SCRIPTURE:
2 Corinthians 7:1-11 “1 Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. 2 Make room for us in your hearts; we wronged no one, we corrupted no one, we took advantage of no one. 3 I do not speak to condemn you, for I have said before that you are in our hearts to die together and to live together. 4 Great is my confidence in you; great is my boasting on your behalf. I am filled with comfort; I am overflowing with joy in all our affliction. 5 For even when we came into Macedonia our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted on every side: conflicts without, fears within. 6 But God, who comforts the depressed, comforted us by the coming of Titus; 7 and not only by his coming, but also by the comfort with which he was comforted in you, as he reported to us your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me; so that I rejoiced even more. 8 For though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it—for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while— 9 I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. 10 For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death. 11 For behold what earnestness this very thing, this godly sorrow, has produced in you: what vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what avenging of wrong! In everything you demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter.”
ENCOURAGEMENT:
Repentance is more than feeling bad for what you did. Repentance doesn't take hours or days of agonizing pain & prayer and it can actually be joyful! It’s joyful because we are turning from sin, the thing that leads to death & pain, and in turn we get Jesus, the author of love & life! The Greek word for repentance is metanoia which means a change of mind. We’re changing our mind to reject sin & turn from it to desire life with God.
2 Corinthians 7:9 says that we should only be made sorrowful until we REPENT (change our mind about the sin we were in). Verse 10 says when we have true repentance, we have no regret & receive the salvation of Jesus! Whereas merely feeling bad, like the world does, only leads to death. John the Baptist talks about “bearing fruits in keeping with repentance.” This is not just saying sorry & feeling bad. It’s a change of mind, & a change of life direction away from that sin towards God. True repentance will produce zeal & longing to change as Revelation 3:19 says “be zealous and repent.”
Lastly, think of the example of God’s mercy & salvation through repentance. In Acts 2, the VERY SAME religious leaders who LITERALLY crucified Jesus listened to the preaching of Peter. It says they were cut to the heart. Imagine you killed Jesus yourself, you think you would need weeks of sorrow & penance in order to gain God’s approval again. But Peter simply tells them to “repent, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
May we continually turn from our sin, and receive His forgiveness & power of the Holy Spirit.
PRAYER:
Take a moment to pray the prayer outlined below. If you are looking for a good song during your prayer time, check out: “Obedience” by Lindy Cofer & Circuit Rider Music.
The 4 R’s Prayer — Repent, Receive, Rebuke, Replace
REPENT: I repent of my sin. (Name the sin & admit it was wrong. Ask for forgiveness.)
RECEIVE: I receive your forgiveness, God.
REBUKE: I rebuke the enemy’s stronghold & tell it to leave my life!
REPLACE: I replace the lies with the truth of God’s word. (Example: I am loved, I am free, I am forgiven, You have not given me a spirit of fear.)
Example: “Lord I repent of my sin, I turn from it & ask your forgiveness. I thank you for forgiving me, I receive it in Jesus’ name! I command every demonic Spirit attached to that sin to get out of my life & leave my mind in Jesus’ name! I say it must leave right now! I thank you, Jesus, for setting me free! That I am dead to sin & alive in you! That I am your child, & nothing can separate me from your love! In Jesus name, Amen.”
CHALLENGE:
- Ask the Lord if there is any area you need to REPENT of today. Wait on Him to tell you!
- Then stand up & boldly declare your repentance, forgiveness, & rebuke the enemy out of your life! Do this with each thing that God brings to mind until you feel His joy permeate your soul!
- P.S. Do this with a SMILE knowing when we receive His forgiveness it’s DONE & we get to walk in the new life He gave us!
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Day 2 - Repentance
Joel Bomberger • 2 Corinthians 7:1–11
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21 Day Challenge