Repentance


Through the years, we have each heard this word used, and even heard explanations of what is meant, but unfortunately, to many, there has been no spiritual awakening that accompanied the explanation and the promise.
Please understand, without Biblical repentance there shall be no opening of the door to heaven, no redemption.

Only when we cry out to God the Father in desperation, knowing that without His loving forgiveness we are lost in our sins. Acknowledging that He is the only one who can give us this gift, pleading, on our knees, that He will allow the blood of Jesus Christ whom He sent and in whom we believe to hide them spiritually so that we can stand before Him in newness of LIFE, earnestly consenting to become a citizen in the Kingdom of heaven with all its responsibilities.
Happy to submit, to change our way of life on this present earth for the chance of promoting the Kingship of our Master.
Happy to stop doing our own thing and doing God's thing instead when He asks us to.

We have now fulfilled our side of the New Covenant and God the Father shall fulfil His side. Agreement is reached and the Wonderful Spiritual Covenant is now in operation.
The sins of Adam no longer apply to us.
All our previous sins are forgiven.: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.; (2 Peter 1:4-9)

This has to entail being prepared to give up our freedom of choice as to what we will do on this present earth for the reason that we believe that because God gave up the life of His only begotten Son to save our everlasting souls, He must love us, and because He is who He says He is, we are overjoyed to be given the chance to obey Him.: Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.; (1 John 3:16); Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.; (James 4:13-15)

Trust and obey,
for there is no other way,
to be happy in Jesus,
but to trust and obey.

If you do it this way, God the Father, in the Name of His Wonderful Son, has promised to bless you, to make you His child and His servant, to show you signs and wonders through His Holy Spirit, will lead you from the temptations of Satan's kingdom and prepare you for your rightful place in the Kingdom of God.
What a privilege!
Hallelujah!

Because of the Covenant that the Jewish nation made with God at mount Sinai, they became "God's chosen people". They are still God's chosen people because our Holy, Righteous God keeps His side of the everlasting bargain.
This gave and gives the Jews certain privileges and blessings, but they needed to fulfil their side of the contract on an individual basis so that they could be blessed individually:
Here's what the LORD said to king Solomon:: If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.; (2 Chronicles 7:14)

Likewise, for those people who call themselves Christians and go to church, we each need to make a Covenant with God and be obedient to our side thereof, so that we can become spiritually empowered as citizens of the Great Nation.

Here is an example that can be used to clarify the spiritual reality of following the risen Lord Jesus Christ:: And it came to pass, that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way side begging: And hearing the multitude pass by, he asked what it meant. And they told him, that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by. And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me. And they which went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he cried so much the more, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought unto him: and when he was come near, he asked him, Saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee. And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God.; (Luke 18:35-43)
There are certain items to note:

He was possibly one of the one hundred and twenty who waited for the promise of the Father and were baptised with the Holy Ghost at Pentecost in Jerusalem!

You can read the Bible a thousand times without meeting the Author - because you have not opened your heart to understand it, nor are prepared to give up your "freedom".
In reality, you will not have read more than a chapter or two without casting God's word aside, because you have accepted Satan's voice "Hath God said?"

You are not prepared to become the servant of anyone willingly.

Another example of repentance is detailed immediately after the one above:: And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house. And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.; (Luke 19:1-10)
Zacchaeus changed, recognising who was Lord.

Further on in the chapter we see what is expected of those who have felt the hand of the Living God, the Creator of heaven and earth, on them:: And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear. He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us. And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds. And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities. And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities. And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin: For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow. And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow: Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury? And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds. (And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.) For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him.; (Luke 19:11-26)

And we see the end of those who reject His call:: But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.; (Luke 19:27)

I only hope that these words have stirred your heart and spirit so that you will come to know the joy of meeting your Living Loving Saviour and receiving the blessing of being a doer for Him.
Blessings that are spiritual and worldly will follow, but most of all is the blessing of knowing, through His signs and wonders, that you shall be going to a better place, the best place, one day soon.

The promises will come to pass.
: And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.; (1 John 3:22)

Can you imagine the revival of God's power that Satan's kingdom will be shocked into accepting if God can use all of us in this manner?
: But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.; (1 Corinthians 2:9-16)



ENRICHED IN NOVEMBER 2013
: But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.; (1 Corinthians 11:3)
Please study the implications.

One of the great difficulties we have in the Christian life is trusting the divine wisdom.
God uses His wisdom to help us become holy, because without holiness we shall not enter the Celestial City.
That He makes us happy on this earth might be very nice but is of no lasting value.
How much do I trust Him? How much do I know Them? God is good! God is perfect!
All things God gives us are for His good pleasure, and the first of these is repentance:: For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season. Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.; (2 Corinthians 7:8-10)

Following Spiritual conviction, a search was made on this web site¹ for teachings that concern the subject of repentance and it was discovered that no clear explanation was given even though the above passage of Scripture was used more that once.

Few Christians realise that Paul's ministry - that which was divinely given to him - was repentance towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21). First comes initial faith, with reaction to that faith resulting in our repentance, the granting of repentance by God resulting in conversion, then growing in faith over time as a result of learning what the Holy Trinity did and is doing for His elect, with resultant broadening Spiritual wisdom and loving obedience.

Also, because of the international nature of the internet, not everyone has an English dictionary.
Therefore, a list of words and their meanings has been extracted from Chambers Dictionary and included in these following teachings, and linked together.
Making You Sorry.
God Gives Repentance
The Lord Gives Repentance.
Repentance.
The Impenitent Heart.

Sorry: Regretful, apologetic, miserable, wretchedly bad, contemptible, expressing apology.

Remorse: A feeling of regret and guilt for past wrong doing, but not asking for forgiveness from God.

Penitence: Suffering pain or sorrow for past sin and feeling a desire to reform - contrite. Undergoing penance - a worldly action to obtain God's forgiveness.

Repentance: To regret what one has done or left undone, to change from past evil or misconduct - to feel contrition. Regret with action (change moral outlook to acceptable Godly standard.)

Repentance is recognition by the sinner of the magnificence of God, of his guilt, and confession of his need of deliverance by his Creator, turning from his sinful way, earnestly desiring to be cleansed from the filth of his sin; on his knees, believing that the ever-present all powerful God who made him can hear him: opening his heart and pleading that the Living Loving merciful God will forgive him.
And then, only then, will our Heavenly Father, in His lovingkindness, mercy and grace forgive the sins of the contrite heart and grant repentance, converting the sinner into a new Spiritually aware creature.
Hallelujah!

¹ www.hosanna.org.za.