|
What is repentance?
- Read
Tract - 'Repent or Perish!'
* Repentance means that we confess and renounce our past, present, known
and unknown sins to God in prayer.
* Involves a complete transformation of lifestyle. It is not a
modification of the old one. We become new creatures in Christ Jesus -
the old has gone, the new has come!
2 Corinthians 5:17
- Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has
gone, the new has come!
When do we repent?
* When we begin a spiritual relationship with the Lord our God, the
first step is true,
heartfelt repentance, and includes confession and renunciation of past
and present sins, and living a life of holiness and godliness - in
obedience to God's commandments.
* We confess Jesus Christ is Our Lord and Savior and our belief in
Christ's crucifixion, resurrection, ascension and return as King of
kings and Lord of lords.
Why
do we repent?
* Firstly, God commands everyone everywhere to repent, and He has set a
day for judgment.
* There are many scriptural references about repentance:
Acts 17:30-31 - In
the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people
everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world
with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to
everyone by raising him from the dead.”
Matthew 3:2 - and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven
is near."
Matthew 4:17 -
From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent,
for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
Mark 1:15 - “The time has come,” he
said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and
believe the good news!”
Luke 3:3 - He went into all the country around the Jordan,
preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
* Jesus gave strong
warnings about repentance. Catastrophes are coming upon this earth
because of unrepentant sins and disobedience to God's commandments:
Luke 13:3-5 - I tell you, no! But unless you
repent, you too will all perish. Or those
eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think
they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I
tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”
* Sin separates man from God, and this barrier must be eliminated
through repentance if our prayers are to be powerful and effective,
because God will not listen to the prayers of those who cherish sin in
their hearts:
Psalm 66:18-20 - If
I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; but
God has surely listened and has heard my prayer. Praise be to God, who
has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!
* Repentance and baptism
is the pre-requisite to receiving God's Holy Spirit:
Acts 2:38 -
Peter replied, “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.
* Full-immersion baptism
is the biblical method:
Matthew 3:16 - As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of
the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of
God descending like a dove and alighting on him.
How do we prepare for repentance?
Firstly, to begin a
spiritual relationship with the Lord Almighty and a powerful and
effective prayer life, we start with:
1) Repentance
The first step is
repentance where we confess and renounce past, present, known and
unknown sins to God in prayer.
We confess our faith in Christ's crucifixion and resurrection and
accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior in our life.
2) Spiritual and Household Cleansing -
(As per Prayer page)
A spiritual and household cleansing must be conducted to remove
anything that is an abomination to the Lord and will distract us and
interfere with our relationship with Him.
This includes, for example, smashing idols and burning
sorcery/witchcraft books if anyone has been involved in idolatry (the
worship of false gods).
3) Covering ourselves
in the Blood of Jesus -
(As per Deliverance page)
'There is Power, Power Wonder-Working Power in the Precious Blood of
Jesus!'
Being in a right spiritual relationship with God and covering ourselves
in the Blood of Jesus will protect us from any human and demonic
attacks, accidents, catastrophes and sicknesses.
I cover
everyone seeking deliverance in the precious Blood of Jesus Christ.
I cover my body, mind, soul and spirit in the precious Blood of Jesus
Christ.
I cover my home in the precious Blood of Jesus Christ.
4) Cast out Demons
(from our lives and homes) - (Remember:
Demons cannot enter the body of a Christian who is filled with the Holy
Spirit). There is a difference between demons operating internally and
externally (Read Tracts: "Dangers Of The
Occult: Exposed," "Exposing And Destroying Witchcraft!"
And "You Can Be Set Free!").
5) Daily Prayer
- (As per Prayer page) Read
Tract
- Powerful and effective! prayers. My
prayer page includes what we need to know for powerful and effective
prayers and a few examples to get started.
6) Bible Study
- Studying God's Word for at least half an hour each day will help us
learn more about God, how to serve Him, please Him and do His will and
live in obedience to His Commands.
Our lives will have meaning, purpose, focus and direction.
Who do we live for? God and to fear Him and obey His commands!
What do we live for? We live to do God's will and proclaim the Gospel
throughout the world!
Crucial points about repentance
*
Firstly, prior to starting our prayer of repentance, we prepare by
searching for and collecting the relevant scriptures with an online
Bible for the keywords 'forgiveness of sins,' and claim God's promises
in prayer.
For example:
Isaiah 1:18, Psalm 103:12, 1
John 1:9.
Isaiah 1:18 - “Come
now, let us settle the matter,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are
like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as
crimson, they shall be like wool.
Psalm 103:12 - as far as the east is from the west, so far has he
removed our transgressions from us.
1 John 1:9 -
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our
sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
* Faith and repentance
is the pre-requisite to answered prayer.
* True, heartfelt repentance is the pre-requisite for forgiveness of
sins.
Mark 1:4 - And so
John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of
repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
* God will not listen to the prayers of unrepentant sinners.
* It is impossible for an apostate to be brought back to repentance.
The word
'apostasy' is not mentioned, instead the word 'falling away' is used in
the Bible and there are strong warnings.
Apostasy means to 'stand away from' the faith. In other words, to turn
away from the Gospel and stand opposed to the Living God.
Apostates sin deliberately, habitually, knowingly and defiantly.
It is dangerous for a believer to fall away, and once a believer turns
away from the faith it is not possible for him to return to God.
Hebrews 6:4-6 - It
is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted
the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted
the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age and who
have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their
loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting
him to public disgrace.
How do we repent?
* Pray the following prayer of repentance.
* We never repeat memorized prayer or read from paper like a robot.
* When we repent we always pour out our feelings and emotions to God in
true, heartfelt prayer with godly sorrow.
2 Corinthians 7:10-11
- Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no
regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. See what this godly sorrow has
produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves,
what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness
to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be
innocent in this matter.
Prayer of faith and forgiveness of sins:
Heavenly Father, God Almighty, Creator of the universe, heavens, the
earth, sky and sea and all that is in them, I come to you in the Name of
my Lord Jesus Christ and I believe that Jesus, your Son died on the
cross for my sins and rose again from the dead, after being in the heart
of the earth, the grave, for three days and three nights, and that He is
exalted above the heavens, and seated at the right hand of your throne,
and He will return as King of kings and Lord of lords.
Matthew 12:40 - For
as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so
the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the
earth.
Hebrews 12:2 -
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the
author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him
endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of
the throne of God.
Revelation 17:14 - They will make war against the Lamb, but the
Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of
kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful
followers."
I believe that Jesus your Son and Great High Priest is divine - totally
pure, holy, blameless and set apart from sinners.
Hebrews 7:26 - Such a high priest
truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from
sinners, exalted above the heavens.
I belong to you and I want to live for you. I totally commit, devote and
dedicate my life to you. Father, help me to live a life of obedience,
reverence, faithfulness, submission to you and your Son, your laws and
commands.
Father, I confess all my sins to you, past, present, known and unknown,
I'm sorry for them all and renounce them all. (You can name your sins
and renounce each one individually. e.g. idolatry e.g. greed or gluttony
etc).
(If you have been involved in idolatry and/or immorality in any of its
forms, you need to mention that you commit to destroying any idols
including occult - statues, sorcery books, etc, and immoral items -
horror, vulgar and obscene music, movies, books, magazines, etc).
Thank you for the promise of forgiveness of sins in your word:
Isaiah 1:18 - “Come
now, let us settle the matter,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are
like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as
crimson, they shall be like wool.
Psalm 103:12 - as far as the east is from the west, so far has he
removed our transgressions from us.
1 John 1:9 - If
we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our
sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Father, I thank you that I'm completely purified, redeemed, sanctified,
set apart and made holy for you and set free from all my sins through
Jesus' precious holy blood and great and perfect sacrifice.
I'm a child of God with a new life in Christ Jesus.
2 Corinthians 5:17
- Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has
gone, the new has come!
Father God, please come
into my life and fill me with the Holy Spirit, transform my life
completely and help me to stop sinning. Help me to live according to
your Word. I ask for your guidance and strength to walk the path of
holiness, godliness, purity, truth and righteousness. Help me along the
straight narrow way that leads to eternal life in your Kingdom.
Ephesians 4:24 -
and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness
and holiness.
Surround me always with your awesome, holy, glorious, majestic presence
and splendor.
I pray in Jesus Name.
Amen!
Where do we repent?
* We
repent in a solitary place away from all distractions, where we can
completely focus on God and His Son Jesus Christ.
Other
scripture references about repentance:
Matthew 3:8 - Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.
Matthew 3:11 - “I baptize you with water for
repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose
sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the
Holy Spirit and fire.
Luke 24:47 - and
repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to
all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
Acts 3:19 - Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may
be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,
Acts 19:4 - Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of
repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him,
that is, in Jesus.”
Acts
20:21 - I have
declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in
repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.
Acts 26:20 - First to those in Damascus, then to those in
Jerusalem and in all Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I preached that
they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by
their deeds.
|
