When something causes us to look away or draws our attention from the high calling given to us by Our Heavenly Father, we need to repent. Paul wrote by The Holy Spirit in Philippians chapter 3:
14 I run straight for the divine invitation of reaching the heavenly goal and gaining the victory-prize through the anointing of Jesus. 15 So let all who are fully mature have this same passion, and if anyone is not yet gripped by these desires, God will reveal it to them. 16 And let us all advance together to reach this victory-prize, following one path with one passion.
This anointing does not arise from another source other than Jesus Christ. This being the case, why do some brethren spend countless hours in studying topics that have nothing to do with this anointing? It is because the soul wants to be in charge and bring the spirit into subjection. The result is no anointing thus no good fruit.
Repentance means we are turning back around to the Mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. True repentance comes forth when we have a revelation of FATHER’S Agape Love and HIS goodness.
Everything in the world is designed to pull your attention away from Our Heavenly Father and Our Lord Jesus Christ. Once your attention is drawn away, you will need to repent and return your focus to Jesus Christ.
John the Baptist spoke in Matthew chapter 3:
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance; 9 and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. 10 The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
The Pharisees and Sadducees were guilty of directing the focus of the people away from the goodness of GOD. They were placing heavy yokes on the people by forcing compliance to the Law which could not be fully satisfied in their current state. Jesus, on the other hand, showed the goodness of Our Heavenly Father as He healed the sick and set the captives free.
It is written by The Holy Spirit in Acts chapter 3:
19 And now you must repent and turn back to God so that your sins will be removed, and so that times of refreshing will stream from the Lord’s presence.
Repentance is not a one-time event but is necessary anytime we divert our focus away from Our Lord Jesus Christ resulting in us not fully walking in THE SPIRIT. There is much going on in the world today which is intended to draw away our focus.
Do you think it is a coincidence that entertainment has become a 24/7 alternative competing for our time? Cell phone have become the latest portal for entertainment and distraction. The adversary wants to keep us entertained or focused on world events in an effort to dilute our ministry away from our Divine purpose. As we no longer allow ourselves to be distracted, past interests will vanish from our midst. As a result, times of refreshing will come forth.
How often do I need to repent? As often as you veer off the mark. One time is not sufficient to cover all the misguided actions as we are maturing.
When I was introduced to Bible numerology I was intrigued and it tickled my intellect. I began doing an exhaustive study on numbers and suddenly numbers seemed to appear as signs everywhere. I got caught up and my focus moved away from Our Lord Jesus Christ and the ministry of The Holy Spirit. It wasn’t long before the good fruit became sparse. I had to repent even though all numbers originate from FATHER, they are only relevant when HE says they’re relevant. Otherwise, they will cause us to lose sight of the straight and narrow path. The adversary will produce “signs” to keep us predisposed and off course.
If we fail to admit that we got off the mark, then we are prideful and that pride precedes our fall. It is my responsibility to correct my error and not blame it on anyone else. Yes, someone may have enticed me to study numbers but The Holy Spirit is given for us to discern our focus and direction, not giving in to such enticements. If I don’t heed the warning, then I will proceed down the wrong path and become unfruitful. I have no one to blame but myself. “Self” will always attempt to deflect responsibility and cast the blame elsewhere. Each of us must judge our self and our fruit so that we can correct our path through repentance.
In 2 Timothy chapter 2, Paul wrote by The Holy Spirit:
23 Stay away from all the foolish arguments of the immature, for these disputes will only generate more conflict. 24 For a true servant of our Lord Jesus will not be argumentative but gentle toward all and skilled in helping others see the truth, having great patience toward the immature. 25 Then with meekness you’ll be able to carefully enlighten those who argue with you so they can see God’s gracious gift of repentance and be brought to the truth. 26 This will cause them to rediscover themselves and escape from the snare of Satan who caught them in his trap so that they would carry out his purposes.
FATHER’S gracious gift of repentance will lead to the Truth. Men’s arguments, agendas, or pursuits of knowledge will not assure us of finding HIS Truth. Don’t get caught up in Satan’s trap.