UNLESS YOU REPENT YOU WILL PERISH

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“And Jesus answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” Luke 13:2-5

Twice in this verse, Jesus makes it clear that ALL who do not repent and realize that Jesus is the only way back into a relationship with our Heavenly Father will perish.

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

Paul’s conversion is a good example of true repentance, a complete change of heart from a man who was persecuting Christians to proclaiming and proving Jesus was the Jews prophesied Christ, the Son of God.

“For some days he (Paul) was with the disciples at Damascus. And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?” But Saul increased all the more in strength and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.” Acts 9:19-22

The next verse is amazing: when we repent and accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, God the Father sends the third person of the Trinity to indwell our Spirit to be our Counsellor, Teacher, and Comforter. We are thereby a new creation in Christ Jesus enabled by the Holy Spirit.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, to be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:17-21

David got it right when he repented after he had committed a grievous sin with Bathsheba and killed her husband Uriah.

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. ” Psalms 51:10-17

David was punished by God for his sin and He did so threefold. David would never again have peace in his house, he would be publicly shamed for his private sin, and, at the apex, his son would die. Although God did not kill David for his evil deeds, the punishments he received caused him to live in shame. David did not get off easy. Remember that.

“‘Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’ This is what the Lord says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you. Before your very eyes, I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight. You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel. . . . The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for the Lord, the son born to you will die.’” 2 Samuel 12:10-14

REPENTANCE ESSENTIAL FOR JESUS COMING KINGDOM

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“In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 3:1-2

“From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 4:17

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” Mark 1:15

“No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” Luke 13:3,5

“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.” Acts 2:38

“Repent, therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out,“ Acts 3:19

“The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this, he has given assurance to all by raising Him from the dead.” Acts 17:30-31

We are called to live holy lives that honor God. Our decisions either fuel the fires of revival or quench the Spirit— we either rejoice in God and walk in His Word or grieve the Spirit by disobeying. The choice is ours.

TIME FOR REPENTANCE SONGS

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Keith Green’s voice was silenced in 1982 when he and two of his children perished in an aviation accident.

Green employed a lyrical technique that used to be common in Christian music but is virtually absent today: the Call To Repentance.

Call To Repentance (CTR) songs are designed to convict the listener of his own sin. Here is an example of CTR lyrics, from Keith Green’s Asleep in the Light (1978):

“Oh, bless me, Lord! Bless me, Lord!” You know, it’s all I ever hear! No one aches. No one hurts. No one even sheds one tear. But, He cries, He weeps, He bleeds, and He cares for your needs, and you just lay back, and keep soaking it in. Oh, can’t you see such sin?! ‘Cause He brings people to your door and you turn them away, as you smile and say: “God bless you! Be at peace!” And all Heaven just weeps ’cause Jesus came to your door, You left Him out on the streets.

 Here are two reasons CTR songs sound so out of place today:

  1. While most contemporary worship songs focus on comfort and assurance, CTR songs point out our shortcomings.
  2. While most of today’s praise songs are sung from the perspective of the disciple, CTR songs are sung from the perspective of God. In praise and worship, we are the speaker, telling God how we feel about him. With CTR, God is the speaker, telling us how he feels about us.

CTR songs are sometimes hard to listen to but there is no question as to their effectiveness. Keith Green’s songs are the slap in the face we all need from time to time. We need to be spurred on toward greater obedience and his songs certainly achieve that purpose,

“I repent of ever having recorded one single song and ever having performed one concert if my music, and more importantly —  my life — has not provoked you into godly jealousy, or to sell out more completely to Jesus!” Keith Green

He made audiences squirm by saying, “If you praise and worship Jesus with your mouth, and your life does not praise and worship him, there’s something wrong!”

 CTR songs focus on our actions, not our emotions. They demand change. And they challenge rather than comfort.

A decade ago, researcher Christian Smith at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill examined the religious beliefs of teenagers and coined a new phrase to describe the faith held by many: Moralistic Therapeutic Deism, or MTD. Albert Mohler writes:

As described by Smith and his team, Moralistic Therapeutic Deism consists of beliefs like these:

  1. “A god exists who created and ordered the world and watches over human life on earth.”
  2. “God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions.”
  3. “The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself.”
  4. “God does not need to be particularly involved in one’s life except when God is needed to resolve a problem.”
  5. “Good people go to heaven when they die.”

With beliefs like these, it’s easy to see why CRT songs seem so out of place in churches today. It’s easy to tell God how wonderful he is. It’s hard to hear how depraved we are.

CALL TO REPENTANCE

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Call To Repentance (CTR) songs are designed to convict the listener of his own sin. Here is an example of CTR lyrics, from Keith Green’s Asleep in the Light (1978). Where are the CTR songs today?

“Oh, bless me, Lord! Bless me, Lord!” You know, it’s all I ever hear!
No one aches, No one hurts, No one even sheds one tear
But, He cries, He weeps, He bleeds, And He cares for your needs
And you just lay back, And keep soaking it in. Oh, can’t you see such sin?!
‘Cause He brings people to your door and you turn them away as you smile and say:
“God bless you! Be at peace!” And all Heaven just weeps ’cause Jesus came to your door
You left Him out on the streets

Most contemporary worship songs today focus on comfort and assurance whereas CTR songs point out our shortcomings. CTR songs are anything but positive and encouraging.

Most of today’s praise songs are sung from the perspective of the disciple, CTR songs are sung from the perspective of God. In praise and worship, we are the speaker, telling God how we feel about him. With CTR, God is the speaker, telling us how he feels about us.

 it’s easy to see why CRT songs seem so out of place in church today. It’s easy to tell God how wonderful he is. It’s hard to hear how depraved we are.

I believe Keith Green’s songs are the slap in the face we need today to spur us on to greater obedience. They focus on our actions, not our emotions. They demand change. And they challenge rather than comfort.

TIME TO REPENT TO STAY JUDGEMENT

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“Consecrate a fast, Call a sacred assembly; Gather the elders And all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the LORD your God, And cry out to the Lord….Now therefore, says the LORD, ‘Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.’  So rend your hearts and not your garments; return to the LORD your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm. Who knows if He will turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind Him… Then the Lord will be zealous for His land, and pity His people. The Lord will answer and say to His people, “Behold, I will send you grain and new wine and oil, and you will be satisfied by them; I will no longer make you a reproach among the nations.” Joel 1:14, 2:12-14, 18-19

More good advice from Pastor Jeff Daly of http://www.repentday.com

“Do you want to be an overcomer?  Today is the day to decide and begin to follow God’s instructions.   If we repent, we have hope that He may relent from the judgement we deserve as a nation—continuing to murder children in the womb, sanctifying same sex marriage, taking the Word away from our children, replacing it with lies about their gender.  (That is  just the beginning of a long list you and I could add to). It’s time to repent, personally and corporately— as a local church, a community, a state, a nation.  Our forefathers knew how to do this.  Where is the call for this spiritual solution for a pandemic that has spiritual roots?  Even as we wait for national leaders in the church and government to call for repentance, join me in using this time to continue to repent, to pursue His purity. 
He calls us to be ZEALOUS to repent. (Revelation 3:19).

As you dine with Him, His Holy Spirit will support you to examine old sin patterns.  Just ask Him where to begin. At any point you can exercise your free will to discard that pattern, that false filter, that stronghold, change your thinking, replace it with  His Word. As you submit to His love and authority He will lead you as the Good Shepherd beside still waters, restoring your soul, leading you in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. He calls you and me to be holy just as He is holy.”

As we begin to repent,  JOY will surface. This JOY will be a great witness to bring others into the Kingdom, those currently afraid and lost given the pandemic. . The joyful light in our eyes and in our voice will be a beacon: 
Proverbs 17: 22: ” A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones.”
Proverbs 12: 25 ” Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, But a good word makes it glad.”  Proverbs 15: 13: ” A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance, But by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.”

REPENT IS THE KEY TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD

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Extract from National Day of repentance http://www.dayofrepentance.org.

“From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 4:17

“Repent” was the first word Jesus preached (Matthew 4:17). It’s the key to come into His Kingdom. Thereafter repentance is a gift from God, a privilege and a vital spiritual discipline to purify as “a member of His royal priesthood.” (1 Peter 2:9). The Risen Christ calls each of us daily to be zealous to repent so that we can overcome and sit on His throne as He overcame and sits on His Father’s throne. (Revelation 3:19-21).
“For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.” 2 Corinthians 7:10
Image result for picture of Scripture on repentance
Repentance, by His people called by His name, is the final step by which the Living God will hear from heaven, forgive sin and heal a nation.
The need for personal and national repentance has never been more obvious. The Lord’s Hand is needed to resolve extreme problems in every nation.  His strategy needs to be followed: IF His people called by His name humble themselves and pray, seek His face, and turn from their wicked ways, THEN He will hear from heaven, forgive sin, and heal a land. (2 Chronicles 7:14).
Since 2012 in the United States, April 30th has been proclaimed by a growing number of believers as a “National Day of Repentance”. This day was selected for several reasons:  it was the day George Washington (“so help me God”) was inaugurated in 1789; it was the day set aside by Congress and President Lincoln in 1863 for a “National Day of Humiliation, Fasting and Prayer”; it was the day picked by Oregon Senator Mark Hatfield for the same purpose in 1973 to address spiritually the national crisis over Watergate; and it precedes, and thus supports, the National Day of Prayer to be held this year on May 2nd.  Placing repentance before prayer adds to the power of the prayers, as iniquity is removed (Psalm 66:18; Isaiah 59:1-2; James 5:16).
Across denominations and boundaries, believers from other nations such as Australia, New Zealand, India and Malawi will join us on April 30th, interceding for us in their own repentance time and prayers that day.
Pray the currently sleeping Body of Christ, His Bride, will be activated.  When anyone repents, ALL BOATS RISE.  Many will experience the Truth and the JOY that follows repentance. The Lord may relent from the judgements we deserve. Proverbs 10:24 tells us: “the desire of the righteous WILL be granted.”  The repentance remnant will grow.  More preachers of repentance will surface.
A National Day of Repentance at the grassroots level on April 30th may also act as a preemptive step to avoid any division in Israel’s boundaries. The Living God states in Joel 3:2 that He will enter into judgement “on account of My people, My heritage Israel, Whom they have scattered among the nations; They have also divided up My land.”
May “repentance” be spoken among us more than ever before.  Please pass the word.  Ask your pastor to have a National Day of Repentance Service or organise a Bible Study of believers.  Join many of us, and in other nations, on Tuesday, April 30th, to take time to follow the Lord’s call to refocus on Him.