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Dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus, part of the growing repentance remnant, cleansing as His Bride, getting ready for His soon return as our Bridegroom-----
Luke 13:5
I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.
You may have wondered at some stage or the other in your life - why did Jesus hammer so much on Repentance ?? What is it about Repentance that is so important, that He even started His ministry with the very words "Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand" (Mat 4:17) - and He also ended His Ministry - just before He ascended into Heaven - talking about the Kingdom and telling the Disciples to Preach Repentance for the Remission of sins. (Luke 24:46-47, Acts 1:3)
And we see in Acts 2 & 3 - that when the Apostle Peter preached Repentance - many people turned their lives to the Lord !
Thus, there is something about Repentance we as the church need to understand, and we need to get the depth and the importance of it all. We can't afford not to preach Repentance !!
Now, I'm busy reading a book from Charles Finney - called "Holy Spirit Revivals", where he explained all the issues he had to face, and false doctrines he had to deal with, and how he brought Revival to almost every town he ministered in.
But something he said caught my attention the other night - he wrote
...the greatest difficulty I met with in promoting revivals of religion was the false instruction given to the people, especially to inquiring sinners. Indeed, in all my life as a minister in every place and country where I have labored, I have found this difficulty to some extent; and I am certain that multitudes are
living in sin who would immediately be converted if they were truly instructed.
The foundation of this error is the dogma that human nature is sinful in itself and that sinners are therefore entirely unable to become Christians
It had been the practice of many ministers, when preaching repentance and urging a sinner to repent, to tell him that he could not repent any more than he could create a world. They would sometimes tell the sinner to do his duty, to press forward, to read his Bible, to use the means of grace-in short, they would tell him to do anything and everything but the very thing that God commands him to do. God commands him to repent now, to believe now, to make himself a new heart now.
But the ministers were afraid to urge God's claims in this form, because they were
continually telling the sinner that he had no ability to do these things. Such instructions always pained me exceedingly, and much of my labor in the ministry has consisted in correcting these views and in pressing the sinner to do just what God commands him to do. To a very great extent, the church has instructed sinners to begin with an outward performance of duty in order to secure an inward change of their wills and affections.
But I have always treated this as totally wrong, unorthodox and highly dangerous. I think I have found thousands of sinners, of all ages, who I think are living under this delusion and would never think themselves called upon to do anything more than merely to pray for a new heart, live a moral life, read their Bibles, attend meetings, use the means of grace, and leave all the responsibility of their conversion and salvation with God.
And this has really stood out for me - how "false teachings" can hinder us from coming into a true and beautiful relationship with God, and instead it keeps us stuck in Religious activities, of trying everything to live a "Holy life" - but deep within we always feel guilty that we just can not reach that place the Bible talks about - Living a life of Righteousness. We are trying very hard to believe it, but deep in our innermost beings we feel like "I'm still a sinner" - and we have no idea how to rid ourselves from that guilt and shame we keep hidden from everyone around us. Even those that are born again - also experience these thoughts and feelings - but will never mention it outloud to anyone..
But this is where the true importance of REPENTANCE comes into effect.
Looking at Luke 24:46-47 in the Amplified:
Luke 24:46-47 AMP
...and said, “And so it is written, that the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed) would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance [necessary] for forgiveness of sins would be preached in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
The problem is - that we don't understand that the only way to truly receive God's FORGIVENESS for our sins - is when we REPENT !!
When we look at Matt 26 - when Jesus instituted the Communion - and when He took the Cup He said in verses 27-28: "Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission (forgiveness) of sins. "
The secret is looking at the word REMISSION: Which literally means "There is no evidence found of sin" in our lives anymore.
Meaning Jesus' blood is supposed to CLEANSE us of ALL UNRIGHTEOUSNESS (1 John 1:5-10) - so that there is no evidence of it found in our lives anymore !!
And anyone reading this now - will say to me - "I know, I know all this - but why don't I see that in my life - I still have this or that or the other I'm still struggling with, and I just can't shake it out of my life. I pray, I fast, I even beg God at times to remove it, but it seems like He isn't doing anything to get it out of my heart..."
Well, today I have some good news for you - it isn't about praying, fasting and begging God to remove it.
Instead it is all about: JESUS HAS DONE IT ALL ALREADY FOR US - We need to first of all BELIEVE IT, and then take the next step and apply REPENTANCE !!
Just begging God to remove it - doesn't help. I need to do something from my side - and I need to take the step of REPENTANCE.
As it is somewhere between God's Forgiveness for our sins, and my step of obedience to REPENT - where the POWER of the BLOOD of Jesus comes into effect.
Then Hebrews 10:19-25 and Col 2:13-15 comes into effect:
Hebrews 10:22 NKJV
let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
Colossians 2:14 NKJV
...having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
But if we refuse to REPENT - and we are just sitting back and WAIT ON GOD to remove it - we will eventually die in our sins - like Jesus said in Luke 13:1-5 - and we will always feel guilty and never experience that freedom in our lives of being truly FORGIVEN and DELIVERED from our Guilt, Shame, Pain, etc...
Without Forgiveness, there can be No Healing !
- AND -
Without Repentance there can be No Deliverance !
Repentance is truly a GIFT from God - and He encourages us to make use of it !!
And if the suffering of Jesus on the Cross means anything to us, we will take this to heart and be like Jesus encourages the Church of Laodicea in Rev 3:19 "...be ZEALOUS therefore and REPENT"
Let His Wishes Become Our COMMANDS - and whatever we still struggle with, let us put in the time and effort, and come to the Lord today - and REPENT!!
He died so you and I can be set totally free, delivered and healed !!
Don't waste the opportunity !
Amen !
And lastly - I invite you - join us on Wednesdays @ 10:30am PDT - for our weekly Zoom meetings - Cleansing His Bride - where in private 3 minutes with the Holy Spirit we look at various Repentance points, later sharing if you wish the lessons we've learned, encouraging each other. And you are welcome to join our fellowship. See below for the Registration - in order to receive the Zoom details.
OR: you can follow us live via our National Day of Repentance YouTube Channel - as we are now livestreaming to YouTube every Wednesday !! Just go to the LIVE Tab - or click on the Logo when we are live - and you will immediately be connected to the meeting.
Here is the link from our meeting this past week.
https://youtube.com/live/nqsSlo6fmYw?feature=share
Looking forward to meet you all online sometime soon...
Your sister in Christ
Blessings
Susan Hammer
South Africa
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At NDR our Give-12 Project still continues.
In times past, when there were emergencies for food or medicine experienced by our repentance-preaching pastors in over 10 nations, often there were zero funds were in the NDR account, and a credit card was used to make those emergency donations to those repentance-preaching pastors. Over the 15 years of NDR this credit card debt has grown and needs to be paid off. Our goal, once $50,000, is now $67,000 by the end of June. NDR has no salaried employees; Susan and I are volunteers.
If each person reading this mail, can donate only $12 each month, we will be able to pay off that credit card, and nearly 95% of funds will be available to support the Holy Spirit Fire of Repentance spreading like a spiritual spear, increasingly touching hearts and nations, especially in Africa.
Please sow into this mighty move of God.
We thank you for your obedience - and want to share with you this current testimony by our sister Apostle Memory in Zambia - as to what Repentance meant to her:
Blessed evening to you,
Let me take this opportunity to thank you and all the leadership of repentance organization for making me to stand in faith so ,strong 💪 because my Christian life wasn't easy, you have taught me how to have faith, and to wait upon God, thank you so much for being there, for me, pastor Jeff, u are like a father to me, u encourage me a lot of the time. I lost my son you prayed and encourage me, supported me like a parent could do, I went through pain, in that period, but the family of repentance was there for me, time of the floods, u helped and supported me, u have raised a lioness, to work in the kingdom of God,
Thank you so much to you pastor Jeff, and sis Susan, pastor Anthony, bishop Amon, bishop Edward, and everyone who is supporting Zambia kneels, many souls have been saved because of you family and are still being saved, Youths have gone back to school through your support ,house rentals have been paid for the old age, food where bought, through your support just to mention a few...
I'm writing tears of joy 😂 is rolling down, what an amazing journey, it's now going to be 1 year since my boy went to be with the Lord that day - it was a day I told God from today, u are not my God and I'm no longer your daughter, I only remained with questions without answers, but God helped me through u, He give me the answer, be strong God is God, and I thank God I'm strong for sure
Thank God for making me strong again, I repented, crying for God's mercy for my anger.
I'm well ready for Him now to use me more.
May God Bless you in abundance as you sow towards His Kingdom!
God bless you,
Pastor Jeff
Pastor Jeffrey Daly
National Day of Repentance
www.globalrepent.com
pastorjeff@repentday.com
Box 246 Middletown CA USA. 95461
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