But let's start the important part. Repentance. I haven't mentioned it, but 'by the way' BLUE is quotes from a book and RED is scripture. Just in case you didn't notice xD
So, let's remember yesterday when I was talking about Repentance being the first message of the John the Baptist, and the first and last command of Jesus Christ. On page 32, it continues.
Jesus summoned twelve men to follow Him as disciples. After carefully training He sent them out in pairs. "And they went out and preached that men should repent." {Mark 6:12}
So we must note that it was the first command for the twelve disciples. And they did as they were commanded, they PREACHED Repentance. Another, "As you go, preach, saying 'the kingdom of heaven is at hand'." (Matthew 10:15.) So we see clearly that this was of importance to Jesus. It was the first thing he wanted the world to know through his disciples. Their message, [the disciples], "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand," was certainly not novel, for it was the message of both the Baptist and Christ. If there is anything remarkable about the message, it is simply that the first word of the gospel is so little heard today.
Now moving on, guess what? It was it was the Focus of Peters Preaching. And Peter did very little preaching, if any at all, BEFORE he Repented. Peter was proud in the beginning. Remember he was the one who said to the Lord, 'I will not fail you.' And the Lord responded, 'Before the rooster crows the third time, you will deny me.' Peter did deny him. What did Peter do next? He Repented. And because of his miraculous Change of Heart, he was able to give a wonderful testimony of Repentance. 38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. --Acts 2:38
That was one of Peters messages. It's just beautiful. He's urgent and passionate about all of this! The last half is wonderful. 'and you WILL receive' He was very confident there. He says 'You Will' from experience. He's knows that because God did it for him, he WILL do it for us.
29 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. 30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, [a]whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a [b]cross. 31 He is the one whom God exalted [c]to His right hand as a [d]Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. 32 And we are witnesses [e]of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.”--Acts 5:29-32 This passage also talks about Repentance, but I wanted you to take note of this in passage. Peter had just spent the night in Prison for preaching the word of God-Repentance. Here he was, in front of the Jewish council, and THIS was his message. That HE would believe in GOD and preach REPENTANCE and the FORGIVENESS of sins.
I don't have time to go into it, but also the Church's in Revelation were called to Repentance. It was THE way to find Jesus.
Lastly, I want to mention this last part that's SO BEAUTIFUL. Imagine this incredibly beautiful truth: the conduct of people on earth impacts the joy of angels in heaven. Jesus said that the angels of heaven rejoice over every single person on earth who comes to true repentance {Luke 15:10} I will briefly mention for you to notice when he said 'TRUE repentance' That was an example of when I was talking about the dangers of Repentance. That pride can really mess up your repentant life, and that there is a TRUE repentance. Anyways, here's a quote worth thinking about: For multitudes of professed Christians, their only relationship with Christ is intellectual. There is no evidence that they have repented or believed but only that they accept as true certain facts concerning Christ. The devil accepts as true certain things about Christ, but no angel ever rejoiced over his repentance.
I'll end here with a verse from Luke 15:3-7 3 So He told them this parable, saying, 4 “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the [a]open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? 5 When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ 7 I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
Let Christ rejoice over your repentance. Notice that he'd rather have one real repentant sinner, than ninety-nine people who needed no repentance. Let your voice be heard in the heavens. Oh that many millions might provide glorious occasions for rejoicing in heaven by their thorough repentance on earth!
Hope your day is awesome!
{And may everything you do be for His glory}
---Hannah
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