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University SDA Church- East Lansing

David Shin

The Gift of Remorse

This morning I invite you to turn with me in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 8 verses 1 through 3.

This is 1, 1, 1, 9 if you're using the Bible that has been provided by our church.

Matthew is the first of the 4 gospels and here Jesus has just given the sermon on the mount and matter of fact why don't you go to the last 2 verses of Matthew chapter 7 7 verse 28 and 29 Jesus has just given the greatest sermon in human history.

And after he gives this sermon, the people are astonished.

Verse 28, And so it was when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were, what does the Bible say?

These individuals were floored because they had never heard a sermon like this before ever in their life.

They also had a little bit of comparison going on.

Verse 29, For he taught them as 1 having, what does your Bible say, authority and not as the scribes.

This is a sermon that they had never heard before.

It was such a great sermon, matter of fact, that in chapter 8 verse 1, after he's coming down from the mountain, when he had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him.

This was such an amazing sermon, such a glorious sermon.

These words they had never heard before in their life that they kept following the preacher after he had finished his sermon.

It's kind of like, I don't recommend you doing this, but I give the sermon here and it's like a funeral line, you know, or just traffic's backed up because you're all following me to my house.

This is the kind of dynamics that was taking place.

They were like, this is an amazing sermon.

We've never heard this before in our life.

So they're following him down the mountain after the greatest sermon that has ever been preached.

Now, anytime you're reading the Bible and you see the word behold pay attention because something is about to happen a leper came and worshipped him saying Lord if you are willing you can make me clean little background on leprosy during the first century.

It was an incurable disease, contagious in character, and it didn't matter if you were a king or a peasant, you were ostracized from society, you were put in a leper colony, you were considered unclean ceremonially as well as physically, you were not allowed any sort of human contact.

It was kind of like the Ebola virus or a terrible virus that was incurable during that time.

And so this leper comes to Jesus and you can imagine the multitude is starting to split like the Red Sea.

They don't want any contact with this individual.

And finally, it is just Jesus and the leper.

I want you to notice the interesting exchange between Jesus and the leper in verse 3.

Then Jesus put out his hand and what does the Bible say?

Then Jesus put out his hand and touched him.

That was a meaningful, intentional touch.

Notice that Jesus did not say, you're clean, and then touch him.

You can imagine a hush went over the multitude.

Arguably, that was probably the first time in a long while that that leper had been touched by a clean person.

And then he says the words, I am willing be cleansed.

And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

Right before their eyes, his scaly skin became new.

He was fully restored in the presence of that multitude.

I want to make a few observations as we get to our main thesis here this morning.

Do you think it was uncomfortable for that leper to come to Jesus?

You ever been in a situation where you're about to do something and it's just not turning out to be an opportune time.

And you think to yourself, maybe I'll come back next time.

This is 1 of those situations, there's a great multitude following Jesus down the mountain and the leper, do you think he felt vulnerable coming to Jesus?

He didn't know what was going to happen but he made the decision that day to put himself out there and to come to Jesus even though there was a multitude following him.

And the only way that he could come to Jesus was as a leper.

The only way that this leper could come to Jesus was just as a leper.

And I want to read this statement from 1 of my favorite books and if you have not read this book please read it it is 1 of the most inspirational books ever printed in over a hundred languages talking about exactly what the title says steps to Christ your Christian relationship and your experience it says if you see your sinfulness do not wait to make yourself better.

How many there are who think they are not good enough to come to Jesus?

Do you think that leprous felt the same way?

Do you expect to become better through your own efforts?

We must not wait for stronger persuasions, for better opportunities, or for holier tempers.

We can do nothing of ourselves, and read that last line with me here this morning.

That the only way that you can come to Jesus is in the condition that you are in.

You can do nothing to rectify that condition just as the leper could do to cleanse his leprosy prior to coming to Jesus.

Sure he could have tried to cover himself up, put on a new suit, combed his hair, but the reality was that man was a leper and the gospel is so beautiful that there are no preconditions before you must come to Jesus.

There's nothing that you can do before you come to Jesus.

Now How radical is this just coming as we are?

And many times we have an altar call and an appeal, and an evangelist makes an appeal and says, come just as you are.

But how radical is the nature of the gospel?

And listen to this part, ask Him to give you, what does it say up there?

To give you repentance, to reveal Christ to you in His infinite love, in His purific purity.

Now the concept of repentance is prevalent throughout scripture.

John the Baptist gave the message, repent and turn to God.

Repentance simply means a sorrow for sin and a turning away from sin.

It means you are sorry for what you have done.

Now, the thing about this statement here, and it's backed up by scripture as we'll see in Acts chapter 5 verse 31 it says ask him to give you repentance the reality is Acts chapter 5 verse 31 validates this saying God exalted him at his right hand as leader and Savior to give repentance to Israel and the forgiveness of sins this is how helpless we are when it comes to the gospel is that we can come to Christ and the only way we can come to Christ is saying Lord I don't even have the capability to be sorry help me to be sorry This is the reality of the gospel.

Is that when you come to Christ, repentance is not a prerequisite to coming to Jesus.

We are so degenerate as human beings that we do not even have the capacity to feel sorry.

I have a younger sibling, about 2 and a half years younger than me, and sibling rivalry growing up.

Now we're very close, but my parents would many times have to mediate and come in and I don't know if you've ever experienced this before but the parent comes in and says David Linda you I see that you're having this argument, you're having this fight.

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The Gift of Remorse

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