Repent.
What happened inside when you read that word? Did your chest tighten? Did you close yourself off? Did you bring up everything wrong that you had done? Did you ask for forgiveness because you most likely did something wrong, you just don’t know what?
Why do we have such a twisted view of this gift? Yes. I said gift. I never thought of it as this, but it is a gift from God, one that is essential for drawing close. In fact, without it, we can’t get to know God. We can’t come close. Repentance, in the Greek, is the word ‘metanoia’ which literally means a change of thought. But this isn’t just thoughts that are changing. It refers to a change in the heart of the matter. It is a change in the deep understanding in one’s heart. And this must happen before you can enter the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom is God’s will happening in our life. His rule in us. Repentance is essential to embrace new life in the Kingdom of God. Think about it: for there to be something new, the old has to go. How can we embrace the new life in Christ if we still hold on to the old one. I can’t put more water in a pool unless I drain the old water.
Last Friday night some friends of mine and I traveled to Nashville, Tennessee to hear John Bevere speak at Lipscomb University. I was quite excited because, one – John Bevere. I mean, come on, the guy is going to speak truth. And two – because I knew the Lord had something for me that night there, and I just didn’t know what, but I knew it was going to be good.
I remember having questions about my own heart attitude towards the word repentance. It was one of confusion and distaste. Yet, it is something the Father asks of us before the Kingdom of God can dwell inside of us. I don’t remember what prompted the questions, John Bevere or Holy Spirit, but I wrote my questions down at the beginning of the service, and John Bevere began to speak on repentance and the Kingdom. It was a message that centered on Christ being the bridegroom, and us, the bride. That a groom would not allow the bride to keep old boyfriends and guys in her life once she was married; she is solely the grooms now, and he, hers. We are called to repent of old ways and thoughts and be one with Christ. It is beautiful how He will draw us in. At the end of the message, I don’t actually remember what John asked that prompted people to come forward. I think it was a call to end the ‘old boyfriends,’ aka things that divide our heart, because we are promised to Christ. It was the first time I believe I ever went to an altar call with joy in my heart. It didn’t matter that it might have looked like, “Oh no, Victoria was never saved, and she is just now coming forward.” Or that maybe others could have thought, “Wow. She probably struggled with something and what an imperfect person.” Nope. Thoughts of what others might think were out of my head. All I knew was that Holy Spirit was stirring in my heart a deeper surrender and a final one at that. A surrender of the whole heart.
Rewind to a couple days before this event and the Lord kept giving me the verse in Ezekiel 11:19, “I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.” I knew the Lord wanted all of it, and I was so happy to give it to him.
I know that in the past I responded to a lot of struggle calls, you know, altar calls that aren’t for salvation but for the struggles in your life (that is whole other topic of conversation). But never before had I responded in such an attitude of thankfulness and joy. There was a lot of self-condemnation in those responses, but this was stirred by the Holy Spirit. I knew that night Jesus had shifted something in my heart and introduced me to the Father in a new way. I was meeting Him as a Father, it felt like for the first time, a Father who wanted me to know Him and for me to be known by Him.
1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He IS faithful and just to not only FORGIVE us our sins, but to CLEANSE us from ALL unrighteousness.”
Wow. When we let go of old ways and beliefs, how we used to think against God, He will gift us with forgiveness and cleanse us from what is not right before him.
I want to invite you to let Holy Spirit search your heart and then respond to what He says. Being given an undivided heart with which to love and seek and know God is amazing, and He desires that for you!
He loves you. Be encouraged.
