PERSONAL REPENTANCE
A. Introduction: Why is personal repentance important?
Repentance must become the daily lifestyle of a true disciple of Jesus.
A believer who does not repent of his sins everyday will soon find that his sins have opened a door to the devil to kill, steal and destroy in his life, leading to constant failure and defeat.
A true disciple of Jesus is one who obeys everything that our Lord Jesus has commanded us.
And the Lord has commanded us to repent everyday so that we may walk in the riches of God’s kingdom (Matthew 4:17).
Only in this way can we be blessed and be a blessing to others.
MATTHEW 4:17The following are some of the truths of personal repentance that we must practice in our lives everyday, so as to grow to be a true disciple of Jesus:
17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say,
“Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.”
- Repent daily of our own sins.
- Repent from our heart.
- Repent as soon as the Holy Spirit points out our sins to us.
- Forgive all those who have hurt us and be reconciled with them.
- Do not worship God or pray any further until you have reconciled yourself with another brother who has something against you.
- If God has not answered your prayers for healing and deliverance as soon as you asked the Lord, wait on the Holy Spirit and ask Him to point out any area of sin in your life that has hindered your prayers.
- Ask God for grace everyday to repent and to obey him from the heart.
- Hate sin just as God hates sin.
The objectives of this lesson are as follows:
- To teach a believer how to practice personal repentance everyday.
- To teach a believer where he is not doing personal repentance everyday.
- To teach a believer the false excuses we give for not practicing personal repentance everyday.
In the Lord’s Prayer, our Lord Jesus taught us to seek forgiveness from God everyday for our own sins.
He taught us to do this so that we will continue to walk in the blessings of God, and not come under the curses of the Law.
He taught us to do this so that we will not open a door to the devil to harm or destroy us.
MATTHEW 6:9-12D. Repent from your heart
9 This, then, is how you should pray:
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.
10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.”
Do not repent for the sake of making a show of repentance, because others expect it of us, thereby speaking words that do not arise from the heart.
When you confess your sins, speak to God from your heart.
Truly feel sorry for grieving God with your sin.
Ask God for grace and strength never to repeat the sin again.
Whatever you say with your lips must come from your heart.
Otherwise you will just be a hypocrite, who does not mean what he says.
MATTHEW 15:7E. Repent as soon as the Holy Spirit points out our sins to us
7 [Jesus said]: “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: ‘These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.’ ”
MATTHEW 18:35
35 [Jesus said]: “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”
The Holy Spirit has been sent by the Father and the Son to live in every child of God to lead us into all truth.
When we sin, the Holy Spirit is grieved and He will speak to our conscience concerning our sins.
We must respond to the prompting of the Holy Spirit instantly by repenting of the sins that He points out to us.
JOHN 16:13F. Forgive all those who have hurt us and be reconciled with them
13 [Jesus said] “But when He, the Spirit of Truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth.”
GALATIANS 5:16, NKJ
16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
If we want God to forgive us our sins, we must also forgive those who have sinned against us.
If we do not forgive them, God will also not forgive us our sins and we will continue to suffer the curses of the Law as long as we have unforgiveness in our hearts.
If those who have hurt you are still living, be reconciled with them by seeking forgiveness from them for you bitterness against them.
MATTHEW 6:14-15G. Do not worship God or pray any further until you have reconciled yourself with another brother who has something against you
14 [Jesus said]: “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
15 But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
If the Holy Spirit points out to you directly or through others that a brother has something against you, you must go and be reconciled with him.
Jesus our Lord has commanded us to not even worship or pray any further until we have settled with our brother any grievances he has against us.
Do not give any excuses for not obeying the Lord’s command and sin in your pride and disobedience.
God will not listen to our prayers as long as we sin and do not make up with another brother who has something against us.
MATTHEW 5:23H. If God has not answered your prayers for healing and deliverance as soon as you asked the Lord, wait on the Holy Spirit and ask Him to point out any area of sin in your life that has hindered your prayers
23 Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you,
24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother, then come and offer your gift.
If God has not answered your prayers for healing or for success in your business and work, then you need to seek the Holy Spirit for the hindrances to your prayers.
If you have been praying according to the Lord’s promises, and God’s miracles are not forthcoming, then the problem is on our side.
Do not pray any further, for more prayer is not going to change God.
God is not weak nor is He deaf.
Instead, seek God honestly and let Holy Spirit point out any sins in your life, whether in thought, word or deed, that you may need to repent of.
Then quickly and humbly repent and turn back to the ways of the Lord.
PSALM 66:18I. Ask God for grace everyday to repent and to obey him from the heart
18 If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.
ISAIAH 59:1-2
1 Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save nor His ear too dull to hear,
2 but your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.
We need the grace of God everyday to repent.
By ourselves and depending on our own will-power and strength to repent, we will fail.
God wants us to walk in victory over sin and to overcome all sin in our lives.
And out of His grace, He will give us the strength and desire to repent of every sin, no matter how difficult it is.
The grace of God is sufficient for us to walk in continuous victory over sin everyday.
Just cry out to Him everyday and He will be there to help us.
2 CORINTHIANS 12:9J. Hate sin just as God hates sin
9 But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.”
Our God is a holy God and He hates sin.
It is sin that has separated Him from fellowshipping with His own creation, including you and me.
It is sin that has caused God to send His only Son to die on the cross and to suffer for our sins in order to bring us back to Himself.
And it is sin that has given the devil the legal right to destroy the lives of the people in this world, all of whom He created for Himself.
If God hates sin so much, how can we His children tolerate sin in our own lives, in our families or in the church?
If we begin to hate sin as God hates sin, we will not have the desire to sin against God.
We must therefore ask God for His revelation about His hatred towards sin, so that we will no longer treat sin lightly.
Instead, we must ask God for the heart to always grieve over sin just as He grieves over sin in our lives.
PSALM 97:10
10 Let those who love the LORD hate evil,
for He guards the lives of His faithful ones
and delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
PROVERBS 6:16-19
16 There are six things the LORD hates,
seven that are detestable to Him:
17 haughty eyes,
a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood,
18 a heart that devises wicked schemes,
feet that are quick to rush into evil,
19 a false witness who pours out lies
and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.
……………………………………………………………………
TESTIMONY
Sister Healed Of Severe Migraine
When we first started meeting in our home more than 15 years ago, a sister and her family from another church would come to worship with us on a Sunday because of her sickness.
She would have severe migraine if she were to travel to her own church outside our housing estate and was exposed to the mid-day sun.
She would have to suffer for many hours in a darkened room with the curtains drawn shut whenever she had this problem.
This was also the problem she always faced whenever she returned to her hometown in Taiping.
When she related her problem to me after I came to know her family, I taught her about the sin of idolatry and witchcraft that opens a door for demons to attack us and put sicknesses on us.
She repented of all her past involvement in idolatry and witchcraft, and I prayed for her deliverance and healing.
She then left for her hometown Taiping that very Sunday.
Two weeks later, she testified that for the first time in her life, she did not have migraine when she went back to Taiping.
She had not seen me earlier because she could not believe in her healing miracle and wanted to make sure that it was for real before she came back to testify to me about the healing.
She was indeed totally healed of her sickness and because of her healing, she returned to her church in Penang as she can now travel under the mid-day sun.
Hallelujah!!! Glory to God!!!
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