THE GIFT OF REPENTANCE
Acts 3:19 (AMPC) So repent (change your mind and purpose); turn around and return [to God], that your sins may be erased (blotted out, wiped clean), that times of refreshing (of recovering from the effects of heat, of reviving with fresh air) may come from the presence of the Lord.
When people are first born again, they are repenting from rejecting Jesus. They may not cry or wallow on the ground, but that is what is happening. That have decided to receive Jesus as Savior and follow Him. They are asking for forgiveness of the sin (singular) of rejecting Him and receiving the new life, eternal life. Then, for those of us born again who sin, we also have access to repentance and forgiveness of the sins (plural) we have committed. In both cases, there is repentance. The first is repentance for rejecting Jesus and the second is godly repentance of sins committed and turning away from them. Repentance is never a feeling, but a good decision made, based on what you have heard from the Word of God and the working of the Holy Spirit. Repenting is something you and I will do, not the religious one where you feel guilty and try to do some works to clean up the mess you’ve made, but the Bible one, where you are sorry and need the blood of Jesus to cleanse you.
Repentance is such a gift. The Lord has made a way for us to come to Him, and repentance that originates in godly sorrow changes our lives. The Word says that godly sorrow works repentance, and this Word was said to the Corinthian church, to born-again, Spirit-filled believers. In 1 John, it teaches us that when we confess our sins as born-again believers, the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all unrighteousness. When we confess and repent, we are not being born again, again, but we are getting back into our righteous position. One thing we do need to be careful about is getting into sin consciousness where we are always checking our robe of righteousness because we never feel good enough, and we are afraid the sins of commission, omission, permission, and any other kind of “mission” you can think of have stained our robe. This is not spiritually healthy. You know when you are walking in or living in sin, and you know you should confess and repent of that sin because if you don’t, that sin will turn into some kind of death. When we repent, we set ourselves up for a refreshing from the presence of God. There is nothing like the refreshing from the Lord. The Holy Spirit will invigorate you, and you will then be able to live victoriously. Remember, repenting is not just saying, “I am sorry,” but it is changing your course, changing your mind, and changing your action. Like my Mamaw said, “Sorry is as sorry does.” Are you ready for a great refreshing from the Holy Ghost? I am too!