17/06/08

Real Repentance Transforms

I like to share with you this response which I received to my mail 'Prayer success formulae'. I also like to thank and bless the sender of this beautiful sharing.

There are a few things that I noticed that need some attention. To begin the word repent comes from the Greek word Metanoia a word from which we get one of the root of metamorphosis. The best example I can think of for that word is a caterpillar changing into a butterfly (the 1st part which is meta).The second part of the word means mind. So the two words together mean a transformation of our mind which causes us to outwardly turn from sin.

I preach and teach every week downtown and ask people if they know what repent means and they either say "no." Or they say it means to tell God we are sorry and ask for forgiveness and that could not be further from the truth. Being sorry and asking for God to forgive us is what we do before and after we repent but is not actually repentance. For all practical purposes repent means to turn away from sin and turn to God and until we repent and come to Him in faith He will not hear our prayers (1-Peter 3:12; Hebrews 11:6). He does not require anything other than a humble, repentant and contrite heart of faith for Him hear our prayers.

It is actually said in scripture that there are two kinds of sorrow, one that leads to repentance (which clearly shows from scripture that it is not actually repentance but what leads to it) unto salvation and the other which leads to death. The reason it is important to make such a distinction is because so much of the time I have and have seen others really sorry for what they did yet they never repent and turn from it to turn to faith in God for their prayers to be heard by Him.

Are we sorry because we have offended God which will lead us to our mind changing about the sin we committed thus hating it because of our love for God thus turning us from this sin unto faith in the God who took the punishment for it upon Himself by suffering the wrath of His Father and rising again to live evermore to intercede for His Saints?

Or are we sorry because of the consequences which we bear after God has turned His face from us or due to lack of worldly comforts?

The first sorrow is the one that leads to repentance unto salvation (2 Corinthians 7:10a).The second sorrow is the kind that leads to death (vs10b).

Walking in repentance where we love God and hate sin is the truest definition of the word and we learn to continue in that by being renewed in our mind through scripture we are changed from a Caterpillar to a butterfly in the righteousness of Christ. I believe everything else you said was inline with God's word.


[ Prayer Starter ]

Lord, I am sorry for the times I have hurt You and disobeyed your Word. Lead my heart to repentance and transform me into a new creation. Like a caterpillar; a worm that sieges to exist and gets transformed into a beautiful butterfly, transform me into a new being with my old person seizing to exist. I ask this prayer in Jesus' Name, Amen.


[ Reference Scriptures ]

1-Peter 3:12
12 For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.

Hebrews 11:6
6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

2 Corinthians 7:10
10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

The Word of God was given free to us, therefore we should also share it freely with others.
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