SONSHIP.009

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                    WALKING IN REPENTANCE
        
             Matthew  5:4  Blessed [are] they that  mourn  (repent):  for 
        they shall be comforted. 
        
             Isaiah  61:3  To appoint unto them that mourn  (repent)  in 
        Zion,  to  give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy  for   
mourning(re-
        pentance), the garment of praise for the spirit of  heavi-
        ness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the  planting 
        of the LORD, that he might be glorified. 
        
             Once, long ago, I asked the Lord to explain to me the  true 
        meaning of Repentance.  "What does it mean to repent?"  Then,  I 
        forgot  about  it.   Some  time afterward,  the  Lord  gave  me  an 
        answer which shocked me.  I'll share it with you.
        
             I  was  doing a study on the word "iniquity" to  see  if  any 
        pattern  would emerge which would give me a more  clear  under-
        standing  of what it meant.  When I was finished with the study,  I 
        had come to the conclusion that "iniquity" is merely another  word 
        for  the  "Adamic Nature".  It is something we  POSSESS,  rather 
        than  something  we  DO.  In other words,  INIQUITY  IN  OUR 
        NATURE  IS  THE  CAUSE OF SINFUL  ACTIVITY  IN  OUR 
        LIVES.
        
             THERE  WAS MY ANSWER FOR THE MEANING  OF, 
        AND THE NEED  FOR REPENTANCE.
        
             That  was the ATTITUDE OF HEART which made  David 
        such  a  beloved person in the sight of the Lord.  If  you  want  an 
        eye-opener,  check  out  the  places  in  the  Psalms  where  David 
        pleaded for Mercy, and for Deliverance-- not only for WHAT HE 
        HAD DONE, but for WHAT HE WAS in his flesh.
        
             INIQUITY comes in many different shapes and sizes-- like 
        PRIDE,  ARROGANCE,  etc.  To act PROUDLY,  OR  ARRO-
        GANTLY is the essence of WORKING INIQUITY.
        
             I   asked  the  Lord  to  do  something  about  what  I   had 
        learned-- in my own life.  Thank God, He is!
        
             Now,  I  am  NOT a person given  to  introspection,  or  to 
        retrospection--  by nature.  My general attitude has been,  "What's 
        done  is  done-- don't spend time crying about it.  Get up  and  go 
        on."
        
             But,  in  direct answer to my having asked  God  for  some 
        action on His part, He gave me SPACE FOR REPENTANCE.
        
             Many  times  I  had  repented of  actions  which  had  been 
        wrong,  and  had harmed other people-- doing the best I  could  to 
        rectify the mistakes I had made.  I knew how to do that.
        
             But,  the  PROBE  OF  THE SPIRIT  was  destined  to  go 
        deeper  than  the surface of my life.  He began to  show  me  how 
        wrong  some  of  my MOTIVES had  been--  what  had  prompted 
        some  of  my  NON-SINFUL  ACTIONS.   They  didn't  look  so 
        good-- under the searchlight of His Spirit.
        
             How  happy I have been that God, in His Mercy, began  to  
        SHOW MYSELF TO ME-- without benefit of cosmetic cover.   "I 
        try the reins, I search the heart."
        
             He  has  now brought me to the place that I  cry  out,  with 
        David,  "Oh  Lord, have mercy on me, for I  am  weak.(Psa  6:2)  
        DELIVER my soul-- (Psa 116:4)  "SAVE ME FROM MYSELF."
        
             The  Lord caused the Prophet Isaiah to write,   Isaiah  66:2 
        For all those [things] hath mine hand made, and all those  [things] 
        have  been, saith the LORD: but TO THIS [MAN] WILL I  LOOK,  [EVEN] 
        TO   [HIM  THAT IS] POOR AND OF  A  CONTRITE  SPIRIT, 
        AND TREMBLETH  AT  MY WORD. 
        
             He  caused  Joel to write:  Joel 2:13 And rend  your  heart, 
        and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for  he 
        [is]  gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of  great  kindness, 
        and repenteth him of the evil.
        
             Jesus  preached:  Matthew 5:3 Blessed [are] the POOR  IN 
        SPIRIT: (the spirit of MAN) for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 
             Luke  6:21  Blessed  [are ye]  that  hunger  (FOR  RIGHT-
        EOUSNESS)  for  ye filled. Blessed [are ye] that weep  (over  your 
        lack of inner righteousness) now: for ye shall laugh. 
             Luke  6:25 Woe unto you that are full (of the self-life)!  for 
        ye shall hunger (spiritually). Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye 
        shall mourn and weep. 
        
             James  wrote:  James 4:9 Be AFFLICTED, and  MOURN, 
        and  WEEP: (OVER THE INBRED INIQUITY IN  OUR  HEARTS)  
        let  your laughter be turned to mourning, and [your] joy to  heavi-
        ness. 
        
             GENUINE REPENTANCE IS A GIFT FROM GOD.
        
             Acts  11:18 When they heard these things, they  held  their 
        peace,  and  glorified  God,  saying, Then  hath  God  also  to  the 
        Gentiles GRANTED REPENTANCE UNTO LIFE.
        
             Luke  24:47  And  that  repentance  and  remission  of  sins 
        should  be  preached in his name among all nations,  beginning  at 
        Jerusalem. 
        
             Oh   Lord,  LEAD  US,  BY  YOUR   GOODNESS,   TO 
        REPENTANCE. 
        
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