The God Of Specifies - Part 2 of 2
2 Corinthians 7:9-10 …… your sorrow led to repentance……For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation
Yesterday, we saw how our God is a God of specifics and he expects us to pray specifically rather than vaguely. Today I want to show you how the same pattern is repeated in other aspects of our walk with God.
Many times we do things in our life which leads us to recognize that we have messed up with the standards that God has established for us. God’s Word says that we need to repent of our sins so we say, “God I am sorry and I repent of all my sins”. But if we make such statements it confirms that we do not understand the true meaning of repentance. Such statements are very vague, since it conveys the lack of accountability of ones actions.
In the letter to the Corinthian church we see Paul mentioning that true repentance is an outcome of sorrow or godly sorrow. This sorrow is an outcome of recognizing the ugliness of sin in our own nature. When we recognize that we do not stand a chance in front of the Living and Holy God, only then we will experience such godly sorrow.
The Bible tells us a story about Mary (sister of Lazarus & Martha) who after recognizing her sinful nature came and wept at the feet of Jesus. With her tears she wiped his feet and then anointed them with fragrant oil. If one was to recognize the gravity of their sins, they too will act like Mary; they too will experience the same godly sorrow.
The moment of repentance is right after we sin. The earlier we repent of our sins, the better it would be for us to have a healthy relationship with our God. If we delay then we may forget what we did, which many times lead us to make vague requests for forgiveness to our God. God loves us very much, and he recognizes our fragile and sinful nature. However, God wants us to be accountable for our actions, since accountability leads us to recognize the sin, our unworthiness and the fact that we on our own effort cannot save ourselves. This accountability will make us experience the same sorrow that Mary experienced. Only then will we be able to receive true forgiveness of our sins.
Today, I want to encourage you to specifically ask for forgiveness for things you have messed up. No matter what the sin maybe, when you identify each of the sins you committed and ask specific forgiveness, then this act of accountability will penetrate your heart, which will lead you to experience sorrow, which will lead to true repentance, and that will lead you to salvation. Don’t let the devil fool you to believe that making a blanket statement of “Please forgive all my sins” is okay. This deception prevents you from having accountability in your life.
However, if you have never understood this principle and do not remember what you have done in the past, then I encourage you to pray to Jesus to reveal to you your past acts that needs repentance. Jesus will reveal to you everything and as you get the revelation, make sure that you ask forgiveness for each of those sins, which will help you experience true repentance. This will fill you with godly sorrow overflowing from your heart. Trust Jesus. He will replace the heart filled with godly sorrow with godly joy, as you express your true repentance.
Stanley Samuel
Associate
India International Church
Yesterday, we saw how our God is a God of specifics and he expects us to pray specifically rather than vaguely. Today I want to show you how the same pattern is repeated in other aspects of our walk with God.
Many times we do things in our life which leads us to recognize that we have messed up with the standards that God has established for us. God’s Word says that we need to repent of our sins so we say, “God I am sorry and I repent of all my sins”. But if we make such statements it confirms that we do not understand the true meaning of repentance. Such statements are very vague, since it conveys the lack of accountability of ones actions.
In the letter to the Corinthian church we see Paul mentioning that true repentance is an outcome of sorrow or godly sorrow. This sorrow is an outcome of recognizing the ugliness of sin in our own nature. When we recognize that we do not stand a chance in front of the Living and Holy God, only then we will experience such godly sorrow.
The Bible tells us a story about Mary (sister of Lazarus & Martha) who after recognizing her sinful nature came and wept at the feet of Jesus. With her tears she wiped his feet and then anointed them with fragrant oil. If one was to recognize the gravity of their sins, they too will act like Mary; they too will experience the same godly sorrow.
The moment of repentance is right after we sin. The earlier we repent of our sins, the better it would be for us to have a healthy relationship with our God. If we delay then we may forget what we did, which many times lead us to make vague requests for forgiveness to our God. God loves us very much, and he recognizes our fragile and sinful nature. However, God wants us to be accountable for our actions, since accountability leads us to recognize the sin, our unworthiness and the fact that we on our own effort cannot save ourselves. This accountability will make us experience the same sorrow that Mary experienced. Only then will we be able to receive true forgiveness of our sins.
Today, I want to encourage you to specifically ask for forgiveness for things you have messed up. No matter what the sin maybe, when you identify each of the sins you committed and ask specific forgiveness, then this act of accountability will penetrate your heart, which will lead you to experience sorrow, which will lead to true repentance, and that will lead you to salvation. Don’t let the devil fool you to believe that making a blanket statement of “Please forgive all my sins” is okay. This deception prevents you from having accountability in your life.
However, if you have never understood this principle and do not remember what you have done in the past, then I encourage you to pray to Jesus to reveal to you your past acts that needs repentance. Jesus will reveal to you everything and as you get the revelation, make sure that you ask forgiveness for each of those sins, which will help you experience true repentance. This will fill you with godly sorrow overflowing from your heart. Trust Jesus. He will replace the heart filled with godly sorrow with godly joy, as you express your true repentance.
Stanley Samuel
Associate
India International Church
posted by Danesh Manik | 8:50 AM
1 Comments:
Good one Stan..
I guess a potential topic for one of your devotionals can be "what constitutes a sin?".. just a suggestion!
Roy
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