TRUE Repentance Have you ever been there ? I mean down at a alter or in your house in a room somewhere when the feeling hits you and your gut feels like knives have cut you open .. Maybe the lump in your throat burns as the words try to come out . I am talking true repentance the kind where you hold nothing back and being sick and tired of being sick and tired .. the kind to where you want something more from God than a silence of the room when your done praying you want a sign a sound something earth moving to happen in your life to simply say I GOT YA from God .. There is Hope .. He is the same yesterday ,today and forever .. He always answers the prayers of a faithful son and daughter .. when I say faithful I do not mean sin free .. I mean always seeking The scripture says man has both a conscience and the Holy Spirit which do convict and move man toward repentance [John 8:9;Romans 2:15;Romans 9:1]; though the conscience may be seared [1 Timothy 4:2] and the Holy Spirit grieved [Ephesians 4:30]. The question is what are we doing when that still small voice inside of us starts telling us what we are doing or what we have done is wrong? Do we “come to ourselves” and desire to renew our fellowship with our Father God, or do we quickly find a way to silence our conscience and turn a deaf ear to the Spirit? One may feel sorrow over sin, but that doesn’t necessarily equate with repentance. How do we tell the difference? Here is the acid test: Those who are truly repentant will not care if they lose the respect of the entire world, as long as they make it right with God. They are glad that their sin was exposed so that it might be dealt with. Instead of scrambling to justify themselves, cover it up or attack the accuser, they will throw themselves on the mercy of God. They will be thankful to the instrument that exposed their sin, even if it caused them pain. They will also be willing to make restoration to those they have hurt. At the other end of the spectrum, is a shift-the-blame mentality. Our talk shows overflow with it and our public schools teach it. Sin is referred to at worst, as a “dysfunction” and at best as a “lifestyle choice.” Yet, even in this the Church is much to blame. In our eagerness to “save” people, how many people have we “led to the Lord” without teaching them what it means to repent? How many churches have we filled with people who have never shed one anguished tear over their sins, and are offended at the concept? Have we forgotten to preach that our forgiveness, which we receive so lightly, was purchased by Jesus Christ, through an agonizing and lonely death on the cross? Two kinds of repentance are possible in human experience. One is ‘the sorrow of the world,” a feeling induced by the fear of getting caught. Many people recognize the unpleasant consequences of their sin and are persuaded that they are guilty. This results in a superficial sorrow that may lead to a temporary reformation but not to a genuine turning to Christ for forgiveness. Godly sorrow, on the other hand, is accompanied by conviction of sin, the work of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:37). This stems from the realization of offending a holy God. It leads to genuine repentance. An unknown author wrote, “There is a radical distinction between natural regret and God-given repentance. The flesh can feel remorse, acknowledge its evil deeds, and be ashamed of itself. However, this sort of disgust with past actions can be quickly shrugged off, and the individual can soon go back to his old wicked ways. None of the marks of true repentance described in 2 Corinthians 7:11 are found in his behavior. Out of a list of 10 men in the Bible who said, “I have sinned,” we believe only five actually repented. They were David (2 Sam. 12:13), Nehemiah (Neh. 1:6), Job (Job 42:5,6), Micah (Micah 7:9), and the prodigal son (Luke 15:18).” one key missing ingredient may be the word “repentance.” Repentance means that you have a full realization of what a sinner you truly are, that you are willing to accept that Jesus’ death on the cross will save you from your sins, and that you will then be willing to make every effort to turn from those sins and start living a new life in the Lord. I think some of these so called salvation experiences are people getting too caught up in the moment at their churches with some of their friends, and they are going up for the altar calls with no idea of what they are really doing. There is no true repentance, sorrow, or realization of their sinful states. As a result, they quickly fall out of it after a year or two because they did not have full realization as to why they needed to get saved in the first place. “For godly sorrow produces repentance to salvation … (2 Corinthians 7:10) In these next 4 verses, God and Jesus are literally “commanding” that all repent before they can actually be saved and converted. Here they are: 1. “Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent. ” (Acts 17:30) 2. “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” (Acts 3:19) 3. “I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. ” (Luke 13:5) 4. “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance. ” (Mark 2:17) The first verse is now telling us that God is commanding everyone to repent. The second verse is once more tying in the word “repent” with the word “converted.” The third verse is telling us that God is not giving us any other options. Either we be willing to repent – or we will perish! Also notice that the words “repent” or “repentance” is used in every one of the above verses – which is once again implying that this is a condition that must be present when someone is getting saved and converted. In closing let me say that I know , God knows and everyone knows we all fall and sin .. but it is very important to understand that we have a very forgiving Father and with TRUE REPENTANCE . He is quick to forgive and send His love to sooth us .. But He can also see through the superficial .. Be blessed and Highly favored ; Evangelist Griffin
Posted on: Fri, 05 Jul 2013 14:40:39 +0000
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