When we live with the point-of-view of our hearts being completely alive to God and unhindered by guilt, when we live in totally smooth open communication with Him, where He speaks and we easily hear Him whisper in our hearts; that is a safe, wonderful and desirable place to be, to stay, to remain.
But when we’re not thinking that way – when the flesh catches our attention, when we start living in the “natural” realm, totally aware of our natural surroundings rather than our spiritual surroundings. When we fall(or dive) into sin by pursuing our base desires rather than letting ourselves be completely satisfied by Him – then we need to learn one thing: and its not easy, we need to learn to…
(boy, I can feel the pressure to not even write this word…)
REPENT!
Whew! There I said it.
Yes, we need to learn to repent. To come running back to Him. To admit that we were wrong. To admit that we really do need Him. To humble ourselves. To realize that Jesus paid for our sins. To realize that when we return to Him, He immediately satisfies us with His grace. Then we have a sense of satisfaction; a sense that He’s not mad at us and that everything is going to be alright.
The outcome of repentance is wonderful, its satisfying, it is a great relief; but getting there is a real squeeze on who you are.
One time after sinning the Holy Spirit convicted me about it. I prayed and said, “Lord, I repent.” and He said to me, “Oh really? Wouldn’t you do the same thing again if you had the chance?” I sheepishly had to admit that I would. So then, I prayed, “Lord, grant me repentance!” Boy, did He answer that prayer. For about the next 36 hours I felt this sorrow on me. It was so thick I felt it to the core of my being. The Bible says, “Godly sorrow brings repentance.” I felt this sorrow so deeply, I was sorry that I had disappointed God; that I had hurt Him. He really granted repentance. It really changed my mind about that sin.
You see, God wants our hearts pure and unhindered so that He can have open and happy fellowhship with us and so that we can truly represent Him. He wants us to be who He is to those who would never know.
Repentance is like taking a bath. You get totally cleaned off and it feels wonderful. Try it – it’s not easy, but you’ll love the result.
See ya
Joe
I have a couple of messages I preached on these topics, check them out:
Repentance
Temptation
Joseph Barlow 
Hi Pastor,I read this post and then listened to your message on repentance. Good gravy, what a message. I actually was at your church when you preached that message, but I didn’t need it then. This is coming at exactly the right time and I know that it is God. A very hearty sermon, and I liked it back then, but it’s life and breath to me now. Thank you.Just a note, I’ve read Acts 2:38 before and heard sermons with it, but I just realized something this time. When you read it in the amplified, it says repentance is to “change your views and purpose to accept the will of God in your inner selves instead of rejecting it.” and later on in the verse it says you shall receive the Holy Spirit. I always focused on the speaking in tongues part of the verse, but the Holy Spirit isn’t just tongues. He’s there to lead us and teach us stuff. So when we change our minds and determine to go with God’s will, the Holy Spirit can come and teach us! Man, I was so excited when I saw that. I’m still giddy about it! What’s that saying about hiding in plain sight?Thank you for your wonderful messages. You can’t imagine how helpful they are. This one was definitely a time release message!God bless you,Samantha F.
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I have totally felt that too – I feel like God just leaves and then there remains this pathetic existence (me), and maybe that’s what is happening but I guess it’s probably me making the choice to leave His presence by sinning. I’m so glad for His grace!
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