Yes, another teaching on repenting from dead works. I love it! I thought we were through but the Holy Spirit had some other things to point out to us on this subject. I really believe in emptying out. The Holy Spirit taught me over the years the more I give out or empty out so to speak, the more he can pour back in. So that’s one of the reasons I love it. If you haven’t heard this fresh perspective on repentance you may be thinking, ahhh, I thought she was through with that already. I encourage you come on in the water is fine.

Let’s review: We learned last week that repentance or metonoeh is simply changing one’s mind for the better. We discussed how many of us get all uncomfortable even when the word is mentioned. We discussed what dead works are, the works of darkness, the works of the flesh and evil works of Satan. Then we covered what to do after repenting from dead works: seeking first God’s kingdom (his way of doing things), be filled and led by the Holy Spirit, keeping the law of Christ, sowing to the spirit, putting on Christ and finally seeking to grow up in Christ. I closed with my testimony of God’s grace to me. After being filled with the Holy Spirit, I became that woman the Physic saw in her cards, stopping to pray for people every few feet and God working miracles.

I like to share a little nugget of insight from my personal life or something the Holy Spirit showed me or is showing me to encourage you. First of all, someone asked me the other day, what did I think about Shekinah International Christian Assembly. I’m so glad I was asked that. It gives me the opportunity to bless them with my words. God has given the Brown family a fresh start to fulfill their God-given destiny of building his kingdom. I’m so proud of my niece and nephew Shari and Clifton Eddington. They are an awesome team and couple. You know I’m of the mind that we want our kids to surpass and do better than us. I was Shari’s closet prayer intercessor for years. God called me to do it. I did not choose her to pray for; God did. Now, I see what the fight was about; exactly what she and her husband are doing now. So, my continued prayers and blessings are with, for and over them.

My nugget I wanted to share was as a five year old, I prayed the prayer of salvation in the back of a Bible book I was reading. Then when I was around seven, God called me to read the Bible in it’s entirety, front to back before I was ten. It was a challenge to me as a youngster. But I accomplished it right before my tenth birthday. I was relieved and so thankful I finished. Now what, I was thinking? Well, right around that tenth birthday, I was asked to teach a Sunday School class. So my teaching began.

Now many years later and I’ve made a full circle back to the place I started I was thinking of that call. Why am I telling you about this? This is a confirmation for those of you have answered God’
s call. Yes it’s him talking to you. It’s him calling you. And it’ll be Him teaching you as you go. Stay in step with him.

1. Be Unashamed of the Gospel:
Romans 1: 16-17 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. This gospel or good news tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”
Here’s another difference being filled with the Holy Spirit made in my life, it gave me the power to be a witness for Christ…

2. Bear fruits worthy of repentance.
Luke 3:8 Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham,’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones.
There should be a difference in the way you live…

3. Act like a Christian. After repenting of your sin and receiving Christ, you have the God nature. You are God’s kid and you should act like him…
Romans 12:9-21 Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them, pray that God will bless them.

Be happy with those who are happy and weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all. Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. Dear Friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge, I will pay them back,” says the Lord. Instead, ‘If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads. Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.

4. Receive the gift of the Holy Spirit and it’s the repentance that leads to life.
Acts 11:15-18 As I began to speak, Peter continued, ‘The Holy Spirit fell on them, just as he fell on us at the beginning. Then I thought of the Lord’s words when he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’And since God gave theses Gentiles the same gift he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to stand in God’s way? When the others heard this, they stopped objecting and began praising God. They said, ‘We can see that God has also given the Gentiles the privilege of repenting of their sins and receiving eternal life.

5. Use godly sorrow that produces repentance leading to salvation. I have to say this,before Christ. Most of us were just sorry when we got caught it was not godly sorrow. Godly sorrow leads to a change, a changed heart or a changed mind.
2 Cor. 7: 9-11′
Now I am glad I sent it, not because it hurt you, but because the pain caused you to repent and change your ways. It was godly sorrow, the kind God wants his people to have, so you were not harmed by us in any way. For the godly sorrow, God wants us to have leads us away from sin, even brings repentance and leads to salvation and leaves no regret. But worldly sorrow results in spiritual death.
Just see what this godly sorrow produced in you! It produced great discipline: a desire set the record straight , such righteous indignation, such alarm, such longing to see me, such zeal and such readiness to punish wrong. By all this, you showed that you have done everything necessary to make things right.
 6. Let the goodness of God lead you to repentance. Under Grace, god’s goodness leads us to repentance.
Romans 2:4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? In 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. Additional reference: Romans 2:1-12

7. Repent & be baptized. There were three people who said in the New Testament as a major part of their message, ‘Repent, the kingdom of God is… It was John the Baptist, Jesus and Apostle Peter.  In Acts 2:37,38 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and asked Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38Peter replied, “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.  39This promise belongs to you and to your children and to all who are far off, to all whom the Lord our God will call to Himself.”…

I close with this story. There was this distinguished looking man and woman married couple. They had been married a few years. But they felt they were on their way to divorce court if something didn’t change for them. They went to a well-known Christian counselor. The Christian counselor was known to use modern and innovative ways to counsel people. Right off the bat, the counselor asked may i observe you via video for 1 day. They agreed. The video was given to the counselor. He sat down to watch the video. After only an hour or so, he pinpointed what was a major problem. After talking to them and watching an hour of the video, he told them I believe I can help you.

The husband had said he grew up and was taught in his household never to say ‘I’m sorry.” It was sign of weakness, his father explained. So, when they got married he brought that wrong thinking into their marriage. No matter what, he refused to admit he was even wrong, not to mention, saying he was sorry. Each disagreement, each argument the offenses built up. Until the wife not growing up that way, began to respond in like ways. Their relationship began to break down. They, no longer remembered what was wrong and why they resented each other.
The counselor began to explain how it hinders the relationship and can even destroy if you don’t acknowledge, repent to each other which an apology is a form of repentance.

We are all human and make mistakes. it’s the same way with our Father and our Lord Jesus, even after we are born-again, confessed our sinful lifestyle and received Jesus as savior and Lord. As we live in Christ, unrepented sin hinders our relationship with Jesus and our life in general. It doesn’t erase our salvation, but it diminishes our relationship with Jesus. So, let us seek to live unashamed of the gospel, a life worthy of repentance, grow up in Christ and act like a Christian, receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, have godly sorrow when needed, let the goodness of God continue to lead us to repentance and finally repent and receive the baptisms of Christ. We cultivate a repentive heart, that is sensitive to the Holy Spirit, not to grieve him with fulfilling the works of the flesh.

You may remember, King David made some pretty huge mistakes and sin in his life. Yet, he was esteemed as a ‘man after God’s own heart’ Throughout the centuries, the Scripture writers held him up as a standard for which all the kings either lived up to or failed miserably to follow in God’s ways like the King David did. Even in the New Testament, the Apostle Paul wrote, God said of King David, he was a man after my own heart.

End Of Blog

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(Wednesday In The Word Podcast coming soon!)

Repentance From Dead Works Video