Monday, June 8, 2009

Part 3 of 3 Repent for the Kingdom is at Hand



Patrick Henry, that patriot and Founding Father of our country said: "It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists but by Christians, not on religions but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ".





Repent for the Kingdom is at Hand: Part 3 of 3

When we examine Scripture we find there are at least five distinct steps of repentance.
1. Recognizing God’s Presence:
Notice what John’s response was upon beholding the Lord:
“I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day,
and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet…
…Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me.
And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands;
and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man,
clothed in a robe reaching to the feet,
and girded across His chest with a golden sash.
His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow;
and His eyes were like a flame of fire.
His feet were like burnished bronze,
when it has been made to glow in a furnace,
and His voice was like the sound of many waters.
In His right hand He held seven stars,
and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword;
and His face was like the sun shining in its strength.
When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man
And He placed His right hand on me, saying, "
Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last,
and the living One; and I was dead, and behold,
I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.
Revelation 1:10,12-18 NASB (my emphasis bold)

When we come to the realization that God is observing our every deed, thought and word that leads us to examine our hearts and adopt a repentant spirit. Such a response was also given by the prophet Isaiah as he beheld the throne room of God:

“And one called out to another and said,
"Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts,
The whole earth is full of His glory."
And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him
who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke.
Then I said, ‘Woe is me, for I am ruined!
Because I am a man of unclean lips,
And I live among a people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts."
Isaiah 6:3-5 NASB (my emphasis bold)

Similarly the Apostle Paul (then known as Saul of Tarsus) had a similar experience when Christ appeared to him on the road to Damascus:
Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder
against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest,
and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus,
so that if he found any belonging to the Way,
both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus,
and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him;
and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him,
"Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?"
And he said, "Who are You, Lord?"
And He said, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting,
but get up and enter the city, and it will be told you what you must do."
The men who traveled with him stood speechless,
hearing the voice but seeing no one.
Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open,
he could see nothing; and leading him by the hand,
they brought him into Damascus.
Acts 9:1-8 NASB (my emphasis bold)

Encounters with the Living One result in our seeing our true relational position… they are sobering and cause us to honestly evaluate our sinful nature, thus realizing our need for repentance before Him.

2. We Change our Minds:

The Greek word for “repentance” firstly means to “a change of mind.” This is exactly what God desires that we will lay down our low views and adopt the mind of Christ.
God wants us to relinquish the control of our lives to Him. Our old man will always desire to be in control. This is the same root of pride that caused Lucifer to be cast out of heaven. It is the same root found in Cain, in short it is to be earthly minded. This of course includes all those who have not been born again in Christ Jesus. The Lord Himself said,
“Unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
John 3:3 NASB
The natural man does not accept the things of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them because they are spiritually appraised (discerned). [see: 1 Corinthians 2:14]
As we are born again by the Spirit of God we more and more see things from His vantage point. Our own perspective changes and we take on the mind of Christ.

“The spiritual man makes judgments about all things,
but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment:
‘For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?’
But we have the mind of Christ.
1 Corinthians 2:15-17 NASB [in reference to Isaiah 40:13 (my emphasis bold)]


From the fall of man in the Garden of Eden this has always been the root of all sin; the preference of man choosing his/her own way, rather that to yield to God’s will for their lives.
We are still prone to choose the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, thus neglecting the Tree of Life.

It is the fundamental lie of the enemy of our souls – and it (the lie) is alive and well in America – founded in independence and democracy (which only works when the nation is submitted to God, as we were in the beginning). When man ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil he became focused on himself and began to think of himself as able to manage his own affairs.



Mini-rabbit trail:
If you have never read the book There Were Two Trees in the Garden by Rick Joyner; I highly recommend that you do. The whole volume is dedicated to uncovering this critical issue of the Christian walk.
End mini-rabbit trail.

We need to know the Lord as He is, as Mighty in Splendor, as the Alpha and Omega, as the Bright Morning Star. When we behold Him in truth and the majesty of His Kingdom, our personal issues and even the problems of the world become by comparison insignificant (not that they aren’t important to Him – they are!). “His kingdom come, His will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” becomes our primary focus. Surly His Kingdom will be established, His will cannot be thwarted by the evil one and all his schemes… as the Sun drives away the darkness of night, so by His Spirit we shall overcome the evil we face in this fallen world.

3. Our Hearts Grieve Over Sin:

When we come face-to-face with the consequences for attempting to run our own lives, we come to the realization that it was our sin that put Christ on Calvary. This sobering realization causes us to grieve for what we have done.
But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him.
Isaiah 53:5-6 NASB

When the religious leaders of the Jesus’ day rejected Him, they spurned the very source of their own redemption and reconciliation with the Father. In the same manner we have the choice today of self-rule or placing Christ Jesus on the thrones of our hearts. Those who deny the Lord in words and deeds are proclaiming right along with the Chief Priests “We have not king but Caesar… crucify Him!”
“It was the day of Preparation of Passover Week, about the sixth hour.
"Here is your king," Pilate said to the Jews.
But they shouted, "Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!"
"Shall I crucify your king?" Pilate asked.
"We have no king but Caesar," the chief priests answered.”
John 19:14-15 NASB

Humbling oneself before the Lord, and crying our for forgiveness for our blatant rejection of the Lord, and our sin against Him are true signs of a repentant heart.
Jesus put it this way:
“Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.”
Matthew 5:4 NASB

The psalmist wrote that the sacrifices that God desires are:
“a broken spirit (‘poor in spirit’) and a contrite heart.”
[Psalm 51:17]
The message of this beatitude
is that if we wish to be comforted, and blessed of God
we must come to a place
where we really mourn for our own state of sinfulness.

Even beyond that, we are to mourn
for the condition of sinfulness around us,
(in our homes, our workplaces, and in the world around us.)
How easy it is for you to see
where I have fallen short of God’s glory...
yet how much easier it seems it is, for me to see where others have fallen short...(which is part of my own self-deception...thus Psalm 139:23,24).

“Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me and know my anxious thoughts;
And see if there be any hurtful way in me,
And lead me in the everlasting way.”
Psalm 139:23-24 NASB

Only God knows the true condition of our hearts.
We have no end of accusation and counter-accusation today. What started in the garden with the serpents lie continues to be manifest today to each one of us. ‘Bitterness, grumbling and accusation - are the languages of Hell.’ (A paraphrase of the contemporary prophet Graham Cooke)

It is only through having our minds washed in the Word, renewed in Christ Jesus and walking in the light of the Holy Spirit, that we are able to see the foolishness of our own hearts, repent, and be restored. As we are obedient to walk humbly in the grace of our Lord, we step by step learn to overcome the work of the enemy, and our own sin nature. Thanks be to God!
The question Christ raises is
will we choose to repent before him and be restored in His grace...and then
will I choose intercession for those around me, above accusation and gossip.

“Brethren, if any man is overtaken in any trespass,
you who are spiritual restore such a one
in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself
lest you also be tempted.”
Galatians. 6:1
When we truly mourn
we will find the truth of Jeremiah’s prophetic words:
“...For I will turn their mourning into joy,
And will comfort them,
and give them joy for their sorrow.”
Jeremiah 31:13

In knowing one’s true position before God (“poor in spirit”)
and in mourning for my (and others) spiritual condition
are found the well-springs of peace, righteous living and “joy unspeakable and full of glory”.

(I Peter 1:8)

4. We Choose to Walk Away From Sin

It is not sufficient to simply admit that we have sinned. True repentance means to turn and walk the other way. We must, by the power of the Spirit, learn to hate evil and love righteousness.
Let’s be honest and face it; sin is pleasurable to our flesh… if it weren’t we wouldn’t sin. But the pleasure, peace and joy that comes from walking in righteousness and unity with the Lord, utterly dwarfs that of sin. Sin ultimately leads to our captivity and death, while walking in the light with the Lord leads to blessing, life and life abundant.
We are called in the Word to renounce sin and to ‘put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, we refuse to fulfill the lustful desires of the flesh.’ (Romans 13:14 paraphrased)
When we turn from evil and pursue a walk with the Lord, we must walk in truth. Jesus is the Truth! As our vision of His Kingdom matures the things of earth grow dim, less enticing, less effective in luring us away from His presence…
The spiritual actuality becomes more real and compelling to us than the lies and enticements or the enemy.
We can only walk away from sin, by the power of His Spirit in us. To walk in the Spirit is to see with the eyes of Christ, to hear with His ears and to understand our every circumstance and opportunity with the heart of God.
As we dwell in His presence we will see that the whole earth is full of His glory, regardless of the difficult circumstance we may face.
Without Christ, there is no good thing in us! We may look at our lives again and again, but we will find only a heart of evil intent. In Christ Jesus alone we find the escape from our old nature, and the power to live a victorious Christian life filled with reconciliation, righteousness, holiness, wisdom, and purity.
Jesus is everything we have been called to be… and that which we were called to be by God, can only be achieved by our abiding in Christ Jesus.

“See to it that no one takes you captive
through philosophy and empty deception,
according to the tradition of men,
according to the elementary principles of the world,
rather than according to Christ.
For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,
and in Him you have been made complete,
and He is the head over all rule and authority;”
Colossians 2:8-10 NASB (my emphasis bold)

Walking away from sin is a choice we make, when our heart is truly penitent before God, and we are walking with Him, empowered by His Holy Spirit.

5. We Become Ready to be Molded by God:

The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD saying,
"Arise and go down to the potter's house,
and there I will announce My words to you."
Then I went down to the potter's house,
and there he was, making something on the wheel.
But the vessel that he was making of clay
was spoiled in the hand of the potter;
so he remade it into another vessel,
as it pleased the potter to make.
Then the word of the LORD came to me saying,
"Can I not, O house of Israel,
deal with you as this potter does?" declares the LORD.
"Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand,
so are you in My hand, O house of Israel.
Jeremiah 18:1-6 NASB

None of us have arrived at Christ-likeness, but we are called by the Lord to maturity and to strive for perfection.

"Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Matthew 5:48 NASB

Accordingly, as believers and disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, each of us should be continually making progress in achieving Christ-like qualities in our personal lives. This means we should have a teachable spirit and an earnest desire to allow God to change us and build the character of Christ in us.

We should have a servants heart –
Walking in humility before God and men

But He gives a greater grace Therefore it says, "GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE."
James 4:6 NASB
For though the LORD is exalted,
Yet He regards the lowly,
But the haughty He knows from afar.
1 Peter 5:5 NASB

We should walk in obedience –
Jesus answered and said to him,
"If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word;
and My Father will love him,
and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.
John 14:23 NASB
If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love;
just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love.
John 15:10 NASB
And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments
This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning,
that you should walk in it.
2John 1:6 NASB

We should not seek recognition –
Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me,
he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
Luke 9:23 NASB (my emphasis bold)

We should be faithful to God and one another:
I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me,
because He considered me faithful, putting me into service,
1 Timothy 1:12-14 NASB
For the LORD loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones.
They will be protected forever,
but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off;
Psalm 37:28 NASB
"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant!
You have been faithful with a few things;
I will put you in charge of many things.
Come and share your master's happiness!'
Matthew 25:21 NASB

We demonstrate a teachable spirit by:
having a willingness to receive ministry as well as give ministry
being willing to accept correction

The most important aspect of our walk
is our personal relationship with the Lord!

Some characteristics

of a person who has a close personal relationship with God

are as follows:

- Spending time daily with God in praise, worship and adoration.
- Spending time in regular reading and study of the Word.
- Walking in forgiveness as a lifestyle

For if you forgive others for their transgressions,
your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
Matthew 6:14 NASB
But one whom you forgive anything, I forgive also;
for indeed what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything,
I did it for your sakes in the presence of Christ,
so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan,
for we are not ignorant of his schemes.
2 Corinthians 2:10-11 NASB

- Practice being continually filled with the Holy Spirit.
And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together
was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit
and began to speak the word of God with boldness
.
Acts 4:31 NASB
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation,
but be filled with the Spirit,
Ephesians 5:18 NASB

- Growing in demonstration of the fruit of the Spirit in His life
(Galatians 5:22)

Love - Patients - Gentleness
Joy - Kindness - Faithfulness
Peace - Goodness - Self-control

Placing this list periodically before the Lord
is a good indicator on how we are doing in this regard,
and in what areas we need to grow.
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me and know my anxious thoughts;
And see if there be any hurtful way in me,
And lead me in the everlasting way.
Psalm 139:23-24 NASB

30 fkj

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