. Yes. Now you are completely innocent regarding this thing You know until that point they persisted Uh, so it was not a Fake repentance at all. This was truly genuine repentance. So when we are, you know When the lord brings anything to our attention that we need to deal with when he points out that something in our lives is sinful We need to uh, you know, um Get rid of that That sinful action You know keeping all of these elements in mind Are we earnest about it? Or is it the thing that we do for one or two days and then give up? You know, I mean, are we really eager to clear our name? Uh, you know before god, uh, are we indignant against that sinful thing the same way god is So these are all questions that we would need to ask ourselves Uh, because then the arch, you know, our repentance would be truly genuine So Just some things to keep in mind regarding repentance A person who is repentant will take holiness seriously They will not have a very casual attitude towards sin Hebrews 12 14 You know, which says without holiness, no one will see the lord and Um This is something that those that Corinthian church understood, you know They understood that if they want to remain in the body of christ, then they would have to honor him Uh, honor the lord because it's the lord's body. You see the church is his body So they cannot behave in a dishonorable manner and bring a bad, you know name to him and still consider themselves as being part of his body So, uh, they understood this and they took their sin seriously and um, Hebrews 12 the same chapter versus 28 and 29 where it talks about god being a consuming fire Now, you know, we just dismiss all of these, uh terms and concepts as Old Testament stuff But like it says in scripture God is always god. He has never changed Um, what he was in the Old Testament he is even today So, um, it's his hatred for sin has not reduced his standards have not, you know, his His his righteous standards have not come down. Um, everything is the same It's just that now we have a deeper awareness of it We have a clearer picture of how serious he is about his holiness Uh, okay, so we can't dismiss these things and say oh, yeah in the Old Testament He was a consuming fire, but now he'll put up with whatever behavior. No in fact now he has, um Given us his own spirit is holy very holy spirit who lives in us, you know And he has honored us by choosing us to be his temple. So obviously now, uh, his expectations would be higher So, um When it says that our god is a consuming fire and that without holiness no one will see the lord These are statements that we would need to take very seriously in our christian walk You know and continue to honor him Uh to keep another uh thing in mind, uh, because this is basically where we tend to fall I mean, we are not, um, you know, most of us are not really evil people Uh, but this is the area in which we tend to fall if someone could read out matthew chapter 26 was 41 please Matthew 26 41 Matthew 26 41 watch and pray lest you enter into temptation The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak Yeah, and then uh, if you could also please read first peter five a eight and nine first peter five Eight and nine Be sober be vigilant because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion Seeking whom he may devour Resist him steadfast in the faith Knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world Yes, so in both of these, you know, uh verses that we read out the emphasis is on watching And praying it's on being alert Being of sober mind, you know over here when it says be of sober mind It's saying, you know, don't be over confident be sober You know be aware that you you may fall if you are not careful So, um, what happens with us is that we tend to get over confident We think okay now I have reached a level of spirituality where I will not fall where um, I'll just be able to resist temptation effortlessly And uh, so when that kind of a casual, uh, you know overconfident attitude creeps in uh, we We are no longer that dependent on the lord. We think okay now we have we have arrived we can handle this So when the dependence on the lord kind of reduces And when we are no longer watching out, you know our responses to things Um, uh the way we are reacting to different situations. We may um become careless And we may end up saying or you know doing something that brings a bad name to the lord So, uh, we have to continue being watchful Continue staying very dependent on the lord and you know, uh being aware of the fact that lord without your grace and mercy And your constant guiding and warning I would really go back into sin My attitudes would again go back to being very very displeasing to you It's only because i'm constantly staying dependent on you because I constantly keep my ears open You know waiting to hear from you in case you know, you have to you know caution me about something You know nudge me in my heart about something It's only because of all of your help that i'm you know still on my feet if we can have a deep awareness of this This can go a long way, you know in keeping us uh from falling and that is why he says, you know Peter says in first Peter 5 8 to 9 be alert and of sober mind No, do not become overconfident. Uh, so he says, uh, if you stand firm in the faith Then you will be able to you know resist satan. So we need to remain firm in the faith. Um Being very prayerful in asking god to help us maintain that attitude of faith only then we'll be able to stand Confidently and you know the example that i'm always reminded of is moses. I mean such an amazing person, right? Uh, here was one person who loved the lord so much and cared so much about the things of god That god was comfortable in just speaking to him like a friend Because you know friends are on the same level. They think along the same lines So they gel together. So when any when any topic comes up, you know, and they start talking about it They are both on the same wavelength. So they know that they think along the same lines and and they're concerned about the same things and Uh, you know, they enjoy the same uh activities. So they are friends because um, they they're thinking is so similar And that was the case with uh, moses and the lord the lord found this person Someone who is on his wavelength who thinks the way he does Who enjoys the things that he enjoys and that is why he enjoyed coming to moses and talking with him as with a friend That was the relationship that they had and at some point uh, moses kind of becomes, you know, um Overconfident probably and that is the reason why we see him, you know, uh Falling into this dishonorable act and god says because you have sinned against me because you have done this You will not enter the promised land. Uh, so, uh, you know, if we could just very briefly look at that particular passage Numbers chapter 20 versus seven to uh, 12 numbers chapter 20 Versus seven to 12 Where the lord says, you know, these people are protesting and saying that they don't have water And then the lord says to them, you know, he says speak to that rock Numbers chapter 20 verse eight Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water And so on an earlier occasion the lord had asked moses to strike Uh, you know a rock and on that occasion the water comes out and the people's thirst is quenched Over here in this case very specifically The lord is saying to his friend moses. He says, you know, on this occasion Don't strike the rock. Just simply speak to it and water will pour out And here we have moses taking up the staff, you know, it says in verse nine numbers chapter 20 verse nine So moses took the staff from the lord's presence. Just as he commanded him Okay, see he obeyed the lord in that and then, you know, he Gathers all the people over there in verse 10 and then he says listen you rebels must we bring Bring you water out of this rock, you know, he's like now all confident. He's done this once before He knows he can bring the water out And he ignores what the lord has said and rather than just speaking to it on this occasion He strikes it once again. Um He does of course does not understand the seriousness of what he has uh done He strikes the rock two times. In fact, it's bad enough that he did it once but he actually strikes it twice and The lord who is faithful to the people, you know, I mean after all they are thirsty So the lord does, you know, allow the water to come out and the thirst is quenched But then this is what the lord says in verse 12 He says but the lord said to moses and aran because you did not trust in me enough To honor me as holy in the sight of the israelites You will not bring this community into the land. I give them you did not trust me enough to To believe that you can speak and water will come out You are not willing to trust me to that extent and all the People were watching and waiting to see what will happen when you you know, just ignore my instruction And they would have seen the water come out. So they would have thought in their mind Okay fine our leader even though he did what was wrong Even though he directly disobeyed an instruction of the lord or the lord just excused it So fine. No, maybe we can also try it out next time. No, it's the kind of wrong learning which they would have caught And so he says you did not trust in me enough To honor me as holy in the sight of all of these people. So in front of them You dishonored my name. So you see when a leader Since the implications are much greater Um Not only is he you know in in rebellion and not only has he dishonored god His actions can influence all the people who are watching and it may send the wrong message to them that God can be taken lightly you know, so um That is why he the lord says over here. You will not bring this community into the land. I give them and uh Of course, there were other spiritual implications also involved because what god had I know Asked moses to do was supposed to point towards jesus christ the rock And moses was not even aware of this. He did not even know that they were greater in hidden implications So that is why the on the first occasion He was supposed to strike the on the first occasion when there was a rock that needed to be struck And when he did that that was in fact symbolizing christ being struck for us And christ does not need to be struck a second time One sacrifice on the cross was enough. It was sufficient. It was adequate to you know, give us The living waters to give us eternal life. There was no need for any second crucifixion So the second time moses was just supposed to speak Because he was acting out something that would have amazing spiritual implications in the future thousands of years later moses was not even aware of that He just took it all very casually. He was over confident. He says to them you rebels must be bring water out You know, he doesn't even say the lord will bring the water out. He says must we bring water out for you And you know, he goes and strikes it twice Completely in fact spoiling the spiritual message which this act was supposed to act, you know convey so when leaders, you know Sin It can be very very dangerous not just for them, but for the entire You know congregation for the people who are looking up to them and So That is why, you know Peter says over here be alert Be of sober mind because the devil is prowling around not just to tear you down, you know But in fact to tear down an entire congregation and so he says I know it's a the lord jesus in when matthew when he's speaking he says watch and pray So that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing But remember always that the flesh is weak. So because in our renewed spirit Yes, we are willing to follow the lord But our flesh is weak and so it is so important for us to be careful So this is a very important lesson, you know to Keep in our hearts even as we think about repentance When we realize that what we have done is, you know sinful We immediately go to him and we choose to confess and repent and we Choose to be careful and watchful now onwards to see to it that we never repeat something like that once again And that is why uh paul says what he says in first corinthians 9 27 if someone could please read out for us first corinthians 9 27 first corinthians chapter 9 verse 27 No, I beat my body and make it my slaves so that after I have reached to others I myself will not be disqualified for the price okay, so Paul, you know how keeps all the old testament examples in his mind He doesn't want to repeat the mistakes made by you know, uh his predecessors the old testament prophets So he's so careful about these things. So he says, you know, he has seen other people fall, right? He has seen other leaders fall and he has seen them, you know being Corrected by the lord and he does not want the same thing happening to him. So he says, you know, I don't I should not get disqualified for the price After having preached to everyone else and that is why he says I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave, you know those specific areas where you need to Um to beat and box those particular areas into submission Uh, I think we had you know discussed this earlier in one of her classes, you know, how We uh christians do a lot of fancy shadow boxing, you know So we just keep beating at the shadows and we look like as if we are really putting up a fight Uh, but actually what are you doing? You're just beating the air and that really doesn't achieve anything So he says I strike a blow to my body, you know, uh, like uh in the version which jeffina read out You know, I beat my body So those specific areas that need to be beaten and brought into subjection We need to do that Otherwise we could make some very drastic mistake like, you know, moses did I mean who knows, you know For the rest of his earthly days moses might have gone around with a thought inside his heart Why why was the lord so upset and then later he would have found out that uh, you know This this simple act of striking a rock speaking to a rock actually had It eternal implications It was talking about christ and what he would be doing for entire humanity The very salvation plan of god was being acted out in the simple, uh, you know matter of bringing water So he probably never even realized the seriousness of what he had done And it's only later that he probably would have learned about it So especially those who are in leadership, you know, it is so necessary for us to be careful And to to stay watchful and alert so that we don't dishonor the lord in front of everyone And you know and bring a bad name, you know, uh to him So, um, uh, we would have to you know, practice holiness, uh, even in Our personal lives as well. Uh, so here there are a couple of verses regarding that in your notes Um, if we could look at first corinthians chapter 11 verse one first corinthians 11 one First corinthians chapter 11 verse one Follow my example as I follow the example of christ Yeah, and then if you could also please read out philippines four verse nine philippines, uh chapter four verse nine, please Philippians chapter four verse nine Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me or seen in me put into practice and the god of peace will be with you Okay, so paul is so careful not to be disqualified from the price You know that he's very very watchful about how he lives and he lives in a way that is Honorable to the lord and that is why he's able to say with confidence Follow my example as I follow the example of christ He is so careful to follow the example of christness every day life So that other people who are watching him Can imitate him without you know any concern because he's trying very hard to be christlike So when they try to follow paul's example, they also will automatically be you know working towards christlikeness And that is why it's with such confidence. He says Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me or seen in me You know you can go ahead and put it into practice because it is christlike behavior um I mean Amazing words for any leader to be in fact be able to say i mean it's uh such a high standard To meet up to uh, but the how was paul able to live in uh live like that? Because he was so aware of his weakness of who he was How human he was and so he says i'm really weak and because i am so weak You know christ uh is perfected in me his strength is perfected in me so He was a man who was Very dependent on jesus. He never ever thought he had arrived You know he in fact he says that right he says it's not that i have already achieved or attained But forgetting what was in the past i press on he says so here was one man Who really understood dependence? He never ever imagined for a moment that on his own he could accomplish anything So he always recognized his weakness and that is why he always stayed dependent Knowing that if he tries to do anything on his own He will you know fall flat on his face This grace the lord's name in the process affect the entire ministry process You know harm all the leaders who are looking up to him So many you know uh repercussions So he was always so careful to remember how frail How weak how dependent he is and that is why he always says by the grace of god I am an apostle by his mercy. I am doing the things that I am doing always so dependent on the grace and mercy of the lord It's a good attitude to have um And I think probably this is basically what it means when you know when he says work out your salvation with fear and trembling It doesn't mean that you know you're waiting for god to throw you out of his kingdom Or your kind of wondering whether god is going to come down on you just because you know you you did one No, you know a sinful deed. It's not that it's this whole attitude itself Where you realize that in your own you are nothing In your own you could never be one bit holy It's just him is the lord and his mercy that is enabling you to reach these heights that you are now, you know now you are where you are and So you choose to continue abiding you choose to continue examining yourself each day in his presence when you're having your quiet time You choose to continue hearing from his scriptures every time he gives you some scripture You know you you take hold of it like as if it's the most wonderful thing and you and you appreciate what has been given And you work on it. You you know you apply it to your life and you show god lord I am really dependent on you and god loves that attitude of dependence Those are the people who are really able to grow in holiness Because they have understood that this is not something they can do on their own It can only be done by the strength of the lord and the lord loves to show himself Powerful on behalf of those who are you know just coming to him in that childlike trust and faith so So he talks also about humility peter in in one passage First peter five five Yeah, if someone could read out first peter five five Likewise you young people submit yourself to your elders As all of you be submissive to one another and be clothed with humility For god resist the proud but gives grace to the humble Okay, so we talked about humility in the sense where you understand your helplessness and you know humbly you say lord I'm completely dependent on you If I'm holy at all today, it's because of you if I'm you know going to continue growing in righteousness Then it's only going to be because of you. So that's one you are one aspect of humility the other aspect of humility is in our interactions Those who are under us, uh, you know, uh, how do we treat them? Um, are we respectful? Are we putting their interests before our own? You know, that is one kind of humility Then the other is what about those who are placed above us by the lord So whether we agree with them or disagree with them, uh, how are we in our attitude towards them? Uh, do we still uh continue to be respectful? Uh, do we obey them when they tell us to do, you know something? So This is another important aspect humility not only in understanding our dependence But also humility in our interactions with the people that god has brought into our lives So we recognize that these are gods people god has brought them into our lives So we have a responsibility towards them To to respect them treat them with dignity and if they are above us Then we need to you know submit to them because they are coming over there to us as god's representative God is sending them as representatives. So, um, Whether or not we always agree with their viewpoints. We treat them with respect Uh, and uh, you know, when it's a direct order, then we choose to obey And then you know, we can bring it before the lord and say, okay, lord I differ, you know with uh with my leader regarding this How should I proceed and you know, uh, the lord would lead us in that matter But uh obedience submission. These are all very very important things So all these become part of a repentant attitude, you know, the kind of attitude that those Corinthian believers displayed they They submitted to what paul was telling them and they displayed humility So these are all some important things that we need to keep in mind. Uh, you know, and we are thinking of walking in a repentant attitude um Just to look at another, you know, another aspect of repentance um You know, we are all familiar right with that uh, hebrew's Chapter six passage, you know, which talks about how a person if they have You know shared in the holy spirit and they have tasted the heavenly gift of salvation And all of that, you know, after that if they fall away, you know, they cannot be brought back to repentance That's a word of warning uh in extreme cases where someone has, you know chosen That they no longer Want to stay under the covering of the cross. So I mean that it does not apply to 99.9 percent of the believers. They may just be this one zero point one percent of believers who, you know, um Allow themselves to go to this stage Where they allow themselves to be trapped by satan to such an extent where there is no desire for repentance anymore left in them Okay, so but you know, just um if we could touch upon that particular thing over there, um So if we could maybe just read out hebrew's chapter six versus four to six and we'll just very briefly reflect on that point as well hebrew six four to six hebrew's chapter six was four to six It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened who have tasted the heavenly gift Who have shared in the holy spirit who have tasted the goodness of the word of god and the powers of the coming age If they fall away to be brought back to repentance because to their laws They are crucifying the son of god all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace Okay, so um It says in verse six, you know, those who have fallen away after having uh experienced the lord After being in the lord and enjoying the benefits of that after having understood about the powers of the coming age You know what god is awaiting uh for them after having Understood all of this and participated in all of this if they fall away. It says Uh, it is impossible for them to be brought back to repentance Uh, and now This is something that I had no read Very long ago. I think in my early 20s, uh, you know, one of those philippian see books um where he talks about Repentance and um, I don't remember the details of that, uh, you know, that particular excerpt But uh, you know, he he talks about a person who comes to him who wants to uh commit adultery with someone And he says god is a forgiving god So this is something that I really want to do and so I think I'm going to go ahead and uh, you know, um Indulgent thing and then I'll come back to the lord and the lord will forgive I will repent and the lord will forgive and uh, uh, philippian see says to him Um, or was it someone else who says to him, but whatever the point of the story is that Um, you know, the godly person says to this man who is contemplating adultery and says When you come back, what if you discover that you're no longer able to repent? What if your heart has reached a state of hardness where you no longer are able to feel repentance? That's it. You're finished then. I mean, there's only judgment awaiting you beyond that So you see it is possible for people to live in this habitual lifestyle of sin Where the heart keeps getting hardened more and more where finally you no longer feel any love for the lord You no longer are very grateful for what god has done Your entire perspective has changed. It has become so worldly you worship the things of the world You love those things you enjoy them So it's all crept into you so deeply and you've gone back so deeply into all of that That one day when you know kind of you know, think oh my goodness. I'm getting old now You know, I may die any day. I better repent so that you know, the lord will forgive me and you come to into his presence and you discover You love sin too much No longer really feel any regret for the things that you are doing You have lost it. You have crossed the point where you Feel repentance. Oh, you still have a deep longing for your ticket to heaven I mean, you're you're you're no fool, you know, you know that life in hell is going to be horrible So yes, you still very very much want to get into heaven and you're but that desire To be holy that desire to honor him that shame and regret for the sinful lifestyle It's just no no longer there. It's gone You have crossed the point where you can be brought back to repentance Now that can happen to a person who is living in Habitual sin year after year, you know, just hardening and deadening their conscience so For such a person at some point I mean only the lord knows at that that moment when that person crosses that border Where they no longer feel repentance and I know when I read that at that age I was at that young age. I was thinking my goodness. This is so dangerous. You can't just, you know Flirt with sin. You can't just play around with sin Because it leads to a deadening. It leads to you No, you you you you know you you no longer want to abide in him The things which he has interested in no longer interest you and you keep going father and father and father away Till you reach a stage where you still want your ticket to heaven But the the other desire for repentance that's gone and you can't get it up get it back You can't cook it up. It has to be genuine right and you reached a point where There is no repentance left inside you and so It is that is why it is very very dangerous to continue in sin A believer should always stay sensitive to the holy spirit So that the holy spirit can always quickly bring them back to him You know, yeah back to himself so that they can continue to abide in the wine Otherwise, they are like branches, you know, which have been cast aside and those branches will be burnt up Okay, so this is just one very serious You know aspect of repentance that we must keep in mind And then there's this Another important passage that, you know, we could Look at And it's mentioned in your notes very briefly, but then, you know, I thought maybe we could dwell a little more on that We'll do this after we come back from the break. All right, so at Yeah at 11 if we can all log back in please We'll continue with our, you know Last final thoughts on repentance and then we will look at the overcoming life