Repentance

Welcome to the Freedom and Abundance Blog where we help you Break the Pact. What exactly is this pact? It is helping you Biblically:

1) Push past the adult residual effects of childhood sexual abuse

2) Acknowledging and overcoming sexual sin

3) Cutting out occult, secret societies, fraternities and sororities, witchcraft, new age and cult like influences.

4) Combatting codependency by grabbing a hold to our God love recovery

5) Taking back your power from psychologically, emotionally and sometimes spiritually toxic abusive relationships

. ** We do it all through discipleship. Where we help God's women be empowered with the word to renew their minds.

Today we are having a back to basics talk. Every believer must know about and understand repentance. Repentance was necessary in Biblical times and it is still necessary for us today. So sit back, take a moment and be prepared to hear about repentance which is part of the Gospel message. It is my prayer today that you will be led to repentance today . It is my prayer today that the goodness of God will be revealed to you and you will take a step toward the freedom and abundance that is yours in Christ and Christ alone.

There are four main areas that we will discuss today.

1) What is repentance?

2) Is repentance necessary?

3) The Lord responds to true repentance.

4) How do I repent?

I want to give a disclaimer. I am not a medical professional. I'm not a licensed therapist, psychologist or counselor. I am a disciple. I'm a mentor and a coach. And the information here is Biblical. The information presented today is for your educational information and information only. SHES DISCIPLED, LLC takes no responsibility for your life or your decisions. But if you do need medical attention, please seek the help you need.

Before we get into the topic today, I want to bless you. I have prepared a special gift for you that is absolutely free of charge. The gift is a List of 10 things to know about repentance. The list covers many things that are not mentioned in the blog but are absolutely necessary for a true disciple/ follower of Christ to know and understand. It also includes a compiled list of scriptures to study repentance further. All you have to do is head over to www.shesdiscipled.com/e9-shownotes and sign up for the weekly newsletter. When you sign up, you will receive weekly tips, tools and strategies to help you Break the Pact! You will also receive the shownotes from the podcast that corresponds to this blog as well as the transcript from the podcast that goes along with this blog. Remember, here at SHES DISCIPLED LLC, we encourage you to do your own deep dives in scripture. Woman of God, study to show yourself approved. ( 2 Timothy 2:15)

Truth

Did you know that Jesus came on the scene preaching repentance? In Matthew 4:17, Jesus said, " repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." The book of Mark tells us that the message not only includes repentance but we are to also believe. ( Mark 1:15) If Jesus said it and it is written in the word, then it is imperative for us to understand it and certainly to obey, if we want to be true followers of Christ.

The Bible is clear that we must confess Jesus with our mouths . Yes friends we must openly confess that Jesus is Lord with our mouths. (Ephesians 2:8-10) There is also something that we must believe. What are we to believe? Well friends according to Romans 10:9 we are to believe in our hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead. The message is simple. With that, we are saved. The Bible tells us that we are saved by grace through faith alone. ( Ephesians 2:8-10) The Bible also reminds us that Jesus, yes Jesus is the only way to the father. No man can go to the father unless it is by Jesus. ( John 14:6) We must also agree with his word. Believers know and believe that the sum of his word is absolute truth. ( Psalm 119:160)

Now, you are saved, a child of God that now has eternal life with the father! What a gift! However, these days there seems to be a misconception that as children of God we can just go about our lives proclaiming the name of Jesus and proclaiming that we belong to him even while living a life contrary to that of a true believer. Don't be fooled! According to the word of God, many who say they are believers are not. Jesus said that many will call him Lord, but he will say that he never knew them. ( Matthew 7:21-24) Yes, he said that many that are doing what seems to be the work of ministry ( preaching, teaching, casting out demons, healing, etc.) There is more than just saying you belive, there is more than just doing the work of minsitry. Remember, we are saved by grace through faith and although good works will be a natural fruit, works simply do not provide your salvation. It is one of the amazing things that separates Christianity from all other works based religions.

What am I talking about? I'm just gonna keep it really real because you can't walk around with sexual immorality and call yourself a child of God. You are not. You can't walk around with hatred for your brothers and sisters and call yourself a child of God. You are not. You can't walk around doing all manner of evil, slander, gossip, drunkenness and unforgiveness, You cannot. You can't go around practicing witchcraft and sorcery and occultism and new age practices. You cannot. And that's just the short list.

There are many other things you can't do friends. It is just truth. The truth is you cannot do those things and call yourself a child of God. You can't be a continual creator of discord and consider yourself to be a child of God. You can't cheat folks and call yourself righteous. You can't. You can't call yourself a child of the most high. It just doesn't work that way. You may have heard otherwise, but let me be the first to tell you that you've been lied to. Point blank. True repentance will bear a fruit. We have with the Holy Spirit that dwells on the inside of us an undeniable power that gives us a supernatural ability to live righteous. Friends it is without effort. We can't do it on our own.

True repentance is the very beginning. Holy and righteous living is an expectation of the believer who is submitted to Christ. You will see the fruit of one who repents. What fruit? The life of a repentant believer will reflect the fruit of God's spirit. The true believers walk, talk, and lifestyle will be one that resembles Christ. There will be a harmonious blend. Those who love God, obey his words . ( John 14:23) Now does this mean that the true follower of Christ won't ever sin? NO! We will sin from time to time. But it is by the conviction of the Holy Ghost that we will not continue in sin and we will quickly repent and turn back in the right direction. ( Revelation 3:19)

What is Repentance?

The word repent in the Greek is the word metanoeo. ( Strong's G3340) According to Strong's Concordance, the word means to change one's mind. It also means that one will change and it will be a change for the better. Fixing and or ammending their past behavior is part of repentance. Additionally, the word means that we will begin to think differently. It also means that there will be a form of sorrow and even guilt for the behavior. Scripture is constantly confirming itself in multiple place. The word tells us that transformation occurs when we renew our minds . ( Romans 12:2) We see that our thinking is involved in this act of repenting. We have the ability in Christ to change our minds ( former thinking, ways of acting, appetities etc.) and turn in new righteous directions.

The Goodness of God leads you to repentance

The Bible tells us that one is led to repentance by the sheer goodness of God! ( Romans 2:4) Why is our God good? Oh friend there are many reasons why God is so good. Do you know that he sent Jesus to die just for us? Jesus paid our price for sin, he purchased us with his precious blood. He took the curse for us. Jesus sacrficed his own life that we might have eternal life. If that isn't sheer goodness friend, I don't know what is. ( John 3:16, 2 Corinthians 5:15)

Do you know that we are loved by him even when others forsake us? Yes friends, even when natural relationships fail us; we are loved by God. The Bible says that he loves us with an everlasting love, a steadfast love and an enduring love. (Lamentations 3:22-23, Hebrews 13:8 , Psalm 136, Jeremiah 31:3) This is a kind of goodness that you can hold onto when it seems that love is no where to be found. This is a goodnes that we can keep and hold onto

. Do you know that not only can we count on the goodness of his love, but we can also count on the goodness of his protection? The word reminds us that He is a shield for his own. He is a strong tower for his people and God's people can find safety in him. ( Proverbs 18:10-13, Psalm 28:7 ) In a world filled with violence and uncertainty of relationships and systems. We can find a spiritual safety and protection in the Lord. This my friend is just the short list of God's goodness. Scripture is filled with the goodness and faitfulness of God. His goodness will capture you like no other, it will take your breath away.

Now you know that his goodness leads you to repentance. You do not have to endure the condemnation of others that often take the position of the accuser. When you have been delivered from sin, you no longer care what others think or believe. You know you have been freed from bondage by the grace of God. You boast in him and him alone. You testify to others of his goodness. You become a witness to his goodness in your life and your life becomes a living testimony of how he delivered you from the throngs of hell and sin. No man can condemn you! Don't even allow it! Condemnation brings nothing but shame, humiliation, rejection and guilt. But repentance leads to freedom in Christ.

Did you know that condemnation will not lead one to repentance? Yes friend, those that constantly berate you or try to remind you of your sin will not bring you to repentance. Nor will it give you a desire to change your behavior! The Bible tells us that only when we are in Christ, we are not in condemnation. ( Romans 8:1) That scripture goes on further to say that those in Christ do not walk after the flesh. Yes, those who have been delivered from the bondage of the flesh have freedom from the bondage of fleshly sin. Check out the works of the flesh in scripture. ( Galatians 5:19-21)

Repentance is linked to forgiveness of sins & healing

When we confess our sins we not only have forgiveness, but we also open ourselves up to allow the Lord to heal us from anything corrupt, immoral or unrighteous. ( 1 John 1:9 ) This is a beautiful truth. Friends we may not know all of the sins that we have commited in our ignorance. When we have been led to repentance we start repenting of what we do know. The Holy Spirit will begin the work of showing you other things that you must repent from as you begin to familiarize yourself with his word. How can one say they know and are intimate with someone when they really don't know their likes and dislikes? How can you say you know someone if you don't know the things that they hate?

That is true of us friends, when we begin relatiionship with the Father through Jesus. We begin to know him intimately. We don't want to be connected to anything that he finds detestable. It becomes our total desire to live a life that is pleasing to him.

That scripture in 1 John 1: 9 tells us that he is faithful to forgive us and he is faithful to cleanse us of all unrigteousness. Who is he? He is Jesus. Jesus is faithful to forgive us. Jesus is faithful to cleanse us. That word cleanse in the Greek (katharizo) means to make clean and to remove actual stains and dirt. It also means to purify us from wickedness, freeing us from the guilt of sin. In this cleansing we are purified. ( Strong's Concordance) This cleansing friends is healing. This cleansing friends is the process that the Lord begins to do on the inside of us. It is an inside job. One can't be purified without the work of the Lord renewing our minds, changing us so that we are literally unrecognizable.

What happens if I don't repent?

It is first important to know that the Lord commands all to repent. We are told that there was a time that the Lord overlooked our ignorance. ( Acts 17:30) Here we see that the Lord give us time. He is gracious. But there is a time when ignorance doesn't cut it. Is that time now for you? You know we can't use ignorance in the natural world to avoid judgement and we can't use ignorance in the spiritual world to avoid judgement either. If we don't know the rules of driving, it does not mean that we can use it as an excuse. When we run a red light and are pulled over by a police officer, he is obligated by law to give us a ticket. The truth is, just because we didn't know the rule of running the red light doesn't mean that we won't be given a ticket and held accountable for the offense.

The Bible is clear that the end will not come until all have heard the Gospel. ( Matthew 24:14) This means that all will have an opportunity to receive it. This means that all will have an opportunity to repent. The truth is not everyone will receive this gospel message. The truth is not everyone will repent. Those who do not, will perish according to the word. ( Luke 13:3) Those who are in Christ and believe are not condemned according to the word of God. ( John 3:18) You can't be in Christ without confessing him as Lord and without repentance.

When you come to Christ for the first time you must repent and when you are in Christ, you still may need to repent from time to time. Yes! men and women of God make mistakes and sin. They do not walk in continuous patterns of sin. They are quick to repent of sin. ( Revelation 3:19)

The Lord responds to true repentance

There are many examples in scripture that show how the Lord responds favorably to a true repentant man or woman. Let's take a look at the life of Hezekiah. King Hezekiah was overall considered to be a good king of Judah. According to 2 Kings 18:3-5, Hezekiah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. Yet Hezekiah had a moment in his kingship where he was full of pride. Yes, he stepped out of line and was totally out of order!

Hezekiah had an illness that was going to take his life. Upon hearing that the illness would claim his life, Hezekiah proceded to pray, cry and repent asking the Lord for help. The Lord heard Hezekiah's repentance and saw his weeping. He responded to his repentance by granting him an additional 15 years to live. The Lord gave him a miraculous remedy for his illness. He told the prophet Isaiah to tell him to prepare a fig poulstice to apply to Hezekiah's deathly boil. The remedy worked and he was miraculously healed. ( 2 Kings 20: 5-7) However, we are told that the king didn't show appreciation for the kindness that God showed to him. The Bible tells us that he was proudful/ lifted up. The result was not only wrath upon Hezekiah, but the wrath of God also fell upon his kingdom. Imagine that, those that were submitted under Hezekiah's authority were too affected by this king's sin/pride. (2 Chronicles 32:25)

Scripture tells us that Hezekiah finally humbled himself for the pride that was in his heart. His humbling (repentance) led the people to humble themselves also and the Lord withheld the wrath that he intended to put upon them. We can see that the Lord responded favorably to Hezekiah and the people of Judah as a result of their true and sincere repentance.

You might be surprised that the Lord even responds to repentance to those that have literally set themselves against him. We can find an example of this with king Manasseh of Judah. Manasseh did evil in the sight of the Lord and was well known as a king that opposed God. His practices revealed that his heart was not toward God. He imitated the despicable practices of the surrounding nations. He built altars to foreign gods, worshiped the stars , practiced witchcraft and divination. and even summoned mediums. All of these things the Lord absolutely hates. The situation was so bad that Manasseh even caused the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem to stray.

The Bible tells us that Manasseh was warned but he refused to listen. As a result, the Lord allowed the Assyrian king to capture him and take him to Babylon. It was while Manasseh was in captivity that he sought the Lord and humbled himself . Manasseh humbled himself (repentance) and prayed to the Lord. God responded to Manasseh's repentance. He allowed him to return to his kingdom. Upon Manasseh's return, he made a huge turn around. He removed the foreign gods, altars and idols and threw them all outside of the city. Manasseh rebuitl the altar of the Lord and began giving thanks and offering sacrifices to God. Did the Lord respond favorably? Yes. Manasseh was probably as evil as they come. Yet when he truly repented sincerely the Lord helped him. Notice that Manasseh's behavior from that point on revealed his change of heart . Manasseh's story can be found in 2 Chronicles 33 1-20 , 2 kings 21:1-26.

There are other examples that show the Lord's response to repentance in scripture. Jonah's message of repentance caused a king and his whole kingdom to repent. Even evil King Ahab of Israel had a story of repentance after being rebuked by the Lord. The Lord withheld judgement in both of those cases. Although there are surely more examples in scripture, I would invite you to also read about the jailer who repented when he saw the goodness of God freeing his servants from literal chains in a prison. And don't forget to read about the woman with many sins who wept at the feet of Jesus and received forgiveness. ( Jonah 3, 1 Kings 21:25-29, Acts 16;25-34, Luke 7: 36-48) In looking at all of these wonderful examples in scripture we can see that the Lord too will also respond to our sincere repentant heart. We should be encouraged that our God will respond.

How do I repent?

This my friend is the best part. Repentance is simple.

1) Confess your sins known and unknown before the Lord.

Remember, the Lord is faithful and just to forgive you and cleanse you of ALL unrighteousness. ( 1 John 1:9) It really doesn't get any better than this. This is an absolute promise. You are forgiven and you have now opened yourself up to him to allow him to cleanse and heal you of any and everything that was unrighteouss in his eyes.

2) Believe the gospel message. Mark 1:15 reminds us that not only do we have to repent, but we must also believe the gospel message.

The gospel message is simple. Jesus was sent by the father to save us from our sin. He paid the price of sin for us. He purchased us with his precious blood so that we might have the opportunity to have eternal life with the father. We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus and Jesus alone. We have a way to the father and it is only by way of Jesus. ( Galatians 1:4. John 14:16)

3) Confess the Lord with your mouth and believe that God raised him from the dead then my friend you are saved. ( Romans 10:9, 10 ) With your heart you believe unto righteousness & with your mouth you confess to salvation

4) Ask the Holy spirit to reveal any open doors that must be shut. Ask him to give you the power to shut them by his spirit.

5) Ask the Lord to reveal people, places and things that must be removed from your life.

6) Begin a lifestyle of reading your word, worshiping and praising God.

7) Learn about spiritual warfare. ( The battle will now become real, learn how to fight )

8) Join a discipleship community & stay encouraged!

Remember freedom and abundance is for you woman of God if you want it. The only freedom is that that is in Christ.

If today's blog resonated with you in any way, I pray that you will grab the goodie that I prepared for you regarding repentance. Go over and grab your free 10 things To Know About Repentance List, as well as a list of more scriptures to help you study repentance further in depth. Remember you will join my newsletter and you will begin receiving weekly tips and strategies to help you Break the Pact. Go to www.shesdiscipled.com/e9-shownotes. I pray that you gained some insight on repentance. I pray that as I was obedient in giving this message; that you too woman of God, would be led to repent like the mighty men and women of God that are wonderful examples for us in the Bible. Remember repentance is necessary. Don't let anybody lie to you. It's necessary, but freedom and abundance are yours in Christ and Christ alone. And if you want it, it's yours. God bless you.