4/19/26                                                                               Rentz

 

 

Don’t Abuse God’s Patience

Judges 10:6-16

 

Introduction—The Book of Judges is one of the saddest commentaries of human nature that I find in Scripture.  God gave Israel an opportunity to be His people and He would be their King.  Yet, we find them failing to live up to what they knew was right.  I think we can see a parallel us in today’s world.  It is not that we are ignorant of truth; the problem is we often ignore truth to satisfy our own desires.

 

I. Spiritual Rebellion Is Costly (6-9)

                A. The allure of the world and Satan never leads to

                    freedom (II Pet.2:17-19)—“You shall not surely

                    die”—the serpent

                B. Spiritual rebellion leads us away from God’s

                    protection—we must never take God’s blessings

                    for granted

                C. The consequences of sin are heavier than

                    obedience to God (Matt.11:28-30)

 

II. Spiritual Remorse Is a Good Starting Point (10-14)

                A. Admitting sin is the first step toward forgiveness

                                1. We must not make excuses

                                2. Repentance= “God is right, we are

                                    wrong” (I Jn.1:9)

                B. Remorse does not nullify consequences

                                1. They had been oppressed for 18 years

                                2. God is not obligated to remove the

                                    consequences of our sin

                C. God is just, even when He does not act to please

                    us (Job 13:15)

 

III. Spiritual Repentance Must Be a Priority (15-16)

                A. Repentance submits to God’s sovereignty

                                1. God’s Word is not open to debate—you

                                    don’t need Holy Spirit conviction when

                                    Scripture is clear

                                2. The Holy Spirit is to be heeded

                B. Repentance surrenders all ungodly actions

                                1. Repentance must be first a personal

                                    decision

                                2. There will never be corporate revival

                                    without personal revival (Matt.23:26)

                C. Repentance leads us to genuinely serve the Lord

                                1. Are we serving God merely for the

                                    blessings?

                                2. Are we serving God because He is God?

                                3. Are we listening to the conviction and

                                    leading of the Holy Spirit? (Heb.4:7)

 

Conclusion—I fear our nation is living on borrowed time.  Sadly, many churches have drifted so far from the will of God that they are merely going through religious exercises.  The path to restoration must begin within our individual hearts.  Today is a good day to turn our hearts to full devotion to Jesus!