God Speaks I Listen

Jesus…please forgive me! I’m so sorry for all the wrong I’ve done.

2 Chronicles 7:14  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.

Repentance is:

1. When the light and knowledge of God’s holiness gets into your spirit and the shock of your own sinfulness is revealed to your mind and heart.  Then your soul cries out in agony and sorrowfulness to the Lord for mercy.

2. When you repent you feel like a light was shined into your soul and all the filthiness, nastiness, vile and horrible thoughts and actions of what you have ever done bubbles to your real-time memory and you feel the pain from all you have ever done.   It feels like your heart is being squeezed and you need the relief that forgiveness from Jesus can bring you.

3. When you are bowed and humbled in your spirit in such a way as to not be able to stand up straight until the yoke of sin is broken off of your back and an internal healing comes called forgiveness.

4. It’s when you shout…OH MY GOD!  This is the response that happens after you’ve gotten the knowledge into your spirit of what your bad behavior, hurtful actions and negative words have had on others .  This revelation makes you feel sick and want to do the right thing!

5. When you realize you acted rebelliously.  Every time you felt the Holy Spirit trying to call you into truth and you said “leave me alone and go away” and now you are aware of your behavior.

Acts 17:30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:

6.  The knowledge that you’ve been doing things your own way and could have cared less that you was sinning.

7. When you put your will before Gods will and the Holy Spirit reveals your error and sin… this knowledge leads you to figure out that you are nothing in the scope of the kingdom of God and His vast wisdom and you fall before Him for mercy.

8. Figuring out why Jesus died on the cross and what it means for your sinful self and how grateful you should be.

9.  Finally knowing all the times you rejected God who had been trying to draw you to Himself.

10.  Knowing all the love, forgiveness’ and grace you could have had and are now receiving.

Luke13:3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

11.  Begging for mercy for your sin sick soul.

12.  Seeing God in the light of His Holiness!  This will knock you right out! Bam!  On the ground!  You’ll need the help of mercy, grace, and forgiveness to get you up and able to function.  You’ll need the supernatural power of God for an internal healing accomplished by repenting.

13. Truth being revealed to you and your reaction is crying out… “Yes Lord Yes” from the depths of your heart, mind and soul.

14. Confessing all the wrong you’ve done and acknowledging that you need the Savior Jesus Christ.

15.  Even after being a Christian you have sinned and ignored the Holy Spirit when He revealed God’s word to your heart.   Then you saw your nasty rebellious behavior and stinking disobedience and begged God for mercy.

Joel 2:13 And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he [is] gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.

16. Releasing your stubborn behavior to God’s authority and showing this by changing your whole attitude and thought process to not repeating these serious acts of defiance.

17. Is surrendering your dirty mind, unruly tongue and impure heart to the Holy Spirit’s power of correction and therefore allowing the cleansing process to begin its supernatural work in your spirit man.

18.  Knowing you can’t keep doing wrong and getting away with your evil deeds.   So you throw yourself at the feet of the altar and seek mercy.

19. Is not just being sorry for doing something wrong but seeking to resolve the matter by admitting it and committing and submitting to Gods authority and principals.  Asking for forgiveness with sincerity from your heart and truly being so sorry for what you have done.  It’s where your soul wants to CONTINUALLY be right with God and you are very conscious of sin in your life from now on.  Its where you were once comfortable with your wrong actions and now you want to live for Christ and are dedicated to a live a life of holiness.

20. Experiencing the agony of sin and responding to the pain, guilt and shame of it.  This is something that is an inward reaction responding to the Holy Spirit’s influence.

21.  Repentance is like walking around your whole life with your head on backwards which caused you to go in the wrong direction and a power force responded to your cry for help and forgiveness and this power was able to put your head on straight and you are now going/walking in the right direction.

22. A Broken and bleeding heart seeking repair and that can only be healed by a gift from God through the power Holy Spirit spurred on by a persons faith in Jesus Christ for forgiveness.

“I did it mommy….I’m sorry!” ( This is an example of a repentant face…the heart, mind and soul should also reflect this in genuine godly sorrow)

Mathew 4:17  From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

I have wanted to write a blog on repentance for months and I knew it’s a topic that would be difficult for me to articulate.  I had to wait on the Holy Spirit to help me.  I have been studying about revival for years and feel repentance is needed for real revival to take place.  I believe strongly that a change is happening in many people lives and a change is going come for many others.  A few ways for change to happen is though prayer, repentance and humbling oneself before our Holy God.  Repentance is not a popular subject in 2013 but it’s very popular in the bible.  There are so many scriptures on repent and repentance that my mind was spinning after studying this subject.

Luke 13:3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.

Do we really think about our behavior anymore?  Do we cry out and ask God to search our souls to see if anything is not pleasing to Him?  The thought of that the evilness of my heart and the nastiness of my tongue might cause me to stumble before my God sickens me.  I need to have control over my flesh.  I try to live right by walking in the spirit…but I’m human!!!  I’m not always successful.  Sometime I just do stuff that’s not right and I let it slide because….well….there’s only one explanation…..I didn’t listen to the Holy Spirit when He tried to put me on notice.  I think I’ve even learned how to tune Him out and I’ve gotten good at that.

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

MY PERSONAL TESTIMONY:

I’m going to give you a personal example.  I’m going to put myself out there and confess to something to you all.  Yesterday…I spoke harshly to my husband.  He usually puts up with my stuff (Thank God for a good patient man.  I’ve toned it down some over the years in trying to please my Lord and submit to my marriage vows.) but yesterday I was not feeling well so I let my tongue get the best of me and lashed out some naggy comments to him.  He kindly told me I was a little fussy but I told him the point I was trying to make and that I wasn’t feeling well.  The good man that he is…said nothing else about it.  Well reading all the scriptures I read this morning to write this blog and writing the 20 explanations of what repentance is…..I stopped what I was doing and I called my husband  right away to apologize.  He tried to say it was OK but I stopped him and said I needed to confess and repent.  I knew I was wrong! I don’t like sinning!!!  It upsets me to know I’ve sinned.  When I became a Christian I no longer enjoyed or liked sinning.  It was against my new nature which is to be like Jesus Christ.

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

I struggle like everyone with the flesh, but when I walk in the spirit which is…1) living Christ like….2) daily holy living….3) keeping my eyes on Jesus….4) submitting my will to the Lord, I find I fall less into the things that displease God.  If I do mess up…I SINCERELY repent and because of Jesus…. I’m washed clean again.  Oh… what a gift from God repentance is.

Acts 2:38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Repentance is not only for the unsaved…but it’s for the saved born again blood washed Christian also.  Repentance brings life and it brings blessings.  It’s a gift that God gave us and I thank Jesus for making this all possible. The fruit of repentance is a clean heart!!!  A greater walk with God!  It’s a good thing too because if I had to kill an animal and do all the things the saints of old had to do to repent I’d be in big trouble. Me catch an animal and then kill it for a blood sacrifice for my sins?  I don’t think so!   Jesus sacrificed Himself for me.  The least that I can do is be thankful, prayerful and repentive.  Because of God’s love I should also be committed and submitted to Him.  Because of the Holy Spirit I should listen for His guidance, direction and most of all His correction!  I need to always repent so I can always be in line for a blessing from my Father God.  Sin equals blocked blessing.  I need the blessings that my humbling, repentance and obedience can bring.

2 Corinthians 7:9-11 As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter.

When we have unconfessed sin in our lives and the Holy Spirit brings this to our minds and we ignore Him…this blocks our blessing and is in fact a stumbling block in our relationship with God.  It’s like our blessing are being caught up in a dam and nothing is getting through.  Repent!  If you are NOT a Christian and never accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior…You have original Sin on you and this is blocking the most amazing thing from your life which is the grace of God.  Repent!  Please! Repent! Confess your belief in Jesus Christ be truly sorry for your sins, turn from our wicked ways and receive the greatest gift you’ll ever receive in your whole life which is… forgiveness from your sin and eternal life with God.

Acts 8:22 Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you.

God bless all…everyone who reads this blog today!!!!

And Jesus said….. “YES!”