Genuine Repentance

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Genuine Repentance

This is for the believers.

You know how even though we’re saved, we still sin?

Even though we’re Christians now, we still can have bad habits too. I, for one, have many bad habits to break.

Hello, lovelys. I’m back with my Dr. Charles Stanley sermons again. Soooo thankful to God for sending me at least one trustworthy teacher of God’s word on television.

Anyways, this is a great sermon. Sometimes, when I’m struggling with my sins, I would confess to God… I would repent, and repent…. and repent… to no avail.

After listening to this message - which I diligently sought for online after being so miserable in my sin and praying without answers - I realized it’s because repentance is not just about being sorry. Sorry just doesn't cut it. It’s about surrendering everything to God. Giving it up. Making a change. So, enjoy and be blessed as I was. I typed up some key phrases.

God's Call to Genuine Repentance – Part 1 of 3

What is wrong when a person says, “I’m a Christian; I profess Jesus Christ as my Savior.” And there’s no change in their lives?

What’s the problem in the life of a Christian who goes on and on, confessing the same thing over and over and over again?

They would tell you they’re sincere, I’m not doubting that, but something’s wrong with this.

We stand tallest and strongest on our knees.

Romans 2:4 – The kindness of God is to lead you to repentance.

2 Peter 3:9 – Genuine repentance – A heart-felt sorrow for sin AND a commitment to forsake sin to walk in obedience to Christ.

It isn’t just enough to have sorrow, regret, and remorse for what you’ve done because you felt guilty or whatnot but there’s a commitment to walk away from it, forsake it.

One of the reasons we are sorrowful of our sins is because

• We got caught.
• Or, we are so miserable living in it.

You can be teary-eyed, you can cry, you can be ashamed of it, be embarrassed, you can fear being caught, whatever it is, none of that is repentance.

The genuine repentance is to change.

2 Chronicles 7:14 – Turn from their wicked ways, then will I heal their land. It isn’t just “humble themselves and pray.”

You cannot tolerate sin. God hates sin. He hates all sins for a simple reason: He loves us.

God's Call To Genuine Repentance – Part 2 of 3

He loves us too much to let us get by with it. He judges sins because He knows what sin does in the lives of His children.

Luke 15:11-15 – A very good example of true repentance: The prodigal son.

He’s sick and tired of being sick and tired.

What change took place? He said, “I will arise and go to my father.” He meant business.

v20-22 – He genuinely repented. He did what he said he was gonna do. He left his old lifestyle.

Many people, they are absolutely spiritually corrupt.

Many people don’t get right with God until they’ve lost everything.

Will God let you lose everything? Every single thing. Is that bad? Anything that drives you to God has got to be good.

He’s trying to get your attention! What got his (prodigal son) attention? He lost everything!

You can’t straighten your life. God must change your life.

That change takes place when you respond in genuine confession and repentance that is a genuine sorrow for your sin. Not only the willingness but allowing God to turn you around and forsake your past ways and begin to walk in a different way.

And I think about people who live with all the wickedness in their lives and they say, “What I’m gonna do is I’m gonna join a church.”

You can go to church, you can go to every denomination, die and go to hell.

“I teach Sunday School, I sing the choir, I’ve even preached a few times.” That would not do you any good.

You mean to tell me if I’m willing to get up and preach and teach and help people to understand the truth, and I still won’t go to heaven? Absolutely not.

God's Call To Genuine Repentance – Part 3 of 3

Matthew 7:21-23 -- “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name? And in Your name cast out demons?

A man can preach gospel all of his life, but if he’s never been saved by the grace of God, when he dies, he’s not going to heaven.

Salvation has nothing to do with good work. You can’t clean up your life. Repentance is not cleaning up my past.

Repentance is acknowledging that my past is wicked and sinful against God, acknowledging my helplessness and turning to Him, asking for His mercy, placing my trust in Him because He said if I would come to Him, He would forgive me, cleanse me and change my life. It’s what He does in us.

But don’t you have to clean up something to get saved? No. You can’t clean it up. If you can clean it up, there’d be no cross.

We’re desperately lost from God apart from the grace and mercy and the work of the Holy Spirit to bring us to the realization we need to be saved.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is a strong message. It is a message to walk away from your sins.

Salvation is an eternal change of your destiny. Therefore, our walk is to be like a godly man or woman.

I’ve got one or two things in my life, whatever it may be, I’ve asked God to forgive me and you know what? I’m still doing it.

I’m asking You, God, please believe me, I’m as sincere as I know to be, please forgive me. And deep down inside, you know you’re gonna do it again.

What about believers, who have habits in their lives, relationships in their lives, ideas in their lives, lusts in their lives, whatever it might be, and you ask God to forgive you and you come to Him and you confess it.

Let’s talk about confession for a moment.

The primary reason that there’s so much confession and no change is because of one single thing, it’s because I haven’t surrendered it.

It is only when I let it go that there’s gonna be change.

Surrender is the key in genuine repentance. I’m willing to walk away from what God says does not belong in my life. This is why Christians cannot break away from certain habits in their lives.

Partial obedience is disobedience.

By acknowledging your sinfulness, telling Him that you don’t deserve anything, you’re asking for His mercy, His forgiveness, and His cleansing, you’re surrendering your life to him. You’re placing your trust in Him as your savior, your Lord, your Master. And in the process of turning to Him, you’re automatically turning away from your past into a new life that He’s provided for you.

5 comments:

Khawnbu said...: Yes, genuine repentance requires not only admitting our sins, it also takes necessary action to correct our sins...and SURRENDER is the key in genuine repentance.

Phyu, THANK YOU so much for sharing...what a great message!

Here are some genuine repentance discussion questions i found and i think we should discuss each other.

1. What should we do if we do not feel sorrow for our sins? We
can’t fake it or work it up. So what should we do?

2.Does repentance mean that God removes the consequences of
our sins? If He does not, why should we repent?; October 14, 2009 at 8:53 AM
Phyu said...: YES i'll be back! I'm going to redwood glen for the sisters conference now... be back to share!!! love u all <3333; October 14, 2009 at 10:07 AM
Susan said...: wow, Phyu, thank you so much for sharing this great message. This is so deep and true!
It got me really thinking deep after I read it and Kb's questions are really interesting. Maybe we should discuss it on Sunday.; October 15, 2009 at 12:06 AM
KeL said...: i like the message.. has lots of things running in my mind aft watching it. i m up for discussion :); October 15, 2009 at 9:51 PM
Building Materials Supplies said...: Genuine Repentance

Thanks for sharing; October 16, 2009 at 3:31 AM

Post a Comment

Story Box

The Big Rocks
One day an expert in time management was speaking to a group business students and, to drive home a point, used an illustration those students will never forget. As he stood in front of the group of high powered over achievers he said, "Okay, time for a quiz."
Then he pulled out a one-gallon, wide mouthed Mason jar and set it on the table in front of him. Then he produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar.
When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, "Is this jar full?"
Everyone in the class said, "Yes."
Then he said, "Really?" He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. Then he dumped some gravel in and shook the jar causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the space between the big rocks. Then he asked the group once more, "Is the jar full?"
By this time the class was on to him. "Probably not," one of them answered.
"Good!" he replied. He reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in the jar and it went into all of the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the question, "Is this jar full?"
"No!" the class shouted. Once again he said, "Good."
Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked at the class and asked, "What is the point of this illustration?"
One eager beaver raised his hand and said, "The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard you can always fit some more things in it!"
"No," the speaker replied, "that's not the point. The truth this illustration teaches us is: If you don't put the big rocks in first, you'll never get them in at all."
What are the 'big rocks' in your life?
Your relatinship with God?
Your husband or wife?
Your children?
Your loved ones?
Your health?
Your education?
Your dreams?
A worthy cause?
Teaching or mentoring others?
Doing things that you love?
Time for yourself?
Remember to put these BIG ROCKS in first or you'll never get them in at all. If you sweat the little stuff (the gravel, the sand) then you'll fill your life with little things you worry about that don't really matter, and you'll never have the real quality time you need to spend on the big, important stuff (the big rocks).
So, tonight, or in the morning, when you are reflecting on this short story, ask yourself this question: What are the "big rocks" in my life? Then, put those in your jar first.
Matthew 6:33
"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

ARE YOU 'THE CRACKED POT' ?? .
A water bearer had two large pots, each hung on each end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master's house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.
For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water to his master's house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do. After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you." "Why?" asked the bearer. "What are you ashamed of?" "I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master's house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don't get full value from your efforts,"   the pot said. The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, "As we return to the master's house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path." Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it some. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again it apologized to the bearer for its failure.
The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of your path, but not on the other pot's side? That's because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you've watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master's table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house." Each of us has our own unique flaws. We're all cracked pots. But if we will allow it, the Lord will use our flaws to grace His Father's table. In God's great economy, nothing goes to waste. So as we seek ways to minister together, and as God calls you to the tasks He has appointed for you, don't be afraid of your flaws. Acknowledge them, and allow Him to take advantage of them, and you, too, can be the cause of beauty in His pathway. Go out boldly, knowing that in our weakness we find His strength, and that "In Him every one of God's promises is a Yes."

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DID GOD CREATE EVIL?
At a certain university, there was a professor with a reputation for being tough on Christians. At the first class every semester, he asked if anyone was a Christian and proceeded to degrade them and to mock their statement of faith.
One semester, he asked the question and a young man raised his hand when asked if anyone was a Christian. The professor asked, "Did God make everything, young man?"
He replied, "Yes sir He did!"
The professor responded, "If God made everything, then He made evil." The student didn't have a response and the professor was happy to have once again proved the Christian faith to be a myth.
Then another man raised his hand and asked, "May I ask you something, sir?"
"Yes, you may," responded the professor.
The young man stood up and said "Sir, is there such thing as cold?"
"Of course there is, what kind of question is that? Haven't you ever been cold?"
The young man replied, "Actually, sir, cold doesn't exist. What we consider to be cold is really an absence of heat. Absolute zero is when there is absolutely no heat, but cold does not really exist. We have only created that term to describe how we feel when heat is not there."
The young man continued, "Sir, is there such a thing as dark?"
Once again, the professor responded, "Of course there is."
And once again, the student replied, "Actually, sir, darkness does not exist. Darkness is really only the absence of light. Darkness is only a term man developed to describe what happens when there is no light present."
Finally, the young man asked, "Sir, is there such thing as evil?"
The professor responded, "Of course. We have rapes, murders, and violence everywhere in the world, those things are evil."
The student replied, "Actually, sir, evil does not exist. Evil is simply the absence of God. Evil is a term man developed to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. It isn't like truth, or love, which exist as virtues like heat or light. Evil is simply the state where God is not present, like cold without heat or darkness without light."
The professor had nothing to say............

Does God Still Speak?

A young man had been to Wednesday night Bible Study. The Pastor had shared about listening to God and obeying the Lord's voice. The young man couldn't help but wonder, "Does God still speak to people?" After service he went out with some friends for coffee and pie and they discussed the message.
Several different ones talked about how God had led them in different ways.
It was about ten o'clock when the young man started driving home. Sitting in his car, he just began to pray, "God.. If you still speak to people, speak to me. I will listen. I will do my best to obey."
As he drove down the main street of his town, he had the strangest thought, to stop and buy a gallon of milk.
He shook his head and said out loud, "God is that you?" He didn't get a reply and started on toward home.
But again, the thought, buy a gallon of milk. The young man thought about Samuel and how he didn't recognize the voice of God, and how little Samuel ran to Eli.
"Okay, God, in case that is you, I will buy the milk." It didn't seem like too hard a test of obedience. He could always use the milk.
He stopped and purchased the gallon of milk and started off toward home. As he passed Seventh Street, he again felt the urge, "Turn down that street."
"This is crazy," he thought and drove on past the intersection. Again, he felt that he should turn down Seventh Street.
At the next intersection, he turned back and headed down Seventh. Half jokingly, he said out loud, "Okay, God, I will." He drove several blocks, when suddenly, he felt like he should stop. He pulled over to the curb and looked around. He was in semi-commercial area of town.
It wasn't the best, but it wasn't the worst of neighborhoods either. The businesses were closed and most of the houses looked dark like the people were already in bed.
Again, he sensed something, "Go and give the milk to the people in the house across the street."
The young man looked at the house. It was dark and it looked like the people were either gone or they were already asleep. He started to open the door and then sat back in the car seat. "Lord, this is insane. Those people are asleep and if I wake them up, they are going to be mad and I will look stupid." Again, he felt like he should go and give the milk.
Finally, he opened the door, "Okay God, if this is you, I will go to the door and I will give them the milk.
If you want me to look like a crazy person, okay. I want to be obedient.
I guess that will count for something, but if they don't answer right away, I am out of here."
He walked across the street and rang the bell. He could hear some noise inside.
A man's voice yelled out, "Who is it? What do you want?" Then the door opened before the young man could get away. The man was standing there in his jeans and T-shirt. He looked like he just got out of bed.
He had a strange look on his face and he didn't seem too happy to have some stranger standing on his doorstep. "What is it?" The young man thrust out the gallon of milk,
"Here, I brought this to you."
The man took the milk and rushed down a hall way speaking loudly in Spanish.
Then from down the hall came a woman carrying the milk toward the kitchen.
The man was following her holding a baby. The baby was crying. The man had tears streaming down his face. The man began speaking and half crying,
"We were just praying. We had some big bills this month and we ran out of money. We didn't have any milk for our baby. I was just praying and asking God to show me how to get some milk.
"His wife in the kitchen yelled out, "I ask him to send an Angel with some. Are you an Angel?"
The young man reached into his wallet and pulled out all the money he had on him and put it in the man's hand. He turned and walked back toward his car and the tears were streaming down his face. He knew that God still answers prayers.

       A member of a certain church, who previously had been attending services regularly, stopped going. After a few weeks, the pastor decided to visit him. It was a chilly evening. The pastor found the man at home alone, sitting before a blazing fire. Guessing the reason for his pastor's visit, the man welcomed him, led him to a big chair near the fireplace and waited.
       The pastor made himself comfortable but said nothing. In the grave silence, he contemplated the play of the flames around the burning logs. After some minutes, the pastor took the fire tongs, carefully picked up a brightly burning ember and placed it to one side of the hearth all alone. Then he sat back in his chair, still silent.
        The host watched all this in quiet fascination. As the one lone ember's flame diminished, there was a momentary glow and then its fire was no more. Soon it was cold and "dead as a doornail."
        Not a word had been spoken since the initial greeting. Just before the pastor was ready to leave, he picked up the cold, dead ember and placed it back in the middle of the fire. Immediately it began to glow once more with the light and warmth of the burning coals around it.
        As the pastor reached the door to leave, his host said,
"Thank you so much for your visit and especially for the fiery sermon. I shall be back in church next Sunday."

John 3:16
In the city of Chicago, one cold, dark night, a blizzard was setting in. A little boy was selling newspapers on the corner, the people were in and out of the cold. The little boy was so cold that he wasn't trying to sell many papers.

He walked up to a policeman and said, "Mister, you wouldn't happen to know where a poor boy could find a warm place to sleep tonight would you? You see, I sleep in a box up around the corner there and down the alley and it's awful cold in there for tonight. Sure would be nice to have a warm place to stay,"

The policeman looked down at the little boy and said, "you go down the street to that big white house and you knock on the door. When they come out the door you just say John 3:16, and they will let you in."

So he did. He walked up the steps and knocked on the door, and a lady answered. He looked up and said, "John 3:16." The lady said, "Come on in, Son." She took him in and she sat him down in a split bottom rocker in front of a great big old fireplace, and she went off. The boy sat there for a while and thought to himself: John 3:16....I don't understand it, but it sure makes a cold boy warm.

Later she came back and asked him "Are you hungry?" He said, "Well, just a little. I haven't eaten in a couple of days, and I guess I could stand a little bit of food," The lady took him in the kitchen and sat him down to a table full of wonderful food. He ate and ate until he couldn't eat any more. Then he thought to himself: John 3:16... Boy, I sure don't understand it but it sure makes a hungry boy full.

She took him upstairs to a bathroom to a huge bathtub filled with warm water, and he sat there and soaked for a while. As he soaked, he thought to himself: John 3:16... I sure don't understand it, but it sure makes a dirty boy clean. You know, I've not had a bath, a real bath, in my whole life. The only bath I ever had was when I stood in front of that big old fire hydrant as they flushed it out.

The lady came in and got him. She took him to a room, tucked him into a big old feather bed, pulled the covers up around his neck, kissed him goodnight and turned out the lights. As he lay in the darkness and looked out the window at the snow coming down on that cold night, he thought to himself: John 3:16... I don't understand it but it sure makes a tired boy rested.

The next morning the lady came back up and took him down again to that same big table full of food. After he ate, she took him back to that same big old split bottom rocker in front of the fireplace and picked up a big old Bible. She sat down in front of him and looked into his young face.

"Do you understand John 3:16?" she asked gently.

He replied, "No, Ma'am, I don't. The first time I ever heard it was last night when the policeman told me to use it," She opened the Bible to John 3:16 and began to explain to him about Jesus. Right there, in front of that big old fireplace, he gave his heart and life to Jesus. He sat there and thought: John 3:16. .. .. I don't understand it, but it sure makes a lost boy feel safe.

You know, I have to confess I don't understand it either, how God was willing to send His Son to die for me, and how Jesus would agree to do such a thing. I don't understand the agony of the Father and every angel in heaven as they watched Jesus suffer and die. I don't understand the intense love for ME that kept Jesus on the cross till the end. I don't understand it, but it sure does make life worth living.

John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

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Tuesday, October 13, 2009