It is that time of year, the end of another year and how quickly it happened. I just wrote my first 2023. You may have noticed that the world has been in chaos for a couple of years and getting worse, and I am sure that most want 2023 to be better. In an attempt to make the upcoming year better, people make their list of resolutions and set their hopes high. I took a quick peak at some of the top resolutions over the years and some at the top were exercise, eat healthier, lose weight, and reduce stress. Oddly those first three don’t reduce stress but create stress as many find out in February or sooner. One site noted that, “the top 3 are all health-related. 23% quit in the first week, and only 36% make it past the first month. 9% successfully keep their New Year's resolutions.” A resolution is “a firm decision to do or not to do something. The quality of being determined or resolute.” Resolute means “admirably purposeful, determined, and unwavering.” I resolved to keep my resolutions. Other resolutions that show up on the lists are enjoy life, get organized, quit smoking, drink less, control time spent on social media, travel more, read more and family time. Resolutions really are not fair as all people are not really created equal when it comes to keeping them as some people are great at it and almost look forward to the challenge. Those who are not wired for resolutions don’t make them so there is less stress, but they still feel guilty and stressed anyways.
I also looked at some Christian resolutions and they listed pray more, read the bible more, attend church more and improve relationships. You can also include the secular lists to those. But like most resolutions, even resolutions made by Christians are not always kept which leaves many Christians confused because as a Christian are you not supposed to pray and read the bible. Yes, people start off wanting to pray more and read more. They set a time for prayer and look for a reading plan and off they go only to find that soon after they started, they missed a few days and stress takes over trying to catch up and then they are back to where they were before the resolution was made. It turns out the resolution was done in their own strength and without knowledge. Many turn to daily readers like Our Daily Bread but you will end up starving if that and others like it are your main source of nourishment. John 6:35 “Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” That means His word is the bread of life. We must saturate ourselves with it and not just a few verses here and there. Many people are afraid to read the bible, for one they don’t really want to know what it says and two they think they will not understand. It is no wonder as priests and ministers give the impression that unless you are trained you won’t understand. Acts 4:13 “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” Many do not understand that the bible is the living word of God and God speaks through it and gives wisdom to those who seek Him. God said Proverbs 8:17 “I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.” Ecclesiastes 2:26 “To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God.” Daniel 2:21 “He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.” Colossians 1:9 “For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives.” James 1:5 “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” Therefore, you can see why you should be resolved to humble yourself before God. Having a bible is not the same has standing firm on it and letting God guide your footsteps. Because they think they will not understand, they end up reading books about the bible, also on resolution lists. They seek man’s wisdom instead of God’s. Unfortunately, a lack of biblical knowledge means those who read books about the bible don’t really know if they are reading truth. When people fail to keep their resolution, they feel guilty, and the year turns into the previous year where the resolutions were not kept either. The church is filled with people who do not know God’s word, obey God’s word, or believe His word.
The one resolution that is not listed, secular or Christian, is repentance and turning to God. The good news is that everyone can keep this resolution if they humble themselves before God. Bear in mind that stan does not want you to repent. 1 Peter 5:6 “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. 10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.” James 4:7 “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” Humbling ourselves before God and submitting to Him changes everything. This is the most important commitment anyone can resolve to do and should be everyone’s number one resolution, as this resolution will change your life in the here and now and eternally.
Unfortunately, repentance is not stressed enough to people. Most do not know how life-changing it is nor do most know they need to repent, especially those who already call themselves Christians. It is not just the secular world that needs to repent, the church must first repent. When the church repents, the world will be turned upside down. Zechariah 1:3 “Therefore tell the people: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Return to me,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’ says the Lord Almighty.” We desperately need God to return to us. Malachi 3:7 “Ever since the time of your ancestors you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty. “But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’ 8 “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ “In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. 11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the Lord Almighty. 12 “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty.” You are the living sacrifice offered to God, not just money.
The problem is the church is not making clear to people that the church must return to God. I don’t believe most churches are telling their people to turn away from their teaching. They are not telling people that what they are listening to is from the mouth of a false prophet / teacher. Hosea 4:6 “my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.” This lack of knowledge then leaves many Christians struggling with keeping their commitment to God and wondering why. They usually try to work harder or blame themselves or even blame God but still do not repent. They read the bible and don’t understand and what they read does not happen. Sadly, many that have read ask questions of their leaders who then lead them astray give them doctrinal answers from that particular denomination. The people asking do not test the spirits and accept what they have been told. People pray and their prayers are not answered so they continue their life thinking that the Christianity they know is all there is. I think if most people were honest, they would say they are disappointed with their Christian life. They probably would say they expected more from the God who created the universe. Most people will not come to the conclusion that there has to be more as they have been taught that the powerless Christianity they know and are part of is all there is. The solution is to repent because the God of the universe does want to bless us as we just read in Malachi.
What should be happening is asking why the church looks nothing like the Gospels and Acts. What they are not told is that God has turned His face from the church and thus causing a power outage and our enemies prevailing against us. Deuteronomy 31:16 “They will forsake me and break the covenant I made with them. 17 And in that day I will become angry with them and forsake them; I will hide my face from them, and they will be destroyed. 18 And I will certainly hide my face in that day because of all their wickedness in turning to other gods.” Isaiah 1:12 “When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? 13 Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations— I cannot bear your worthless assemblies. 14 Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals I hate with all my being. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. 15 When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you; even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening. Your hands are full of blood!” Amos 5:23 “Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps.” They think we are gathered to worship and pray, but God is not listening. He said Isaiah 65:2 “All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations— 3 a people who continually provoke me to my very face.”
Every Sunday people gather at church thinking this is what God requires, but every Sunday they walk away not understanding what God actually does require and do not know enough to repent. Most are taught to do what the church they attend tells them to obey and believe and they never test the spirits. 1 John 4:1 “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” Most are not taught what God requires them to obey nor are they taught what to expect when they do obey. There is a huge difference between following the ways of man and the way of God. David said to Solomon 1 Kings 2:2 “I am about to go the way of all the earth,” he said. “So be strong, act like a man, 3 and observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go 4 and that the Lord may keep his promise to me: ‘If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully before me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.” We are to do the same. When Israel turned from God, God turned from them and their enemies prevailed. Zechariah 7:11 “But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and covered their ears. 12 They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the Lord Almighty was very angry. 13 “‘When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen,’ says the Lord Almighty. 14 ‘I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations, where they were strangers. The land they left behind them was so desolate that no one traveled through it. This is how they made the pleasant land desolate.’” The same has happened in the church.
Yes, most Christians think they are keeping their covenant with God if they go to church. Millions are going to stand before God and say I went to church but only will hear depart from me, I don’t know you. Matthew 25:41 “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” Christianity is much more than going to church, especially if that church is teaching other gospels. We are supposed to be the church. Most do not know that the church they attend teaches other gospels and doctrines of demons of which they have accepted as truth. Millions have been deceived. 2 Thessalonians 2:9 “The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, 10 and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie 12 and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.” Sadly, they have been deceived as truth has been thrown down just as Daniel said. Daniel 8:12 “Because of rebellion, the Lord’s people and the daily sacrifice were given over to it. It prospered in everything it did, and truth was thrown to the ground.” Once people realize that the abomination that causes desolation is already here, people would be on their faces repenting before God. Instead, people are told this is Christianity, but it is not. Christianity looks like Jesus which is seen in the Gospels and Acts. The powerless church we see today does not. Take the time to read the four Gospels and Acts as if you have never read them before. Set aside all that you have been taught and humble yourself before God as you read, asking God to give you wisdom. Then compare what you just read to your church. That should leave you desiring the power of God to return to the church which leads you to repentance.
What most have not been told is that the church has provoked God to anger by not obeying His words and the church must repent and turn from wicked ways. This describes the church because the church has followed other gospels and lies desolate because of rebellion. Jeremiah 44:2 “Today they lie deserted and in ruins 3 because of the evil they have done. They aroused my anger by burning incense to and worshiping other gods (other gospels) that neither they nor you nor your ancestors ever knew. 4 Again and again I sent my servants the prophets, who said, ‘Do not do this detestable thing that I hate!’ 5 But they did not listen or pay attention; they did not turn from their wickedness or stop burning incense to other gods. 6 Therefore, my fierce anger was poured out; it raged against the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem and made them the desolate ruins they are today. 10 To this day they have not humbled themselves or shown reverence, nor have they followed my law and the decrees I set before you and your ancestors.” Jeremiah also said Jeremiah 7:23 “Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in obedience to all I command you, that it may go well with you. 24 But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward. 25 From the time your ancestors left Egypt until now, day after day, again and again I sent you my servants the prophets. 26 But they did not listen to me or pay attention. They were stiff-necked and did more evil than their ancestors.’ 27 “When you tell them all this, they will not listen to you; when you call to them, they will not answer. 28 Therefore say to them, ‘This is the nation that has not obeyed the Lord its God or responded to correction. Truth has perished; it has vanished from their lips.” Resolve to no longer go backward but forward into truth.
Repentance is the resolution that changes everything, even the other resolutions. We are told Matthew 6:25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? 28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Most Christians have no idea what the true kingdom looks like. The true kingdom not only is about salvation but healing and casting out demons. That kingdom that has healing and the power to defeat enemies comes with repentance. This is what the kingdom looks like. Matthew 4:23 “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 24 News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them.” Matthew 8:16 “When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “He took up our infirmities and bore our diseases.” Mark 6:12 “They went out and preached that people should repent. 13 They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.”
Jesus started off His ministry with these words. Mark 1:15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” Repentance is the key to the kingdom coming near. As we read above, that is what the kingdom looks like. It is very easy to see that the church looks nothing like what you just read. The church needs to repent so that the kingdom will come near. That means when we humble ourselves before God, God turns His face to shine upon us once again and His power flows in the church and our enemies are defeated. You can tell there is little true repentance because the church looks nothing like the Gospels and Acts. When people follow other gospels, their repentance does very little to nothing at all. Why have you repented and to whom? You have to ask what are you being saved into? We are told there are many spirits. 2 John 1:7 “I say this because many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist.” We are told there are false teachers / prophets / evangelists. 2 Peter 2:1 “But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.” Do you know who you are listening to? A bigger problem is that many who teach have no idea that what they teach is false. True power is the key. Ministry will look like Jesus or they will be seeking God to turn His face back. Most likely in this time of desolation there is no power due to the rebellion of the church, so everyone should be seeking. This is why the church needs to repent so that God empowers us once again.
Repentance causes lots of problems for churches who follow other gospels. This is why true repentance is not encouraged. If leaders were to repent, most would have to shut down, programs would cease, finances lost, the building would empty out, best-selling books taken off the shelf and the luxuries would disappear. By the way that is a good thing. Paul said this 1 Corinthians 4:18 Some of you have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you. 19 But I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power they have. 20 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. 21 What do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a rod of discipline, or shall I come in love and with a gentle spirit?” Can you imagine what would happen if Paul showed up at most churches. As a matter fact picture what would happen if Jesus showed up. What a shock for people when they find out that Jesus is not there. This is what would happen. John 2:13 “When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 15 So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” 17 His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.” Matthew 21:13 “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.” When hearing this most churches will respond like the chief priests did as they knew exactly what Jesus was saying. Jeremiah said the same to the people. Jeremiah 7:3 “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. 4 Do not trust in deceptive words and say, “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord! 8 But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless. 9 “‘Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, 10 and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, “We are safe”—safe to do all these detestable things? 11 Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the Lord.” Mark 11:18 “The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.” Paul said 2 Corinthians 2:17 “Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God.” Look how many are peddling for profit.
Repentance takes us back to the beginning of the church. Repentance allows us to start over and do what we were supposed to do in the first place. The church then is able to go to the ends of the earth in the authority and power given to us by Jesus Christ. Luke 24:48 “You are witnesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” The church will continue doing as the disciples did. Matthew 10:1 “Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. 7 As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons.” Christmas just passed but Jesus is not in the manger. Easter will come as fast as Christmas did and Jesus is not on the cross or in the grave, but He is alive; He has risen! That means if He is alive, He will still send out disciples to do as He did. The church needs to stop acting as if Jesus is dead and demons no longer exist. Take a look around and ask yourself if anyone needs the healing touch of Jesus. The church loves to celebrate Christmas and Easter but act as if He never came to free us or defeat death. The church must humble ourselves before our King so once again the church will do as Jesus did. John 14:12 “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”
We are told 2 Chronicles 7:13 “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. 16 I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.” There is a massive drought / famine, and the church is desolate. Amos 8:11 “The days are coming,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “when I will send a famine through the land— not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord.” The good news is the verse says, “my people.” That is not the world but the church. When you read further, God said 19 “But if you turn away and forsake the decrees and commands I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, 20 then I will uproot Israel from my land, which I have given them, and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. I will make it a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. 21 This temple will become a heap of rubble. All who pass by will be appalled and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’ 22 People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who brought them out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—that is why he brought all this disaster on them.’” Due to rebellion, disaster has come upon the church. The New Testament temple is not a building, but people and the church is a heap of rubble just like the first two temples because the church, the people have forsaken the word of God and gone with their own words. Deuteronomy 29:19 “When such a person hears the words of this oath and they invoke a blessing on themselves, thinking, “I will be safe, even though I persist in going my own way,” they will bring disaster on the watered land as well as the dry.” Isaiah 30:1 “Woe to the obstinate children,” declares the Lord, “to those who carry out plans that are not mine, forming an alliance, but not by my Spirit, heaping sin upon sin. 9 For these are rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to listen to the Lord’s instruction. 10 They say to the seers, See no more visions!” and to the prophets, Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions. 11 Leave this way, get off this path, and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel!” 15 This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.”
This describes the church, but this passage also gives us hope if the church repents. Isaiah 30:18 “Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him! 19 People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. 20 Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. 21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” Jeremiah 3:12 “‘Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the Lord, ‘I will frown on you no longer, for I am faithful,’ declares the Lord, ‘I will not be angry forever. 13 Only acknowledge your guilt—you have rebelled against the Lord your God, you have scattered your favors to foreign gods under every spreading tree, and have not obeyed me,’” declares the Lord. 14 “Return, faithless people,” declares the Lord, “for I am your husband. I will choose you—one from a town and two from a clan—and bring you to Zion. 15 Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding.” Ezekiel 39:25 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will now restore the fortunes of Jacob and will have compassion on all the people of Israel, and I will be zealous for my holy name. 26 They will forget their shame and all the unfaithfulness they showed toward me when they lived in safety in their land with no one to make them afraid. 27 When I have brought them back from the nations and have gathered them from the countries of their enemies, I will be proved holy through them in the sight of many nations. 28 Then they will know that I am the Lord their God, for though I sent them into exile among the nations, I will gather them to their own land, not leaving any behind. 29 I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit on the people of Israel, declares the Sovereign Lord.”Ezekiel 18:30 “Therefore, you Israelites, I will judge each of you according to your own ways, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. 31 Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel? 32 For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!” Ezekiel 33:10 “Son of man, say to the Israelites, ‘This is what you are saying: “Our offenses and sins weigh us down, and we are wasting away because of them. How then can we live?”’ 11 Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?’” Joel tells us Joel 2:12 “Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” 13 Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. 14 Who knows? He may turn and relent and leave behind a blessing— grain offerings and drink offerings for the Lord your God. 15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly. 16 Gather the people, consecrate the assembly; bring together the elders, gather the children, those nursing at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her chamber. 17 Let the priests, who minister before the Lord, weep between the portico and the altar. Let them say, “Spare your people, Lord. Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’”
For those who repent the church can say Micah 7:7 “But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me. 8 Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light. 9 Because I have sinned against him, I will bear the Lord’s wrath, until he pleads my case and upholds my cause. He will bring me out into the light; I will see his righteousness. 10 Then my enemy will see it and will be covered with shame, she who said to me, “Where is the Lord your God?” My eyes will see her downfall; even now she will be trampled underfoot like mire in the streets.” We have hope because of God’s great compassion. Isaiah 59:20 “The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,” declares the Lord.” Don’t be part of those who do not repent. Revelation 2:20 “Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. 21 I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. 22 So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. 23 I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.”
Don’t go through life thinking all is well. Make sure of your salvation. The church today is like Laodicea. Revelation 3:15 “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. 19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” When you come to the realization that we are wretched, pitiful, poor and blind, then you will repent. If you think all is well, you probably will not at least until all is not well. Mark 10:23 “Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”
On this first day of the year 2023, be resolved to repent by humbling yourself, submitting and following God’s word wholeheartedly. We are given this promise. Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.” Start this year off by seeking God. Ask God for wisdom in your journey. Proverbs 2:6 “For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” 1 Kings 4:29 “God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore.” 2 Peter 3:15 “Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him.” We saw that God gave Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah wisdom. Daniel 1:8 “Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. 9 Now God had caused the official to show favor and compassion to Daniel, 17 To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.”
Resolving to seek God not only gives you wisdom but saves us from our enemies. Here we see that Jehoshaphat resolved to seek the Lord. 2 Chronicles 20:2 “Some people came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army is coming against you from Edom. 3 Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. 4 The people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him.” Jehoshaphat prayed “Lord, the God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you. 7 Our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? 8 They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary for your Name, saying, 9 ‘If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.’ 10 “But now here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, whose territory you would not allow Israel to invade when they came from Egypt; so they turned away from them and did not destroy them. 11 See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession you gave us as an inheritance. 12 Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” The response – “This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. 17 You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.’”
Today the church needs to resolve to stand firm and will do so God be our helper and Rock. Psalm 118:7 “The Lord is with me; he is my helper. I look in triumph on my enemies.”Psalm 18:2 “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” Standing on the Rock means we do not need to be afraid. Exodus 14:13 “Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.” Isaiah 7:9 “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.’” Matthew 10:22 “You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.” Luke 21:19 “Stand firm, and you will win life.” 1 Corinthians 15:58 “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” Be determined and resolute that you will live with your focus on Jesus and will not waiver in your commitment to Him. Hebrews 12:1 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”Hebrews 10:9 “Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. 37 For, “In just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.” 38 And,“But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.” 39 But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.” Romans 4:20 “Yet he (Abraham) did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God.” James 5:11 “As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.”
This resolution to repent is like no other as it comes with a promise. Acts 2:38 “Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” 40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” That is a promise we can hold on to. Many people in the church have been told they have been filled with the Holy Spirit but remain powerless and continue to be defeated by their enemies. That is not how it was meant to be. 1 John 3:8 “The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.” The church was to continue in that work with the authority Jesus gave the church and the power that came from on High. Don’t be afraid to turn away from the false teaching that has permeated the church. Put your hope in God and you will be saved. Seek and you will find. Psalm 25:3 “No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame, but shame will come on those who are treacherous without cause.” Psalm 119:114 “You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word.” Psalm 33:22 “May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you.” 1 Timothy 4:10 “That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe.” Job 19:25 “I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. 26 And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; 27 I myself will see him with my own eyes — I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!” Psalm 130:5 “I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope.”
1 Thessalonians 5:23 “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.”
