Matthew 3:4–10 (ESV) Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵ Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, ⁶ and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. ⁷ But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸ Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. ⁹ And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. ¹⁰ Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

John the Baptist was very outspoken which is an understatement. He just told it like it was and confronted the religious leaders calling them a brood of vipers. His confrontational words, “bear fruit in keeping with repentance” is worth considering in the context of revival and application to our lives.

What do you think of when you hear the call to repentance? Most of us look around and usually spot a few people we think are the culprits who really need to repent, and never look in the mirror. It’s like the condition of which Jesus spoke in Matthew 7.

Matthew 7:1–5 (ESV) “Judge not, that you be not judged. ² For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. ³ Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? ⁴ Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

So who do you think of first when the call to repentance is sounded out?

2 Chronicles 7:14 (ESV) 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.

Revelation 3:19 (ESV) Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.

It’s easy to point the finger at the people in Washington, Haiti, other people in the church, etc. But what about looking in the Word of God and taking an honest look at ourselves, asking God to show us areas of our lives in which we have need of repentance.

James 1:21–25 (ESV) Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. ²² But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. ²³ For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. ²⁴ For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. ²⁵ But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

Notice James call to action of looking into the Word of God with a heart desiring to change is like looking into the law of “liberty.” There is freedom in coming clean before God and how can we come clean, except we know about sin, and how shall we know what our sin is, except the Spirit of God use the Word of God and show us.

Psalms 19:7–13 (ESV) The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; ⁸ the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; ⁹ the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. ¹⁰ More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. ¹¹ 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.

REPENTANCE defined: An intellectual confession, an emotional contrition, and a volitional change all of which are prompted by, empowered by, and given the reward of assurance by the Holy Spirit.

Where do you need repentance? Or maybe we should say, in what area of your life is God working to bring you to repentance?

To say you need no repentance puts you in the same boat with the church of Laodicea.

Revelation 3:16–19 (ESV) So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. ¹⁷ 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.
To avoid needed repentance means you are holding onto the status quo and that is never acceptable to God. Like the old saying goes, “if we are not moving forward, we are slipping backwards, because it’s impossible to remain in one place.”

Where are you in your spiritual growth and maturity? Are you satisfied where you are or are you striving to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ?

Many people are in the boat of having given themselves to growth and maturity in Christ in the past, and now rely upon what they know and what they have experienced, as if spiritual growth is a scale of acquired knowledge from which a person graduates. That was exactly the attitude of the religious leaders in the days of John the Baptist, to whom John said, “bear fruit in keeping with repentance.” The writer of Hebrews confronted this attitude of satisfaction of intellectual knowledge without a true repentance to turn from self, be contrite about even the smallest form of disobedience in one’s life, and strive to follow the ways of God.

Hebrews 5:11–14 (ESV) About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. ¹² 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.

Who are you mentoring in the ways of the Lord? Are you using what God has shown you, worked in your life, and things you have learned from applying God’s Word to your life? If you aren’t – you need to repent of that by admitting that you have been satisfied with yourself and your spiritual growth and maturity, by confessing to God that your attitude is wrong, by expressing sorrow over your lack of moving forward in the race of life, and making a definite plan to change as you seek the power of the Holy Spirit.

As revival comes to our church, for which I trust you are praying, it will come to each of us on an individual basis as God, the Holy Spirit, applies the Word of God to our lives to bring forth fruit in keeping with repentance.

Are you ready for revival in your life?  It will come with repentance, which is more than just a 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