Regret – Think Different
The Text: Matthew 26
Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus
14 Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples, went to the leading priests 15 and asked, “How much will you pay me to betray Jesus to you?” And they gave him thirty pieces of silver. 16 From that time on, Judas began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus.
Peter’s Denial
34 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, Peter—this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you even know me.”
35 “No!” Peter insisted. “Even if I have to die with you, I will never deny you!” And all the other disciples vowed the same.
We’ve all made mistakes and bad choices. We’ve done things we wished we could forget but somehow the memories of our past sins and temporary stupidity come back to haunt us and when that happens they turn into regrets; they become things we start to second guess:
“What if I would have…”
“Maybe I could have…”
“I know I should have…”
When we get to that point we have become inhabitants of the land of “woulda, coulda, shoulda,” the land of regrets, and that’s a terrible place to live.
Why? Because it’s awfully hard to remember God’s grace there because you’re always second-guessing what you do and what you’ve done; you’re crippling yourself by wondering if you couldn’t have done things differently or, maybe, better.
Peter and Judas lived in the land of the “woulda, coulda, shoulda.”
They both betrayed Jesus.
One was remorseful the other was repentant.
Judas was remorseful. Being remorseful leads one to turn to self in an attempt to make up for the mistake. If you remember the story (if not click here ), after Judas betrayed Jesus he went back to the religious officials. He tried to make up for it by going back to them and giving them back the 30 pieces of silver. Judas was trying to correct his mistake. But there is no way he could correct it – there was nothing he could do change it – there was nothing he could to make up for it. He was remorseful but the scriptures never mention him repenting. The scriptures say he hung himself.
Can you imagine the woulda, coulda, shoulda that went through Judas’ mind? His regret took on a life of its own and it took over his life. It literally killed him.
Now let’s look at Peter
He too betrayed Jesus. If you read the rest of the story in Matthew 26 you learn that Peter denied he knew Jesus three times. What did Peter do? He ran to the nearest tree and wept bitterly. Peter turned to Jesus for mercy and repented.
Do you see the difference?
Judas’ regret led to remorse but it did not lead to repentance. He realized what he should have done but he was so swallowed by regret. He tried to fix it himself. He tried to make it better. But nothing he did worked. He couldn’t see a way out.
You don’t have to know God to be remorseful. Remorse is a feeling. Everyone has this feeling knit into them by God.
Peter’s regret lead to repentance. Peter’ regret led him to confession. Peter’s regret led to a broken and contrite heart. Peters regret led him to the mercy of Jesus. Peters regret led to humility. Peter agreed with God that he messed up.
You do have to know God to experience repentance. Repentance is an action. Repentance is a willingness to agree with God that you are messing up and something inside of you begins to change. You are broken. You begin to think different.
What does repentance look like?
Look at King David:
- He committed adultery with Bathsheba.
- He had Bathsheeba’s husband killed.
- He tried to lie and cover it up.
When he was confronted – he was broken. He was humbled. He agreed with God that he messed up and that he needed help.
Can you think of a time?
- Can you think of a time when you should have done something and you didn’t?
- Can you think of a time when you could have done something and you didn’t?
- Can you think of a time when you wished you would have done something?
- Can you think of a time when you wished you would have not have done something?
The scriptures teach us we all have fallen short of the glory of God. Not one of us is exempt. The scriptures teach us we all have gone astray.The scripture teaches us we all do things we don’t want to do and we don’t do what we need to do.
This is why God wants to change you.
- He wants to change the way you think
- He wants to change the way you do life.
God knows we will fall short. God knows we will go astray. God knows we do things we wish we wouldn’t have done and not do things we should have done. This is why He died on the cross.
He didn’t die on the cross so that we could become nicer people. He didn’t die on the cross to improve our life lifestyle He didn’t die on the cross to so we could feel good about ourselves and feel warm and fuzzy all over.
He died on the cross to change the way you think. He died on the cross to change the way you do life. Without his death on the cross – we don’t have forgiveness.
Can you imagine life without forgiveness? Can you imagine not being able to go to God and ask forgiveness?
We would live in our regrets all the time. Many of us would end up in a hangman’s noose like Judas if we didn’t have forgiveness.
God knew were going to mess up. God knew we were going to sin. He even told us the consequences of sin is spiritual death.
Here are the facts
#1 God is not surprised when we mess up.
- He is not surprised when someone gets a divorce
- He is not surprised when someone gets an abortion
- He is not surprised when someone into the lust of the flesh.
- He is not surprised when we commit adultery
- He is not surprised when we cheat on our taxes.
- He is not surprised when you __________________________.
He called up sheep! Sheep are dumb animals. I am not saying we are dumb but we do dumb things.
He is surprised when we don’t confess (which means to “agree with” Him that we messed up).
He is surprised when we don’t ask for forgiveness.
He is surprised when we choose to live in our regrets.
I believe he would say to those who choose to live in their past regrets, “Why in the heck did I die on the cross if you are not going to accept my forgiveness?” I John 1:9 reminds us that, “if we confess our sins he is faithful and just and will forgive us of our sins.”
This is where we get messed up! We fail to agree with him that we are messed up. Because we don’t need his forgiveness if we don’t agree with him that we messed up.For some reason Judas couldn’t agree with God he messed up. He tried to make it better by giving the money back. But he couldn’t get to the point to agree with God that forgiveness was meant for him too.
#2 God is in control of our lives
We are not His puppets on a string.
The best way to describe this is parent child relationship. As parents we warn our kids of danger ahead. When they are little we do our best to protect and keep them from harm. Parents who micro managed their kid’s lives almost always have kids that will rebel against them.As parents we are in control of our kid’s lives but there comes a point when we have to trust them.
God is very much the same way. He is not going to manage your life. He is not going to get in the way of your decisions. He allows us to pursue the desires of our heart. There comes a point you have to trust Him and know He is in control.
His desire is for an intimate relationship with him. He is just wondering if we are going to trust Him. He tells us to trust in Him with all our heart and lean not on our own understanding. In all our ways acknowledge him. Which means acknowledge the fact that he is control. I have to trust.
#3 God promises to never leave you or forsake you.
Peter held on to that truth. Even after he denied/betrayed him 3 times. Jesus didn’t leave him or forsake Him. Jesus showed him mercy.
Judas betrayed him – Jesus didn’t leave or forsake him either. Judas chose not to believe in His promise. He was swallowed by his regret. Judas took manners into his own hands. He decided to trust in his own understanding. He didn’t think God’s mercy was for Him.
Those who choose to live in the coulda, woulda, shoulda’s of the past – I am here to tell you that Jesus came and died on the cross so that you can be free.
You just have to agree with God’s understanding of you.
You can’t fix yourself. You can’t do enough religious things to make you look good for God. You can’t do anything to make your past better.
The only thing you can do is accept the fact the Jesus died on the cross for you so that you don’t have to parish.
The question is are you willing to accept that? And is that enough?
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