WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.359 Presence Lord today is a day where we step back 00:00:03.359 --> 00:00:06.799 from our everyday life The normal things that 00:00:06.799 --> 00:00:10.279 grab our attention that steal our focus The things 00:00:10.279 --> 00:00:12.759 that we focus so much on that truly don't matter 00:00:12.759 --> 00:00:15.880 in the grand scheme of things The Lord God as 00:00:15.880 --> 00:00:18.640 we do so let us remember that it is not in a 00:00:18.640 --> 00:00:21.820 way that will ever be justifying to you The Lord 00:00:21.820 --> 00:00:25.539 God as we do so that would be to cling to you 00:00:25.539 --> 00:00:28.839 because you first clung to us We thank you for 00:00:28.839 --> 00:00:32.149 your cross and we thank you for your grace, the 00:00:32.149 --> 00:00:35.990 only source of life and hope for any of us in 00:00:35.990 --> 00:00:45.750 Jesus Christ. Amen. Howdy. Do you remember that 00:00:45.750 --> 00:00:51.439 children's song? I may never march in the infantry, 00:00:52.000 --> 00:00:56.179 ride in the cavalry, shoot the artillery. I may 00:00:56.179 --> 00:01:00.500 never fly or the enemy, but I'm in the Lord's 00:01:00.500 --> 00:01:03.520 army. Yes, sir. I knew at least one or two of 00:01:03.520 --> 00:01:07.640 you would know the yes, sir. You know, we sing 00:01:07.640 --> 00:01:12.120 it as children. It felt simple and heroic. You 00:01:12.120 --> 00:01:14.400 know, we imagined ourselves as part of something 00:01:14.400 --> 00:01:18.719 strong and brave. fighting evil for Jesus and 00:01:18.719 --> 00:01:21.900 marching forward in victory. But even then, if 00:01:21.900 --> 00:01:25.180 you stop to think about it, the question started 00:01:25.180 --> 00:01:28.299 to appear. What does it actually mean to be in 00:01:28.299 --> 00:01:31.920 the Lord's army? How do you march for Jesus? 00:01:32.299 --> 00:01:35.579 What does it mean to fight for Him? Because when 00:01:35.579 --> 00:01:38.140 we look at the life of Jesus Himself, we never 00:01:38.140 --> 00:01:41.640 see Him riding into battle. We never see Him 00:01:41.640 --> 00:01:44.359 commanding troops. We never see Him defeating 00:01:44.359 --> 00:01:48.129 enemies with force. If anything, it's a complete 00:01:48.129 --> 00:01:51.709 opposite. So what is it that we're supposed to 00:01:51.709 --> 00:01:55.689 realize when we consider the army of the Lord? 00:01:57.069 --> 00:02:00.549 But then we hear the trumpet in Joel, a loud 00:02:00.549 --> 00:02:05.010 alarm sounding from Zion, darkness covering the 00:02:05.010 --> 00:02:08.870 mountains, an army advancing, powerful, unstoppable, 00:02:09.330 --> 00:02:13.370 terrifying, fire before them, wilderness behind 00:02:13.370 --> 00:02:17.250 them. The earth quakes the Sun and the moon grow 00:02:17.250 --> 00:02:21.449 dark the day of the Lord has come and At first 00:02:21.449 --> 00:02:24.509 we might still imagine ourselves inside that 00:02:24.509 --> 00:02:29.229 army on God's side marching forward with him 00:02:29.229 --> 00:02:33.689 But the deeper question arises still Who is this 00:02:33.689 --> 00:02:38.969 army coming for and? The answer is unsettling 00:02:38.969 --> 00:02:42.409 Because the next words are not a call to battle 00:02:42.669 --> 00:02:48.409 They are a call to repentance. Yet even now declares 00:02:48.409 --> 00:02:52.069 the Lord, return to me with all your heart. And 00:02:52.069 --> 00:02:56.849 suddenly, the picture changes. We are not the 00:02:56.849 --> 00:03:00.150 soldiers bringing judgment. We are the sinners 00:03:00.150 --> 00:03:03.810 who must return. The trumpet is not calling us 00:03:03.810 --> 00:03:07.930 to fight others. It is calling us to face ourselves. 00:03:08.789 --> 00:03:13.379 And that is where the repentance begins. But 00:03:13.379 --> 00:03:16.979 repentance is often misunderstood. We think repentance 00:03:16.979 --> 00:03:20.479 is a way to fix things, a way to prove that we 00:03:20.479 --> 00:03:24.539 are serious, a way to make ourselves worthy of 00:03:24.539 --> 00:03:28.919 God again. If we feel sorry enough, if we pray 00:03:28.919 --> 00:03:33.620 hard enough, if we fast sincerely enough, maybe 00:03:33.620 --> 00:03:39.020 then God will accept us. But Jesus shows us something 00:03:39.020 --> 00:03:43.490 very different. He warns about giving, praying, 00:03:43.909 --> 00:03:47.969 and fasting in order to be seen. Because even 00:03:47.969 --> 00:03:52.969 repentance can become a performance. Even sorrow 00:03:52.969 --> 00:03:56.810 can become a way of drawing attention to ourselves. 00:03:57.789 --> 00:04:01.389 There is no pretending about the anger, the temper, 00:04:01.590 --> 00:04:05.289 the struggles that we each have. There is no 00:04:05.289 --> 00:04:07.889 acting like we are holier because of what we 00:04:07.889 --> 00:04:10.750 have sacrificed. There is no demonstration that 00:04:10.750 --> 00:04:14.229 we're good enough after enough contrition of 00:04:14.229 --> 00:04:17.769 heart. And then right in the middle of those 00:04:17.769 --> 00:04:23.790 teachings, Jesus gives the Lord's prayer. Wondered 00:04:23.790 --> 00:04:28.350 what was between verses 6 and 16. It's not a 00:04:28.350 --> 00:04:32.149 ladder to climb up to God though, but the words 00:04:32.149 --> 00:04:36.579 of children speaking, to their father your kingdom 00:04:36.579 --> 00:04:40.199 come give us this day our daily bread forgive 00:04:40.199 --> 00:04:43.079 us our trespasses lead us not into temptation 00:04:43.079 --> 00:04:48.759 every line is about relationship not achievement 00:04:48.759 --> 00:04:54.139 dependence not worthiness mercy received not 00:04:54.139 --> 00:04:58.139 righteousness earned which means repentance does 00:04:58.139 --> 00:05:05.899 not make us worthy Dependence, not worthiness, 00:05:06.579 --> 00:05:12.860 because repentance does not make us worthy. It 00:05:12.860 --> 00:05:17.240 does not undo our sin. It does not repair our 00:05:17.240 --> 00:05:22.459 standing before God. So, what's the point? Why 00:05:22.459 --> 00:05:27.500 repent at all? Because repentance brings us home. 00:05:28.899 --> 00:05:32.180 Repentance gathers us before the only place where 00:05:32.180 --> 00:05:36.019 compassion and grace are certain, the only place 00:05:36.019 --> 00:05:39.639 where forgiveness is real, the only place where 00:05:39.639 --> 00:05:43.519 life is given instead of taken, because to repent 00:05:43.519 --> 00:05:47.199 is not to prove ourselves, it is to come back 00:05:47.199 --> 00:05:51.120 to the Father. And that is the safest place in 00:05:51.120 --> 00:05:54.279 the universe to be. Because the truth is, if 00:05:54.279 --> 00:05:57.459 any of us were trying to qualify for the Lord's 00:05:57.459 --> 00:06:00.699 army, We would be disqualified before we ever 00:06:00.699 --> 00:06:04.199 stepped onto the field, our feet turning inward, 00:06:04.720 --> 00:06:10.879 our strength failing, our eyes crossed. As we 00:06:10.879 --> 00:06:16.639 realize our anger rises, our hearts wander, our 00:06:16.639 --> 00:06:19.959 mind no longer focuses on the things of God. 00:06:20.660 --> 00:06:23.560 How often do we ignore God's commands? We judge 00:06:23.560 --> 00:06:27.720 others, even our prayers and our fasting? The 00:06:27.720 --> 00:06:29.500 very things that are meant to turn us toward 00:06:29.500 --> 00:06:33.680 God, they so easily become ways of turning attention 00:06:33.680 --> 00:06:38.800 back to ourselves. Nothing we build in this world 00:06:38.800 --> 00:06:44.779 can save us. No strength we display, no goodness 00:06:44.779 --> 00:06:49.180 that we perform, no devotion that we advertise. 00:06:50.740 --> 00:06:54.589 All of it fades. And if the Lord's army comes 00:06:54.589 --> 00:06:57.529 in judgment, we know exactly where we would stand. 00:06:59.170 --> 00:07:03.230 Not among the victors, but among those who deserve 00:07:03.230 --> 00:07:07.269 the wrath. But this is where the gospel speaks. 00:07:08.370 --> 00:07:11.029 Because the God whose judgment we deserve is 00:07:11.029 --> 00:07:15.589 the very God who calls us to return. The one 00:07:15.589 --> 00:07:18.269 whose army we could never survive is the one 00:07:18.269 --> 00:07:22.620 who has compassion on his people. He forgives. 00:07:23.300 --> 00:07:29.879 He restores. He calls sinners His children. And 00:07:29.879 --> 00:07:32.519 more than that, He even uses weak and stumbling 00:07:32.519 --> 00:07:37.279 people like us in His Kingdom. Not because we're 00:07:37.279 --> 00:07:40.560 strong, and not because we've earned it, not 00:07:40.560 --> 00:07:45.160 because repentance made us worthy, but because 00:07:45.160 --> 00:07:50.189 He is gracious. Because His mercy is greater 00:07:50.189 --> 00:07:53.709 than our sin. Because His compassion is stronger 00:07:53.709 --> 00:07:56.930 than His judgment. Because His Son has taken 00:07:56.930 --> 00:08:00.889 our place and given us His life. So repentance, 00:08:02.250 --> 00:08:06.069 it's simply telling the truth. Telling the truth 00:08:06.069 --> 00:08:08.649 about our sin. Telling the truth about our weakness. 00:08:08.889 --> 00:08:12.569 Telling the truth that our only hope is the mercy 00:08:12.569 --> 00:08:16.410 of God. And when everything else falls away, 00:08:17.120 --> 00:08:21.819 One thing remains. The Father who receives sinners, 00:08:22.839 --> 00:08:26.060 the Son who forgives them, the Spirit of grace 00:08:26.060 --> 00:08:32.820 that holds them forever. One God. So yes, we 00:08:32.820 --> 00:08:37.559 are with the Lord, but not as heroes, not as 00:08:37.559 --> 00:08:42.120 conquerors, not as an army. We are in His kingdom 00:08:42.120 --> 00:08:47.649 as the forgiven, as the rescued. as the children 00:08:47.649 --> 00:08:51.490 brought home. So the safest place we will ever 00:08:51.490 --> 00:08:54.610 stand, it's not with the weapons ready on the 00:08:54.610 --> 00:08:58.309 battlefield, but in repentance before a gracious 00:08:58.309 --> 00:09:04.169 Father. Because there, and only there, is mercy 00:09:04.169 --> 00:09:09.049 strong enough to save us, and that grace is enough. 00:09:10.750 --> 00:09:11.590 Thanks be to God.