The Gift of Repentance

True repentance draws us closer to God, brings freedom from the weight of sin, and silences the enemy’s lies.  Let’s embrace the gift of turning back to God. Listen now!

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Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome and Introduction
• 2:49 Understanding Repentance as a Gift
• 6:03 Biblical Foundation for Repentance
• 8:40 The Bathtub Analogy
• 12:22 Six Requirements of True Repentance
• 22:37 Seasons of Refreshing After Repentance
• 23:27 Upcoming Changes to the Podcast

Transcript

Audrey: 1:13

Hi friend, welcome back to Grace For my Home. I'm so glad you're here, whether you're listening while you're folding laundry or driving to work or just taking a minute for yourself. I pray that this time encourages your heart and strengthens your faith. Today we're going to talk about the gift of repentance, and I can't wait to share with you what's on my heart. So grab a cup of coffee and let's get started Now. That may sound like a strange concept to you the gift of repentance but repentance is a gift. It's a gift that the Lord gives us. When you think about sin and what sin is, sin is a separation from God. It's not living up to the Lord's commands and standards, and God has given us, through Jesus Christ, the gift of repentance. Today. I just want to share some thoughts with you about that. It's been on my heart lately and I want to share with you some thoughts about repentance and why it is so important and why it is such a blessing to us as believers.

Audrey: 2:23

When John the Baptist came on the scene, he preached a message of repentance. He said repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand. When Jesus started his ministry on the earth, that was his first message Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand after Jesus's death and burial and resurrection and ascension. When he sent his, his disciples, full of the Holy Spirit, out to preach, the first thing they said, the first thing Peter said on the day of Pentecost was repent and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins. That was in Acts 2, verse 38. And so repentance is the beginning of our relationship with God, so it's very important. Also in the book of Acts, in Acts 3, it talks about how John and Peter were going to the temple to pray and they came upon a lame man, a beggar you probably know the story and God miraculously healed this man and the whole city. It got everybody's attention and people were flocking to them to find out how they did this, what was happening, what was going on, and so they had a captive audience and they used that opportunity to tell the people about Jesus. Jesus had just recently gone back to heaven with his father, and this is what Peter tells them in Acts 3, starting in verse 17. Now, fellow Israelites, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders, but this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Messiah would suffer. And then, in verse 19, listen, he says repent then and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out and times of refreshing may come from the Lord. I believe that in order to come into right relationship with the Lord, in order to be a Christian to be saved, we must repent of our sins, like Peter is preaching here in Acts 3. But I also believe that as we walk with the Lord, we go through seasons of repentance and that as we go through those seasons of repentance, they're followed with times of refreshing. Let me give you an illustration Now. This may sound like a silly example, but bear with me.

Audrey: 4:55

When my children were young and I was teaching them at home, they would spend hours outside and I have three boys and they would come in in the afternoon. Sometimes they would be so covered in dirt or mud or whatever paint that sometimes I couldn't even see them except for the white of their eyes. That was about all that was visible, and I would put them in. I would want to put them in the tub, I don't want to put them in the bathtub, and they did not want to go in the bathtub. It was like. It was like pulling teeth trying to get them to take a bath, but I wouldn't let them in my house because they were filthy. So usually I would bribe them with a snack and get them to take a bath, but I wouldn't let them in my house because they were filthy. So usually I would bribe them with a snack and get them in the tub and they would have fun in the tub once they got there and they would wash and sometimes I would scrub them, and then they'd get a snack and sometimes watch a show, and nine times out of ten they would fall asleep. They'd fall asleep right where they were in front of the TV, and that reminds me of repentance.

Audrey: 6:05

You know, we live in a world where we're constantly dealing with sin. There's sin on the outside, there's sin on the inside. We are not like God. We are becoming like God, but we have a sinful nature and so, without constantly coming to him and being in his word and being transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit, we collect things from this world. We collect the dirt and the filth and the grime and the thoughts and the mindsets of this world, and so when we come to the Lord, it's like he washes us in the word, and a lot of times we resist that because we think we know better or we think you know we don't need that. But once we come, once he draws us near and he washes us, there's a peace, there's a rest, and that reminds me of the peace and the refreshing that comes with repentance.

Audrey: 7:05

Now, I know, repentance is not a fun subject, you know. A lot of times people don't even touch on it anymore, but I think it's so important because it's where we live. It's the Christian walk. We need the Lord and we need to live in a constant state of repentance. Now, that doesn't mean we walk around and cry and we're sorry for everything. That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about that we live in a position where we are sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit and to his conviction.

Audrey: 7:44

Now there is a book that I want to recommend to you, and it's an old book, so I think there's a modern translation now or a modern update. It's in English, but there's a modern update that you can read. But there is a book that talks about repentance and I encourage you, if you're looking, to delve deeper into this topic. This book is called the Doctrine of Repentance by Thomas Watson. By Thomas Watson, but today I'm going to give you a little outline of some of the things that he talks about in that book, and I think it'll be helpful when considering this topic of repentance.

Audrey: 8:28

And he talks about what sin, what repentance requires. First of all, repentance requires us to recognize sin. So we can't repent until we recognize that there is sin, that there is something to repent of, and the Holy Spirit is the one who reveals that to our hearts. Now, if you're like me, when I first got saved, I felt guilty all the time, I felt condemned all the time, and that's not a good place to be. That's not what the Lord wants for us, that's not how he wants us to live. But I had such an oversensitive conscience that I felt guilty for things that I hadn't even done. There's enough to deal with with the things we have done. You know, we don't want to constantly be dealing with the guilt and over things we haven't even done or haven't even thought. And so I asked the Lord and he has helped me and he continues to help me I asked him to reveal to me the sin that is in my heart, that is in my life, that he wants to deal with, and he will do that. He has done that for me, he will do that for you.

Audrey: 9:41

So the first step in repentance is to recognize the sin that is in our hearts and to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal that to us, because the enemy has a counterfeit and it's called condemnation and we are not to live under condemnation. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit, and so the enemy will come to us and he will condemn us. He will speak into our hearts and say you are this and you are that and you thought this and you should have done this, but you didn't do that. And he will just beat us in the ground if we listen to him. But when the Holy Spirit comes to us and he convicts us of sin, it's a whole different way. It's a whole different voice. His conviction brings hope, hope for repentance and forgiveness and restoration. And so we, as we grow in the Lord, we have to learn to discern between the voice of the enemy and the voice of the Holy Spirit, because when God convicts us of sin. He doesn't leave us there. He draws us out with hope, with hope for a restored relationship with him, because repentance is restoring our relationship with God.

Audrey: 11:00

The second requirement of repentance is godly sorrow. Godly sorrow also is produced by the Holy Spirit. I cannot produce godly sorrow. I have to be open to it. I have to allow the Holy Spirit to produce godly sorrow in my heart. But once we recognize that we have sinned and that it is against the Lord who we love, then it allows the Holy Spirit to bring godly sorrow into our heart. And that godly sorrow brings us to the next part of repentance, which is the confession of sin.

Audrey: 11:38

To confess sin is to come face to face with the truth. It's not to hide anymore. It's not to pretend anymore. It's not to play the victim anymore. It's not to shift blame anymore. It's not to play the victim anymore. It's not to shift blame anymore. Now there is a part of our human nature that does not want to take responsibility for our own shortcomings or our own sins. We want to blame other people. And we all do this, guys. I mean, I don't care how spiritually mature you are. We are all tempted to do this.

Audrey: 12:09

You know, when we come face to face with a sin in our heart, often we want to blame other people, and a lot of times that's our parents. You know, when I came to the Lord, I had a lot of issues, because I grew up in a home where there was a lot of a lot going on. There's a lot of chaos. There was a there. I lived with a father who was an alcoholic. Neither one of my parents were Christian. They did not serve the Lord, and so I saw a lot of stuff, and so when I got older and I made a decision for myself to serve the Lord, I had a lot of issues. I had a lot of issues, and sometimes I would excuse my issues because I had a rough upbringing. I would excuse my issues because I had a rough upbringing, and there's a place there to give yourself grace and to say you know what I'm going to do better. But at the same time, until we take ownership of our growth, until we take ownership of our own sin and repent of it, then we can't get past it. And so the third key to repentance is to confess our sins, is to say yes, lord, I have this sin in my life and I need your help dealing with it. I confess it, I don't hide from it, I'm not shifting the blame, and I confess this as sin in my life.

Audrey: 14:12

Now, the fourth point that Thomas Watson brings out in his book is the shame of sin. There's a shame that comes with sin and with admitting sin. You know Adam and Eve in the garden. Once they recognized that they were separated from God, one of the first things that they noticed was that they were naked, and so they sought to hide from God and to cover themselves up with fig leaves. So shame is a natural part of dealing with sin in our lives, in our hearts.

Audrey: 14:51

Now, there's a philosophy today that anything that makes us feel bad, any bad feeling, is not from God, and that's just not true. There is a sorrow, there is a godly sorrow, there is a shame that sin creates. That lets us know this thing not the feeling that I'm feeling, not the feeling of shame, but the thing that's causing this shame is not from God. And as we grow in maturity, as we grow in wisdom, as we grow with the Lord, we start to learn that if I'm feeling shame over this, maybe there's a reason. If it's condemnation, lord, you show me, but if it's you, holy Spirit, that's producing this godly sorrow or this feeling of shame in my life that I feel like I need to hide from God, then show me what the issue is. If it's sin in my life, you know, let's come clean. Let's come clean, you know, let's go before the Lord and get everything right with our Father, because he wants us not to have anything that is keeping us from Him and sin separates us from our Father.

Audrey: 16:09

And the fifth point is we have to get to the point where we hate sin, where we don't you know, where we're not just like, oh I have these bad habits. We have to get to the point where we are clear on what is a bad habit and what is sin, and that we hate the sin that is in our life that tries to separate us from our Father. A long time ago I had a friend she was actually a Christian minister and she said something that really hit home with me. She said God will deliver you from your enemies, but not from your friends. And you probably know what that means. If I love something and it's a pet sin and I enjoy that thing so much that I make excuses for it and I hide it and I feed it, then it's not going anywhere. It's going to stay right where it is because it's welcome in my life. But if I want to be delivered, if I want to be set free, if I want to part ways with sin in my life, then I have to learn to see that sin through the eyes of Jesus. Jesus died so that I could be set free from sin, not so I could hold on to it and enjoy it. And so we have to hate the sin in our lives. That's the only way that we can get set free from it.

Audrey: 17:39

And number six is we have to turn from our sin. If we don't hate it, we're not going to turn from it. Right, if we don't hate it, we're going to live with it and we're going to try to coexist with it. And we can't do that. If we want to be in right standing with God, if we want to grow closer to the Lord, we cannot willingly and knowingly harbor sin in our hearts, and so we have to turn away from it.

Audrey: 18:11

Actually, the Greek word for repent has that connotation to turn away, to take another path. And that's really what repentance is. Repentance is saying the path I'm on is not leading to God. So I will redirect, I will turn another way. And that is not just something we say or believe, or confess, it's something we do. So repentance there is a portion of it where we're recognizing okay, this isn't God. There is a portion of it where we confess oh, I have been in sin, this is a sin. But then there must be a point in repentance where we actually turn from that thing, where we do not physically do that thing any longer. So we repent from it, we turn from it, we stop doing it and we're turning direction and we're turning from the thing that is separating me from God back to God. And that's how we stay on the path is we stay on the path by giving up the things that are distracting us from the most important thing, which is our relationship with the Lord. And so when we do that, there is a time of refreshing that comes. Like I said, it's like taking a bath. Lord, I'm not running anymore, I'm not hiding anymore, I'm not pretending anymore that this isn't my problem, that this is, you know, somebody else's fault. I am the one who has made the decision to keep this in my life, but today I decide to put it away and, by your grace, I turn back towards you and away from this sin that has distracted me, that has caused me to try and justify doing things that I know you've told me not to. And there are seasons of repentance, there are seasons when I repent and seasons of refreshing that follow. And, guys, that is what David meant when he said Lord, restore to me the joy of your salvation.

Audrey: 20:21

Psalm 51 is a psalm all about repentance. If you're struggling with sin, if you're struggling in an area and it just seems like you can't get free, go to Psalm 51. Hear what David says about repentance. He said cleanse my heart, o God. God's the only one who can. He's the only one who can cleanse our heart. I love the Lord because I can't even know what my sin is unless he convicts me. He shows me what it is, he helps me to deal with it. He helps me to lay it down. In Christ Jesus, I can be set free. And then he helps me and then, once I turn away from my sin and I put my eyes on him, he brings seasons and times of refreshing.

Audrey: 21:07

And, guys, he loves us. He does not want us separated from him. He doesn't want us living in condemnation and guilt. He wants us to be able to come boldly to the throne of grace anytime, in a right relationship with him, and that's the gift of repentance. Isn't that hopeful? A lot of times people avoid the topic of repentance because it just feels like we have this image of God beating us over the head or angry. He's not angry at all. It's just like my kids coming in from play and they need a bath. I'm not angry at them at all. I just know what they need. They need a bath, they need to be cleansed, they need to be washed, whether they want to be or not. And God, he loves us, he's a good father, he knows what we need, whether we know it or not, whether we believe it or not, and he wants to help us. And, guys, he is so not mad at us. He hates sin, but he does not hate you. He loves you and he wants to help you. Walk with him hand in hand, amen.

Audrey: 22:17

I want to share something with you in the next couple of months. I am going, I am praying about and working on trying to figure out in my head first, because that's how everything changes first. Right, it has to be a thought first, but I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to change the format of Grace for my Home and my podcast and what things I'm going to add and what things I'm going to take away, because my heart is Bible study, it truly is my heart, and I enjoy sharing with you every week. But I really want to go deeper in the word. And a podcast it's hard to do that, no, podcast, it's just not that kind of format. And so I want to continue podcasting because I enjoy it, I enjoy the conversational tone and I enjoy getting to know people. But I really would like to do some deep dive Bible studies and I've got a few things on my mind, on my heart, but I know that it's not something I'm going to be able to do in this format. And so if you're interested in joining me for some Bible studies where we go a little deeper into the word, I would love to hear from you If you could just send me a text. If you look in the show notes, there is a link where you can send me a text and say I'm in and give me an idea of what kind of Bible study you'd be interested in. That would help me immensely.

Audrey: 23:38

I've got a few things on my mind. I'd like to do a foundational Bible study on the Christian faith and what we believe and why we believe it, and I'd really like to do that. I've had a couple people ask me about that, and so that's one idea. Another that I've had a couple people ask me about that, and so that's one idea. Another idea is I'd like to do a Bible study on the book of Ruth. I love the book of Ruth. I think it's beautiful and I would love to share some of the beautiful things in it with you guys, if you're interested in that. Other ideas I would love to do a teaching on creating a home where faith can grow. That's another idea I've had, so I just throw those out there.

Audrey: 24:13

If you could please go to the show notes, click on, text me a message and say I'm in and give me an idea of what kind of Bible study you'd be interested in, one of those three or maybe something completely different.

Audrey: 24:27

That would help me so much because I am, during the summer, going to revamp my podcast and my blog, graceformyhomecom, in order to go a little deeper in the word with those who are interested. So I'm excited about that and looking forward to it and hope that you are too, and I just want to say thank you for coming each week and listening. It means the world to me, and I just want to say thank you for coming each week and listening. It means the world to me. I hope today's conversation has encouraged you and reminded you of God's grace in your life. Before we go, I want to leave you with this thought that God is on your side, that he is cheering for you. It is his good pleasure to give you the kingdom. If this episode blessed you, I'd love for you to share it with a friend or leave me a review. It truly helps more people to find this podcast. Until next time, may you walk in God's grace and truth, right where you are. Be blessed, friend.