Forgiveness & Repentance

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"I will Remember My Covenant."

Forgiveness & Repentance

"I will Remember My Covenant."

I JOHN 1:9

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Mark 11:21-26

21 And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursed is withered away.
22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.
23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
25 And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.

Many throughout the years have asked often, "why don't I receive from God what I ask for?" I try to explain to them that there are three Biblical principles. The first is seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, which is seeking His will in all things and the second key to receiving is forgiving all. Who we forgive is forgiven and who we do not forgive is not forgiven. What and who we do not forgive is cursed and being cursed cannot be blessed and will wither away. The third is believing and not doubting that what is spoken will be, because God is a spirit and created everything not with His hands, with His spoken word and we as His people are created in His image. However the biggest of all reasons that we do not receive is because of un-forgiveness. His people are a covenant people and with that covenant is a great responsibility.

One of the problems with sin often we do not understand what sin is and how it is caused. Often times we sin and do not even know it. That is one thing and God quickly forgives the ignorant and we all are ignorant. We are described in scripture as being sheep and sheep are not too bright. People may be smart in the things of the world but it takes time to get that way. It also takes time to gain the wisdom of God and walk in the light we have been given, which has the power to turn our lives around and put an end to sin in our lives.

The basics of sin, which most are familiar with, are not hurting ourselves, others or God. But sin is a deeper problem. Sin is going in the direction that we should be going in. The word sin comes from an old archery term, which also applies. Simply it means "missing the mark". The only way to hit the mark is to dwell in Him. The more we dwell in Him the more we will hit the mark and the less sin will be in our lives. In doing so we also stop hurting God, which is the greatest of all offences. Jesus said, what ever you do to the least of these you do to me. What He is saying is what we do to each other, even the very least we do to Him directly. This should give one pause for thought. If we care for the very least of these we care for Him. If they are hungry or homeless by caring for them, we show our love to Him and we help them. It is why we are to do all things unto the Lord. If we do not love others and care for them as we represent Him we do not love Him as much as we think and become deceived.

It is not about teaching and preaching. It is not about miracles or even raising people from the dead. It is about seeing God and His Spirit in all, whether they believe or do not believe as He breathes life into all people. When we begin to see that in all people whether they like us or not, we begin to see God we see each one. If we all respected that it would turn everything upside down. If we understood this no one would go to bed hungry. Today sadly enough some 10,536 will starve to death because of the lack of love for them. Now we might try to shrug this off by telling ourselves it is some one else’s responsibility but we are Ambassadors for Christ. Either we represent Him or we do not. If we do not then we are not of Him. If do represent Him then we are responsible to show His love to all, whether we know them or not.

One thing we can come back with is “the problem is too big.” That sounds reasonable after all how can one person or even one church make a difference? The first problem is if we are saying this we are justifying in our minds and hearts why we are defeated and cannot do anything about problems. That is sin. The second problem is that we are not standing in faith to deal with the problem, which is also sin. Scripture tells us that we can do all things through Christ but it is our choice to believe it or not. If we do not believe scripture then we should take a close look to see if we are really believers or perhaps how much of a believer we really are? It is why we are called to examine ourselves and we should do so daily. If we judge ourselves we will not be judged. The more we do some serious self-examination the more we see we miss the mark and the more broken we become so we can be used by God. The more we are used by God, the less sin there will be in our lives.

The first step to any problem including sin is to take responsibility for it. The fact is people starve to death daily because we did little or nothing to change it. You might say “brother that is hard, where is the love?” It is a good question, where is our love and loyalties. :Let’s go back to scripture and what it says, “I can do all things through Christ.” One possibility is that scripture is in error. If so other scripture is in error and there is not sense in believing things that are in error. The other possibility is not understanding scripture in what meant. I can do all things through Christ. If we define Christ as just being Jesus, then we are very limited as to what we can do because we cannot be in all places and deal with all things. Should we define Christ as Jesus being the head and we are the body then we can by all of the body working together in love and unity can accomplish all things through Christ and by faith we should be all working to do so daily if we love Him as much as we say we do. At the very least we can pray to end starvation. It is our choice to either work as one body or not to work as one body. Today there are some 20,000 Christian denominations each having their own set of beliefs. Can they be all correct? Paul wrote, let me be wrong in all things and let Him be right in all things. Obviously Paul knew something we don’t know as we all try to be right, which is what causes the division and in division there is a lack of trust, fear, love and certainly not unity.

So why do these things happen? The end comes when we are not focused on the things that we know to be true!’ ‘What we believe, say, and do not doubt, is what will be. Why do some of us see a half-full glass of water while others see a half-empty glass? Or better yet why do most of us have a built in stoplight when it comes to certain types of behavior, while every thing is a green light to other people? The answer is simple, it is the influences that we have accepted as the truth. We draw our own conclusions on how to react all to often based on what we hear or see or what we think we hear or see, depending upon our past experience. However in the Christian we find two separate identities. The first is the flesh. The second entity is the Spirit. One will always win out over the other. If we have been trained in the Spirit, reacting to the Spirit we will respond likewise. If our focus and confidence is in the flesh, and focused on things of the world, our reactions will also be a mirror of our inner beings. Paul tells us in dealing with the Corinthians, that he puts no confidence in the flesh. (Philippians 3:3) Paul put his confidence in the Spirit to make the corrections that needed to be made. In contrast especially with loved ones, we try to influence many times when it is the Spirit that should be doing the influencing.

The next logical question is how do we fix it and do we want to fix it? If we do not want to fix it then we should take a close look at where we are again and how much in Him we really are. If we do not like what is happening we can do two things to fix it. The first is to do the following, the second once you know the following works you can pass it along to other believers.

NINE STEPS FOR CHANGE:
1)      Understand that all battles are spiritual. It is the spirit that wars against the flesh.
2)      Make a plan and present it to God, asking for wisdom and guidance.
3)      Observe the result of the behavior or belief (Self-examination).
4)      Identify the root influence that creates the belief (s).
5)      Identify the expectations and attitudes.
6)     Identify the self-talk. Watch for the words spoken. Are they of doubt or fear?
7)     If behavior remains re-identify values and motives.
8)      Seek God and identify some alternative beliefs.
9)     Identify new potential behaviors and outcomes.

The following are steps to the change process. It is change in ourselves first, that makes the difference. As we change others will see the change and desire change as well.

1)     Seeing the Problems: In order to change anything the first step out of a downward spiral is to see the effects of beliefs and behaviors, not only individually, but corporately as a church as well. As the Model shows the end result of current realities were created by a sequence of events and beliefs. The only way anyone can truly see the truth of what we are doing is the Spirit and self-examination. In Matthew 13: 18-23 we have the parable of the Sower and the seed. This parable talks about people hearing the word and not understanding it and how when sown in the heart it is snatched away. The other seed fell on stony ground and not having roots stumbles when tested. The other was one who received the seed on thorny ground and was deceived by the cares of the world and choked. The last ground bore fruit, some a hundred fold, some sixty, and some thirty. The point of this is that we have not control of the seed, it is of God. We cannot be responsible for the seed but we are responsible for the soil. We are the soil and we are prepared to receive or not. It is up to us to be good soil. Good soil requires examination to determine the nutrients needed for crops. In addition, good soil needs the ruble cleaned out of its life. Once we have been examined, we can be cleaned and fed. The first step is to be able to see ourselves the way we are. We are the ground, and need to be prepared before we can truly bear good fruit.

2)     Desire to Change: Although the first step of change is to be able to see the soil, the second is we need to ask ourselves individually on a scale of one to ten, ten being the greatest, how much we desire to change. If we do not desire change enough to do something about the current realities in life, then we will not. But if we are not willing to look and change, then what kind of Christian are we? Christianity is all about change, being stretched and pulled. It is being tested by fire. By learning from our mistakes and even our intentional wrong doings, and being determined to do something differently. The change process brings us from the flesh to the spirit, giving us power, instead of defeat. By learning to look at things differently we can begin the change process.

3)     Scripture as a Foundation: Once we are committed to change we, then in order to get in line with God’s will, need a rule book. By accepting scripture as the rulebook we eliminate doubt and confusion. If we wonder if the scribed put the Bible correctly or not, we will question the authority and power of scripture, and His Word. If we accept scripture and His Word we must accept all of it without debate. Debate is not accepting. Debate questions everything, usually with no conclusion. God does and can talk and we know that it is His will to talk to us because we were created to commune with God. Scripture also says that my sheep know my voice (John 10:27). In fact, if we know His voice, we cannot be deceived. God talks in three volumes. There is the still quiet voice through our conscience mind. The second is a louder voice that comes from the belly as Paul wrote, and the third is a loud, audible voice outside of your head. This is the voice that Moses heard when he was given the Ten Commandments, for example. The problem with His loud audible voice is that there is usually rough water in the near future, coming our way. The good part is that His voice is loud enough it brings us to our knees and almost impossible to forget, thus making sure we get the message correctly. Either way, His audible voice will never be out of line with scripture. It is the work of the Holy Sprit to take us by the hand and teach us. We also know that this is His will because scripture says those that are led by the Spirit are the sons of God (Romans 8:14). He wants us to be led by the Spirit in love and unity one for the other. They will know that you are Mine by your love one for the other. Either we have it or not. How we receive this love is by spending time walking with Him in the garden. The more we walk with Him in the garden the more will love Him and all those around us caring for each one and their needs in body, soul and spirit. Doing so will end sin. Either we want to end sin or we choose to continue is sin. We are to be perfected in Him if we are willing to do so. We can hit the mark in love and unity. It is interesting to note that on the one hand there is love and unity and the Spirit of God and on the other end in the scope of things there is separatism with every one doing their own thing, which is a familiar spirit and the spirit of anti-Christ. While the fruits of the Spirit of God are love and unity, the fruits the anti-Christ is lack of love and unity. Our choice is to dwell in one or the other but the fruit of our lips are the judge of what we believe to be true as we speak all of us from the condition of our hearts.

There is hope. The first step is to acknowledge the sin in our lives and confess it and if we say we have no sin, we make Him an liar and the truth is not in us. This is a clear warning for those that think we are above sin. All of us can be doing better and should be. The law of liberty is love one for the other because of Him and what He has done for us. Our choice is to stay separate or work as one body in love to accomplish His will. That will take care of 90% of the problems on earth however it does not do much good if we pray the Lord’s prayer desiring for His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven if we all have separate agenda’s. We hang on to separate agenda’s because of the lack of love in us and the lack of trust in God and His will and the lack of trust in each other, which does not allow God to fix the problem but binds Him because of the beliefs we hold on to as truths. The truth will set you free. All of us but that takes walking with Him in the garden.

Where there is love there is grace and grace abounds but only with love. Martin Luther who while studying to become a priest in the Catholic Church, was going to his weekly confession. This was, and still is a custom for all to confess their sins to a priest weekly. On such occasions Luther listed out all the sins that he committed on paper the night before he went to the confessional. Even though he lived in a monastery where you would think at least there might be less sin, Luther wrote every thought and detail out so he could confess it so there would be no sin in him. After all sin is not a good thing to hang on to. Most students did not like to be behind Luther as they waited in line and most priests did not want to hear Luther’s confession as it would take from 2-4 hours. On one such day on the way back from confession Luther was walking down the hill with a glow about him as he confessed all of his sins and knew he was forgiven. As he walked along that glow turned into a frown, which turned into horror. Two deacons of the church watching this came up to Luther and asked what the problem was. Luther stepped back with almost fear in his eyes as he told the deacons that he was just at confession and realized that he had forgotten to confess two items. It was that day that the man who started the reformation found grace and true forgiveness with the Father. Without that kind of grace we never have true forgiveness. God is perfect and can not sin, nor can He tolerate sin. Isaiah describes God as Holy, Holy, Holy. In fact, God doesn’t even remember our sins for our own sake. If He did remember He could not accept us. When He does look at us He sees only His son, Jesus as His seed was planted in us and the blood of Jesus covers us.

In the Old Testament God is called Jehovah Tsidkernu which translated means, “the Lord is our righteousness.” This is one of the seven redemptive names of God. He became our reticence, our reserve, by bearing our sins on the cross, therefore our redemptive privilege of receiving “the gift of righteousness is an atonement blessing, which gives us our forgiveness". Although victory over sin is rightfully ours, there are times that we just plain miss it, no matter how hard we try. It may seem that we are allowing for defeat, but that is not the case, as He gave us victory over the defeat through His forgiveness.

As we begin to understand who we are in Him and speak who we are in Him changes will happen. It is a spiritual law. We cannot change ourselves. There is not enough time on earth to learn all there is to possibly know, besides one cannot learn how to love. We, any of us either have love one for the other or we justify why we should not have love one for the other. Our greatest sin is to begin to think we are OK and as such we can make our own decisions in life without going to God. We all do what we do because we believe we are doing the right things. After all, only and idiot continues to do things that they know to be wrong thinking and believing that by continuing to do the same things, things will get better on their own. However we all know we can and should if we have been bought with a price go to God with everything and learn to trust Him. We are all in a process of learning and learning how dependent on Him we all are. Some that have come to Him in crisis truly understand how dependent we are on Him.

Once we learn there is nothing good in us except for Him we will then seek Him more to be in us, if we truly have learned. God can and will make changes in us if we understand fully and accept there is no hope without Him and no hope without doing things His way. His way will always bring love and unity. It is our job to realize our faults through self-examination then surrender them to our Father so they can be dealt with. This is all part of submitting ourselves daily to Him and choosing to serve Him. The reason many, including myself, came to the Lord to begin with, was that we realized that we could not run our own lives and that we needed help. I know for myself that I could not run my own life and I needed that kind of help. He graciously gives that kind of help.

"I will Remember My Covenant."

"God gave us His Son, Spirit, Love, Direction, Purpose, Gifts, and free will. He gave us all the basic tools to either care for Him and others or care just for ourselves.

It is a choice either way, to either learn to work together to solve problems, but at the end, when it is all said and done, our true hearts will be exposed. We are given two things to do, love God and love our neighbor as ourselves.

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