Repentance is the foundation for the Holy Ghost to do the work. A repentant individual makes up his mind that he is going to turn around and make a change and then the Holy Ghost can step in and help you make that change. Repentance is a Heaven or Hell issue. If the foundation is not laid properly the house will forever reflect the imperfections. Retention is as important as revival. The Holy Ghost will lead you and guide you into all truth but it won’t drag you beyond your will. 

 

This generation is not producing new sins and the Holy Ghost is not weaker and church is better than it has ever been. The altar of repentance is the variable; not baptism or the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is not a drive-thru station for a quick fix. There is no sense in trying to pray people through to the Holy Ghost unless they have truly repented and want to completely change their life around. Baptism and Holy Ghost are the showy part of the house but the foundation, repentance, is what makes it stand no matter what the storm. Building on the edge is setting yourself up as a target for the storm but when you are built on the rock there is no storm that can move you.

 

There is nothing like the joy of that first time repentance when the load of sin is lifted off your life. Don’t fall prey to the attitude that you can go sin and just come back and repent. Esau sought for the birthright bitterly with tears but never received it. When you walk out on God and come back it will never be the same as it was. Samson got his hair back but he never received his eyesight. 

 

Josiah never started the repairs on the temple until he got rid of all the abomination and idolatry. It took 18 years for all the cleansing to take place. A revival of repentance turned Jerusalem upside down. When Jonah went through Nineveh and preached repentance it turned that city around even without having the Holy Ghost to promise them. John the Baptist preached repentance that made the way for Jesus. Repentance is always the forerunner of the Holy Ghost. The Bible states that Heaven is happy over one man that repents. If you want to finish this journey it has to be started with repentance.

 

Son & Heirship - Part I

 

Abraham attempted to fulfill God’s promise of great inheritance in the flesh.  He refused the blessings but chose to rely on the greatness of God’s words. Nature seemed to be past the point of living.  A supernatural resurrection came forth, Abraham believed, and Isaac was born.  All too soon, Abraham was asked to kill his promise but he continued to walk in faith because of his past experience.

 

What would happen if we believed the unbelievable?  Are we holding back a miracle because of unbelief? Jesus was concerned that there be an element of unbelief in hearts.  As we struggle with the flesh, we get frustrated with our inadequacies and failures.  When you cannot be what you want to be, get a touch of the Holy Ghost, His resurrection power.  It is not our performance but faith that catches His attention! We fight with failures and struggles as we aim to walk in perfection by His grace.  He knows that on our own, we cannot do it.  The humbled prodigal son felt the second phase of grace in the warmth of his father’s arms. 

 

If you feel weak, remember that He is your shield and exceeding great reward.  We need the power of the resurrection in our lives.  We can do nothing to earn our salvation.  When grace is extended, our failures, weaknesses, and imperfections are no longer barriers to his resurrection power!  We become a son and heir!  Be a son and let God take care of you and your situation.  

 

Paul wanted to know Him in the power of the resurrection and the fellowship of His suffering. Jesus was rejected by His own and suffered for us. If we are to reign with Him, we will first suffer with him.  Don’t ever let your mind dwell on the thought that your suffering is a penance.   The glory of serving God outweighs the suffering.  The closer we get with God the less we will identify with the world.  God will bring us out with a high-hand as He did the Egyptians.

Son & Heirship - Part II

 

If you are going to keep the faith; you have got to fight. Jesus prays for our faith that it fails not. The fact you ask Him for help means you have the faith you need. The Gospel is powerful; it is strong enough to deliver us when someone steps out in faith. Abraham was a man of faith and he believed in the resurrection. God worked with a dead situation so that a resurrection could take place. Because God had made Isaac live from a dead situation, Abraham knew that if he offered him, God could raise him up. 

 

The law came by Moses but grace and truth came by Jesus. Mercy endures; you can’t hurt it. It is new every morning. Mercy and truth have met together; peace and righteousness have kissed each other. Jesus judges through grace and mercy. Mercy was behind the veil and when it was rent, mercy went running up Golgotha’s hill. . The Law of the Spirit makes us free from the law of sin and death.  God doesn’t come to us with the law but He comes with grace and appreciates our efforts.