REPENT

From John the Baptist, heralding in the reign of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour.

"And saying, Repent ye for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Matthew 3:2

To Jesus himself preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God.

"And saying, The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand, Repent ye and believe the gospel." Mark 1:15

To the Apostles preaching in spirit and truth, after Jesus earthly time is over.

"Then Peter said unto them, Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." Acts 2:38 "Repent ye therefore and be converted that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord." Acts 3:19



And Paul, being held by Roman authorities, preaching to King Agrippa before being sent to Caesar.

"But shewed first unto them of Damascus and at Jerusalem and throughout all the coasts of Judaea and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God and do works meet for repentance." Acts 26:20


Enter in the modern day Gentile Christian, who has trouble bringing God into the every day actions of their lives and speech, much less if they would be put in prison. Christians who live their lives as though there are no consequences for their actions against the holiness and righteousness of God. Christians in name only.

We recently heard two powerful messages. One about being the Product of your Environment, and one on Unity. Both messages tie together and affect the walk of a Christian. Both messages tie directly to Repentance and the Cross of Christ.

In Acts 26:20 when Paul says "turn to God and do works meet for repentance", he is saying, do those things that prove you have turned to God and have changed the way you think and act.

What does a typical day look like in our lives? In the life God gave us, and as Christians, the life that has been reconciled to Him for His glory. Are we glorifying him with our mouths, our actions, our dress, our attitude, our thoughts? Are we really? Is our environment one of holiness, righteousness, love and forgiveness? Is there unity in our body of believers? Do we lift each other up, edifying and strengthening one another, speaking of Him and his Scripture and his will in our lives? Speaking of the grace and mercy of God that has allowed us to reach that one lost soul today? Or is the topic of conversation about the last TV episode of something or sports event, or movie? Or is it about relationships, the latest dirt dished out on someone?

Before you jump up and down and say blah blah blah blah blah, i am not saying that all conversation about anything other than God is a sin. i am saying that if this is all we have to talk about all day, then we had better check our relationship with God, and we had better hurry. Time is short and there is an urgency to reach the lost. So if we are not sharing Jesus every day, something is not right, and that something is not God. That something is us, choosing to be in the wrong places without the mind of Christ, and in disunity with God and the body.

i believe that if we are in the will of God as we should be, if we are living, moving and having our being in Him, then our job was picked by him for a reason, our friends , our family, our neighbors, our daily routine is all about His will in our lives. Each step, each breath is for Him. Each word, each action is for Him. As little as it seems to us, it is all seen and heard by a holy and righteous God who loves us. Do we love him or the world? We all better check ourselves, right down to the last micro speck of our hearts and lives. Because God's will, is our will, or it should be if we are in him. Each moment of our lives we choose to serve God or the Devil..can't serve both.

"For in him we live and move and have our being, as certain also of your own poets have said, for we are also his offspring." Acts 17:28

Sin is the most dis-unifying and separating thing in a persons life. Sin, since the fall of man, the rebellion of Adam and Eve is what separates us from God. Sin is why we needed Jesus to reconcile us to God in the first place and why we need him everyday. Sin is why we need to pick up our cross daily and follow Jesus. To go through the daily cleansing of the refiners fire. To be built up in the character of God.

Paul..in prison in Rome...

"i therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worth of the vocation wherewith ye are called. With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love. Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit even as ye are called in one hope of your calling." Ephesians 4:1-4

God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. One God, three persons. Each one equal in the full power and majesty of the Godhead. God, all power and glory and majesty be unto Him, amen. God sent his son in fulfillment of OT prophesy, God in the flesh, to shed blood for us and reconcile us to himself (Romans 5:10). Jesus left the Holy Ghost to lead us to all truth(John 16:13) and fill us with the strength and power to follow Him (Acts 1:8). To avoid temptation
(1 Corinthians 10:13), to be holy as he is holy (1 Peter 1:16), and righteous as he is righteous (1 John 3:7). To lift up the name of Jesus (John 12:32) by preaching the Gospel
(1 Corinthians 1:18,21) , and draw all men to him in godly sorrow to repentance and salvation of their souls (2 Corinthians 7:9-10). God's grace and mercy unto salvation in our lives must be shared with others.

i believe that the Holy Ghost is the glue that holds the body together. He moves in us all to push us on to do the will of the Father in our lives. When we are moving in Him we are in unity with God and each other. We hear God clearly and no matter the trial, we persevere and know God is with us. When we are in sin there is disunity and God is grieved and the body suffers. Our actions are not done in a vacuum, we affect each other. i know God's will, will be done with or without us. If we choose sin, God will choose another to do what needs doing for Him. But what of the sinner? We have a responsibility in the body to bring restoration to that sinner, to bring reconciliation to that soul unto God and unto the body. We at least must try.

"But the hour cometh and now is when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is Spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and turth." John 4:23-24
The time is now and is past time when we should all be worshipping God in spirit and truth. This means with our whole lives, every part of them. Each little nook and cranny we are holding onto that is not of God needs to be cast out into the fire. Making our environment one of Gods's choosing and being unified in his Spirit within the body. Are we practicing love as
1 Corinthians 13 says to, each word of it? Are we practicing each fruit of the Spirit like Galatians 5:22 commands? Are we being built up in our Godly character so fast that people are taken aback and think you are arrogant, self-righteous, hateful, bigotted, judgmental? Because, that is how they will view you when you take the world to task for the sin it is in. The world and Satan who runs it will want you to conform, to just give in a little to fit in. Here in lies the trap of the Devil. DO NOT give in a bit. Stick to the Word of God and his will for your life. Satan can be subtle...he is ever looking for hearts to devour.

"Be sober, be vigilant because your adversary the devil as a roaring lion walketh about seeking whom he may devour." 1 Peter 5:8
i wrote a while back on debt. This is a prevailing sin among the worldly and believers alike. One i am familiar with. God convicted me of this sin and i have repented, and am making amends, restitution, to those i owe. My sin was against God for not trusting him with my need, and against the lenders. Even though i have repented and God abundantly blesses my life, i still live with the consequences of it. i still must pay it off until God says it is enough. If i do not, i am a thief and a liar and i can repent till the cows come home but why would God listen to me? Do not let Satan fool you. It is not ok to walk away from debt, it is sin. Failure to pay is stealing and lying. If God was still feared in this country, there would be debters prisons. But the debtor or sinner, gets away scott free and the lender suffers. Is that Godly? No it is not. When we borrow money to satisfy a covetous want, which many can justify by calling it ministry, we are saying we do not trust God for our every need. We do not believe Matthew 6:33. We are taking the scripures we want to justfy our sin and disregarding the rest. We are sinners, and this is a great cause of disunity within the body today all over America. This will keep the true body from growing and bearing fruit as fast as anything.

Owe no man anything (Romans 13;8-10) but the debt to love them as Jesus loved them... Repent, believe on Jesus and follow him. Pray and read his Word daily, schedule fast days, pick up the cross daily, build up your holy and righteous Godly character, fill your heart with him alone and let it overflow to others.

"For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herin thou hast done foolishly therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars." 2 Chronicles 16:9

So do we want to continue to war against the flesh, the world, the sinful nature? Or do we want to claim and walk and live in Jesus, and the power of the Holy Spirit he so lovingly promised us?? The choice is ours.