It’s hard to say whether repentance is an evidence of God bringing revival to His people or an evidence of God preparing His people for revival. Regardless, the scriptures teach us that true repentance comes from God and true repentance leads us to greater blessing from God. Likewise, a resistance to repent demonstrates our lack of interest in God and brings a further condemnation of our condition and justifies God withholding His presence (the smile of His countenance) from us.
Let’s look at an often-quoted scripture regarding repentance in 2 Chronicles 7.

2 Chronicles 7:12–14 (ESV) Then the Lord appeared to Solomon in the night and said to him: “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice. 13 When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, 14 if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

God speaks in the midst of the dedication of the Temple, a time when the people were in “worship mode.”  God brings up what they should do when they have forsaken God and He reminds them of their need of Him so they turn back to Him. He holds out a promise of hearing, forgiving, and healing.

Keep in mind at the time they were hearing this promise, repentance was probably the farthest thing from their mind. After all, they had prepared for this worship service for months, maybe years. The glory of God filled the place so much so that all the priests, Levites, and everyone had to leave the place and were stunned with awe. But God knew they would fall off the spiritual high and need reviving. He knew they would turn to their own ways and need to repent and come back to Him, so He held out a promise to all who would truly repent.

Repentance is one thing that none of us likes to admit we need. We are much like the church at Laodicea who thought they were rich, but that was really a sign they needed repentance.

Revelation 3:17–19 (ESV) For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. 19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.

We get satisfied with our progress and forget that God is in the business of transforming us to the image or character of the Lord Jesus Christ and it is a lifelong process.

Romans 8:29 (ESV) For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

Philippians 3:12–15 (ESV) Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.

Isn’t it interesting that Paul, the apostle, consider himself in a position of needed growth and maturity? Too often people who have been in the church for a number of years lose their desire for learning and refuse to be taught. Their hunger for God and the little things in His Word dry up as they feel they have achieved a level of knowledge and maturity. As good as it may seem to be knowledgeable of the truth and of the doctrine, there is not one person who has achieved perfection because even Jesus who was very God but as very man, “learned” and “increased in wisdom.”

Luke 2:52 (ESV) And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.

Hebrews 5:8 (ESV) Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered.
The sign of maturing in the faith is using what we have learned, particularly in the way we live and the way we desire to help others grow in the faith.

Hebrews 5:12–14 (ESV) For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, 13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. 14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

Ephesians 4:11–16 (ESV) And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

So we all must repent for not following the God given hunger and thirst for Him and for His Word, thereby missing out on the filling and satisfaction that only He can give.

Matthew 5:6 (ESV) “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Why do we miss out on such a great blessing? We simply fill ourselves with so much of what will never satisfy of from which God’s Word warns us to stay away.

Isaiah 55:1–3 (ESV) “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. 2 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. 3 Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.

1 John 2:15–17 (ESV) Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

Therein lies our problem from which we all must repent. We are bombarded by the attractions of the world: the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life. We get caught into things that appeal to make us feel good, we live in a covetous society that makes us want more stuff, and our pride tends to take over in all that we do so that we become critical, self centered, and focus more on ourselves than upon God and His Word. God says the devil uses this tactic to ensnare us and take us captive. That is why He has commissioned those who preach and teach His Word to guide us to true repentance.

2 Timothy 2:24–26 (ESV) And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

The preaching and teaching of the Word of God is God’s means to help us escape from the snare of the devil. It is interesting that the very thing that God uses to deliver us we tend to resist all because of our pride. But, looking back at the promise of 2 Chronicles 7 teaches us that God in His mercy, gets through in the midst of our pride and pushing away from Him to try to satisfy ourselves and as His Word gets through He shows us our need to repent, to turn from our ways, to live as one who is as excited about a crumb from the Master’s table as they are a big steak. Remember the woman who came empty to the Lord Jesus Christ and went away full – all because she was so far in need she was willing to be satisfied with whatever He offered.

Matthew 15:22–27 (ESV) And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” 23 But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26 And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”

Psalms 19:11–14 (ESV) Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward. 12 Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults. 13 Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression. 14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

David described the Word of God as that which brought out his “secret sins” – those we hide behind because they are certainly not secret to God. Once those sins are exposed, we must realize that God has done that so we might repent or turn from those things to seek Him, to depend upon Him, to be totally satisfied with Him and Him alone, thereby confessing our wrong which is admitting to Him, and turning from our ways which honors Him. Otherwise, we are merely fooling ourselves if we think we can hide from our need of repentance.  What we think is spiritual growth and maturity is only holding us back from healing and blessing for ourselves and for our church.

Proverbs 28:13 (ESV) Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.

Where do you need to repent? Will you join me and the elders of Christ Community Church and ask God to show you where you need to change, to give you repentance, and grace to truly repent? In the meantime, will you take a big step while asking God to give you more of a hunger for Him and His Word, by making plans to take a bigger part in opportunities to learn and grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and to be an encouragement to those who prepare and make the effort to teach His Word?

Godspeed,
Pastor Bob
727-539-1434 (home) or 727-612-3976 (cell) or email: \n This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it