Return

~ The Bible doesn't say that if your brother sins against you and comes to you and lies that he has repented, you must forgive him.. so how do you tell if someone has truly repented...

there will be evidence in their life.. there will be change in their life.. if their repentance is sincere they will usually take it upon themselves to go overboard in changing things in their life to ensure that th...ey do not hurt themselves, the heart of God, or anyone else with the same sin again.

It's never about them demanding forgiveness or that entitlement mentality that it's all about them getting their life back rather than them restoring the ppl they hurt in their selfishness. A good picture of it is Zaccheaus... after he repented, he paid back more than he owed and was zealous about being a different man, about making right his wrongs.. NOT about proving anthing to anyone but God.

Pride is usually the root of every sin in some way..
If our pride keeps us from making it about those we have hurt...
Our pride remains unchanged and our repentance will be short lived.

No one can dictate what repentance must look like in a person. But when repentance is genuine, it will be evident to those who truly know you. Some ppl can fake repentance, and they are good at it.. but the truth will make itself known in time. Repentance is a personal work, a personal scrub in the tub, God knows if the dirt has been swept under the rug.. he knows if you took shortcuts and skipped washing behind your ears. Repentance is not a small thing... it determines life and death.


~ "What we need to be hungry for is him, Jesus.. so many things are vying for our attention... I want you to be successful, I want you to raise amazing kids, I want you to be amazing members at Bethel and givers and volunteers and all that stuff.. but first and foremost I want you to be hungry for him, hungry after him..

I don't want you to be hungry to go on mission trips, I don't want you to be ...hungry to come to church, I don't want you to even be hungry to read your Bible.. I want you to be hungry for him.. and when you're hungry for him, guess what.. all that other stuff just follows..

man, I wanna give, I wanna read this Bible, I wanna be on a mission trip Lord because I'm hungry for you, Jesus I'm desperate for you, I'm longing for you, I want to return to my First Love..." (msg on Galatians)

This is so true in every area of our walk... when we are in love with Jesus, truly in love with him, desperately as Pastor Lance spoke about.. our heart is sincere to do it all the right way.. worship.. repentance.. giving.. serving.. that zeal and commitment and diligence.. SELF MOTIVATED.. self accountability.. self sacrifice.. is the evidence that something has changed.

It's not about making the pudding to prove anything.. you make the pudding to enjoy the sweet yumminess.. but the end result, the aftermath, the lingering goodness.. that's the proof that you have mastered it.. sold out to it, committed to it.

Jesus First.. and all that other good stuff is just the yes and amen.


~ Galatians.. Return to Your First Love.. Msg Series
http://www.bethelclarksville.com/media.php?pageID=6


~ But if your brother comes to you and truly repents, you are to forgive.. whatever it costs you.. no matter how many times they succumbed to sin against you.. if they are sincere.. the pride and arrogance becomes your issue and your sin, if you refuse to forgive...

and once again.. that becomes a personal work, that scrub in the tub, God knows your heart and you must reach a place where you are s...o in love with Jesus that you are willing to look thru those dark places in your heart with him.. knowing that he is gonna gently but sternly talk to you about them, and require change concerning them. It's doesn't matter how hard other ppl brow beat you to forgive or to do what's right.. it's a matter of how much Jesus' opinion matters to you about it. That will determine what you do and how genuine you are about your commitment to it.

This thing starts in our own heart.