October 29^th, 2017

9:30 am & 10:00 am -----------------------------------------Messages by Brother Linwood Campbell

How To Treat Your Dearest Treasures -- I Corinthians 7:29-31

Husbands should love their wives as Christ loved the Church. Still, a married believer should be, in some respects, as if he were unmarried. "Honor thy father and thy mother." You cannot be too kind or too gentle to the parents whom God hath given you, yet be as though you had none. Parents, love your children, yet feel that the time is short. They are only a loan from the Lord. Be not surprised if He takes His own. Esteem your minister highly in love for his work's sake, yet be as if you had no pastor. Build your nest upon NO TREE in this world, for God has already given this forest to death; and every tree whereon we would rest our hope and confidence is ready to be cut down. We must flee from the uneasy and frail objects in order to build on the rock, Christ Jesus. Set NOT your hearts on the flowers of this world. They shall fade and die. Prize the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of the Valley – He changes not! Live nearer to Christ than to any person on this earth; so that when they are taken, you may have Him to love and lean upon. -- Robert Murray M'Cheyne

Repentance

Definition: Regret, Grief, Sorrow, Self-reproach, Self-condemnation, Guilt, Contrition (contrite, broken heart). Change, Turn.

- Repentance is first toward God. “Have mercy upon me O God . . . Against Thee and Thee only have I sinned and done this evil in Thy sight, that Thou mightiest be justified when Thou speakest, and be clear when Thou judgest.” - Psalm 51:4

- Repentance is to seek mercy from the offended person. Mercy cannot be demanded but only hoped for. Mercy cannot be expected, that is presumption and pride. Repentance is to hope for mercy from the offended person, by coming with a rope around your neck. Mercy is completely up to the offended one. To demand mercy is to not really believe you are guilty and unworthy. To expect mercy is to believe you are worthy of it. Mercy is only for the unworthy.

- Repentance is to turn from sin and not return to it. The Lord said to forgiven sinners; “Go and sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you” (reprobate, no mercy; a dog to its vomit, sow to the mire).

Here is true Biblical Repentance: 2 Corinthians 7:10-11 . . .

. . .“ For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of” (not to go back to the same sin and keep repenting of it)

. . . “But the sorrow of the world worketh death” - - The world is sorry for getting caught, sorry for the consequences (like Esau) not sorry for the sin, like David.

. . . “For behold this selfsame thing (repentance) that ye sorrowed after a godly sort” – Sorrow toward God, sorrow for the sin in you, sorrow for the reproach upon God, sorrow for the offense against the person offended, in true grief and self-reproach.

. . . “What carefulness it wrought in you” – Careful in word and conduct toward the offended one. Careful not to repeat the sin; careful not to go near the temptation that caused it.

. . . “Yea, what clearing of yourselves” -- By word and actions proving that you are truly sorry and have turned from the sin; CLEARLY sorry, broken, humbled and changed.

. . . “Yea, what indignation” -- Angry and indignant with YOURSELF. Blaming only yourself and no one and nothing else; anger and hatred toward self and the sin committed.

. . . “ Yea, what fear” – Fear of God, fear sinning against Him, fear of bringing reproach upon Him, fear hurting the offended one again, fear the temptation and sin that caused all the reproach, pain, and suffering.

. . . “Yea, what vehement desire” – What sincere, heartfelt, passionate desire to turn from the sin, undo the wrong and never sin again.

. . . “Yea, what zeal, yea what revenge!” – What determination and real actions taken to do what is right and undo the wrong.