| The Power of Repentance 5/15/07 George Poulo There were present at that season some that told him Of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with Their sacrifices. And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all The Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? I Tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise Perish. Or of the eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam Fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above All men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell ye Nay: but, except Ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Lk13:1-5 The power of repentance is the power to avoid the consequences of sin. Sin gives the devil the right to hurt and harm you even if you think you are innocent. Jesus in these two examples is quite emphatic. Unless ye repent, the consequences of sin will befall you just like it did to these people in Galilee and Jerusalem. Satan has the power to inflict evil upon all who live in sin. The consequences for these people were external physical harm resulting in death. Unless one gets under the umbrella of God's protection, God cannot stop the onslaught of the devil to cause harm to you. Jesus tells us here that repentance is the key to God's protection. Jesus was there and yet these people died a horrible death. Jesus is here and unless you repent a death, like those in this story, can very easily be your fate. It is not the desire of God that any should perish. It is the consequence of the fall. Unless you plead the blood of Christ and confess his word and live and walk in the Spirit, you will die. Now the power of repentance is not only for external attacks of the evil one. In Mark, Jesus makes the same connection with respect to sickness and health. They that are whole have no need of the physician, But they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, But sinners to repentance. Mk2:17 Repentance is the means to health as well as safety. Through repentance we recognize that much illness is the consequence of sin and has a spiritual root which allows the enemy to inflict harm on us physically. Jesus says here that he came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. The righteous have no need of a physician. They are well. Sinners need a physician and because of their sin, they are sick. If they had not sinned, they would not have been sick. If they repent of their sin, then they will be healed. Now for many of us sin is an abstract proposition. We have become callous and sin is not obvious. The law is our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. Through the law is the knowledge of sin. The scriptures will convict us of sin even if our conscience is hardened, but we have to be opened spiritually to the Word of God and the words of God. Getting blessed by good preaching opens our spirit to hear the word of God and we become convicted by the Holy Spirit, and repent. Unless we get under good preaching, repentance will not take place. Now there is sin and there is sin. We may know that lying and stealing is sin but we might not be aware that fear, guilt, doubt, bitterness, self-hatred, anger, and unforgiveness is sin as well. Sin runs deep and the devil will place a spirit, a demon, in us if we do not recognize the sin. If we are not living in peace and confidence and faith, there is probably a spirit that is in the ascendancy. Two weeks ago I preached a good message which was well received. You would think that I would be positive and elated from the experience. But instead, I was shy and withdrawn. It took me almost two weeks to realize that I needed to rebuke a spirit of inferiority that had crept into my spirit and renounce that demon in Jesus name. I have gotten sick repeatedly because I had allowed a spirit of double mindedness to encroach in my spirit which I had to rebuke and repent of. Satan is a subtle foe. People who suffer from addictions have many demons that they deal with due to their addiction. You might wonder why in a controlled environment addicts do well, but when left to themselves, they fall back into their addiction. Well in a controlled environment the demons are sleeping. They are dormant. But when the addict no longer has his environment controlled, those demons come out in force. The addict has to recognize those demons are there and repent and rebuke and renounce them. Self-hatred, guilt and shame, pity, fear, and lust have to be dealt with on a spiritual plane or the malady will rise up and beat them up. I have discovered in my own life many demons that were sleeping in side of me waiting for the opportunity to surface. Only by a determination to live the gospel life in its fullness have I managed to gain some peace and power with God. The power of repentance is the power to live in victory, health, and safety. Repent and believe the gospel is the message for today. "Live and walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh." "The body is dead because of sin but the spirit is alive because of righteousness." "Consider yourselves dead to sin but alive unto righteousness.� "Love one another as Christ has loved you." If you do these things you will live says the Lord. "Be strong for your adversary, the devil, is like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour." "Submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you." "Fight the good fight of faith and lay hold of eternal life." Amen |
 |