God hates sin and it's ridiculous of us to think that we can ignore the sin in our own lives as well as the sin in our brothers and sisters in the church. Nowadays as Christians, we are more interested in being nice and loveable than speaking the truth in love. The true gospel is an offence. Jesus didn't always say things that were politically correct or nice but instead He spoke the truth in love and thereby people's lives were changed.
God does not like or tolerate sin so why do we tolerate it in the church. Bad attitudes, envy, jealousy, strife, fornication, adultery, competition, lack of submission, pride, lying, deceiving, stealing etc etc. We see it and we turn a blind eye to it. That should not be so! If we are walking the road of the cross and truly desiring God to make us more like Jesus then we need to let go of our pride, humble ourselves and repent before Him.
A Christian who never repents, never truly grows. Without repentance there can be no spiritual maturity. Repentance brings growth. When we realise the true state of our hearts and how far we are from the mark (Jesus) we need to repent and ask the Lord to change our hearts. What may seem like a small attitude towards a brother or a sister may fester into a really bad attitude thus bringing division in the body of Christ. God's heart for the church is for us to be united and too often we allow division in so easily.
For a long time my own heart was unrepentant but for the last 6 months the Lord has truly been showing me the power of repentance in my life. He's also over the last few days shown me the importance of allowing Him to expose my life before my brothers and sisters in order for me to grow. And it's hard, my flesh doesn't like it one bit but my Spirit thrives on it! And I would most certainly rather feed my spirit and let my flesh starve to death.
I used to be so consumed with how the Lord would use, where He would use, what He would do with me and around me but so often forgetting what He wants to do IN me (Santification).
2 Corinthians 7:10-11
"For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter."
From this passage we can see that repentance is necessary for salvation but further than that the fruit that repentance produces is wonderful. This is why repentance should be preached not only to the unbeliever but also the believer in the church. Ever wondered why you feel as though you've lost your zeal? Or lost your fear of the Lord? Or lost your diligence in serving the Lord? Ever wondered why your congregation is not growing to maturity? Or why they are so bound by sin? Well maybe it's because repentance needs to take place. Ask the Lord to show you the true state of your heart; the very depths of it and reveal to you where you need to repent. Repentance is a great and precious gift and my prayer is that pastors and teachers all over the world would get over their fear of man and teach repentance to their congregations for lasting growth to take place.
I'm so glad that the Lord has opened my eyes to this. I'm experiencing a freedom & a love in my walk with the Lord & with others that I haven't experienced in a long time. It's a beautiful thing.
Lord please continue to work in my heart. I'm keeping my heart open. I want a deep, deep work in my heart - one that will last for eternity. God You are so good.
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