Scripture reading: Matthew 5:48
Today, I would like us to talk about sin. Most of the sin comes with our relationships with one another. The manifestation is in how you think of other people; how you think of the other human beings; how you think of your brother and your sister. When you see Jesus concerning these things, when you come into His presence, you will realize that your thinking is not right.
In Joel 2:23 God said, “I will send you the latter rain and the former rain in the first month.” Oh, yes! “I will send it to you.” But, brethren, do you know that we are stopping God? We are stopping God from doing what He has to do. If our salvation, or our coming to church, or whatever we do, is not bringing us to the point of repentance, then we are working in vain. It is an exercise in futility. Believe me, it is an exercise in futility.
You come to church; you have a form of godliness; you praise God; you sing; you feel good; you go home. You come back to church; you praise again; you sing; you feel good. You do it again and again, year after year! There must be repentance. There must be a change. People must come forth and begin to do what God wants them to do!
If my car operated like how we operate as Christians, I would never get places! Some parts would say, “Well, I don’t like how the other part is working so I am not going to work with them.” What happens next is that I jam up on the road and have to call the wrecker! All because one little senseless part did not work. But God has given us the power to do and to work; and those who are not functioning should begin to function! It took us so many years to come to that point of understanding. Everybody wants to preach! But nobody listens. We need to begin to submit to the Spirit of God, but the FIRST thing we need is repentance! You say, “All right, I am ready to repent. Tell me what I must repent for?” The first thing that you repent for is being like you are.
I am not satisfied. You are not satisfied. God is not satisfied! It is too long a time that I have been what I am! God says, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). I do not see perfection and I am not “happy.” I am happy for what God is doing. I praise God for His mercies; when I think of the goodness of Jesus, my soul cries out “hallelujah! Thank God for saving grace.” But when I think of me – “What have I done with what God has given me?” – I am not satisfied!
I am asking you, brethren, to get into a mind of repentance and to ask God, “Where have I failed You?” “Why am I not satisfied in myself that I am all that God wants me to be? How can I do more for God?” I am not talking about works. I am talking about something that is coming from inside to outside. “Where can I be more transparent so that the glory of God shines out of me?”
I was talking recently about Charles Finney. He was one of the great preachers that God blessed the Church with in the 1800’s, coming onto 1900’s. A man invited him to his factory. He was showing him the beautiful factory – the machines and everybody working. Finney started walking from the back and as he passed each machine, the operator fell to the floor. When he came out, the whole factory was on the floor repenting. He did not say a word.
There was another man who described his experience with Finney. He went to mock him. Several men got together and said, “Let us go out and see that foolish man. Let us have a good time of fun.” So they went out to have a good time of fun. They rode up on a hill and as they were coming down, they saw Finney in a pasture preaching to the people. The man said he saw the people carrying on, but because they were so far away, they could not hear what was going on. As they started to laugh at what they saw, this man felt himself slipping off his horse. He tried to keep himself up, but “Bam!” to the ground he fell. When his companions saw it, they spurred their horses, took off and got away. But Finney got this man and he became a great preacher himself.
We are talking about what is in your heart. A heart that is pure! A mind stayed on God (see Isaiah 26:3)! Every evil thought that comes to you, rebuke it! “Oh God, I do not want to think that about my brother. I do not want to see the bad things about him. I DO NOT WANT IT!” That way you will have your HEART STAYED ON GOD! Do you know what happens? God begins to manifest through you without you saying one word!
I remember the days when we used to do evangelistic work. Mavis and I would pray and say, “Lord God, we want six souls tonight.” When we went to the meeting, there were only three people present so we could not get six souls. But no sooner than we started praising God, people walked in right from the street and fell at the altar. Oh, yes! They would come in and fall at the altar. Every single night! We were having meetings every night and every single night people would come in and fall at the altar. You know, there is a church now in that place where we preached and it has over five thousand people. God blessed it and I do not know if the revival has ever stopped.
I heard a story about Wigglesworth. A woman was praying for her husband. He was as wild as a deer; he would not listen to God or anyone. Wigglesworth had stayed at the house for the night. When he was ready to leave the next day, the woman said, “But you have not prayed for my husband! He is still not saved.” Wigglesworth just replied, “The bed. The bed.” The woman did not understand what he meant, but when her husband went to lie down on the bed, he was tormented. He could not help himself and got saved! Do you know what happened? Wigglesworth had lain down on the bed and prayed to God Almighty that He would take hold of this man. God honored his word so much that when the man lay down on the bed, the Spirit of God got hold of him. Glory to God!
Be like that! You have the capacity. You have the ability. You have the Spirit of the Lord. Believe God and it will come to pass. But repent first. If you want this power of God, then repent. Amen.
(Excerpt from The Omega Message, December 1998, pg. 11-13)
Thought for today: “Lord God, give us a spirit to be able to come before the throne of grace and lay down our hearts. Loose us from the chains that bind us; chains that enmesh us like cobwebs and ensnare and even prevent us from repenting! Bring us to repentance, Lord God, we pray.” Let us cry to God and ask Him to take us – body, soul, and spirit – and quicken us and deliver us. “Lord God, bring us into the place that You want us to be in today. Amen.”
