Pergamum 28

In these times of trouble I pray that the tranquil peace and blissful delight of your God and Father will flood your heart and mind as you continue in your steadfast faith in Him, knowing that you are the joy and delight of His heart and that your presence in Him is His joy and pleasure.

In continuing with Pergamum, Jesus uses the word “repent.” Today I want to talk a little about the word repent because there is a very weird understanding of this word out there.

Revelation 2:16 So repent, then, or I will come quickly to war against them with the sword of my mouth.

What does the word repent actually mean? I’ll start with what it does not mean. To repent does not mean getting on your face, crying, wailing, or feeling sorry for one or other sin you have committed. It does not mean to feel bad or condemned or judged. If these are the things you experience or do when you are “repenting” you are probably more involved with self-indulgence and self-righteousness than you are in actually repenting.

Now, I am not saying that confessing your sin with emotion is wrong. There are times when the presence of the Lord overwhelms you and you cry or laugh. Sometimes the longing in your heart for the Lord can go so deep that it is expressed in bowing down before Him with tears streaming down your face. Sometimes the desperation of your heart cries out in tears and mourning. All these things are good, and the experiences are real and powerful, however, this does not constitute repentance.

Neither does repentance mean to do penance or some kind of good deed that will make you feel better or maybe, just maybe, more acceptable before God. This is blatant self-righteousness and it does nothing for your faith or your acceptance before the Father. Honourable deeds have their place, but they are not acts of repentance.

The word repent actually means “to take on a new mind.”

To repent means to change your mind and the way you believe something and to accept the mind, thinking, and opinion of someone else. True repentance before God is to take on His mind and to start thinking like He does. When you repent before God you forsake your own thoughts, ways and ideas and you take on His ways, thoughts, and ideas. This takes mental and emotional work because most of our belief systems have come through the indoctrination of men who have been influenced by the god of this world.

It is the indoctrination of the world and the way it thinks that Jesus comes against with the sword of His mouth. He comes to you with His Word and with His ways and calls you to change your mind. He does this through re-indoctrination. His doctrines are listed in Hebrews 6:1-4 but sadly many believers have no idea as to what they actually mean. Mainstream Christendom also encourages everyone to “leave these doctrines, the milk of the word, and go onto ‘the meat!’” And what doctrine are they moving you onto? Tithing and giving your money!? Give me a break!

The doctrine you are called to move onto is the doctrine of righteousness and your ministry at the throne of heaven as a priest in the order of Melchizedek. Not only this, God Himself will not let you go there until your senses have been adequately trained to distinguish good and evil, which only happens as you become fully indoctrinated by His teachings. We have a long way to go.

Really, if I had to ask you to get up and give a 30 minute teaching on the resurrection from the dead and how it transforms your senses to distinguish between good and evil, would you be able to do so – without preparing. For most saints the answer is “No.” Can you even name the seven doctrines mentioned in Hebrews? Most saints can’t, so if that includes you don’t feel bad but please take some time to assess what you actually believe.

The DOCTRINES of Jesus Christ (not a religious leader) are vital to your growth and character development in Christ. Repentance is a process that happens as you hear HIM and begin accepting His ways. This will gradually transform you and bring you into your true image and identity which is …

“… as He is so are you, in this world, here and now!” 1 Jn 4:17

May the water of His Word wash over your heart and mind and bring you into the knowledge of who you really are as His son or daughter.

Happy repentance! 🤣😇