Jesus and John the Baptist have asked for repentance. In the Gospel of Mathew, we have this verse which refers to the statement by John the Baptist. In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’” ( ref Matthew 3:1-3). In the very next chapter, towards the end we have From that time on, Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near. ( ref Matthew 4:17)
Both literally preached the same. John’s role was to get people ready for the coming of Jesus Christ. The Kingdom of Heaven comes with the coming of Jesus. When Jesus speaks, with His words and in His presence, the Kingdom of Heaven is near.
Repentance means changing the way we think. Generally, we mean the person changing from his old ways of thinking, and living without God into a new way of thinking and living, acknowledging Jesus Christ as the Lord and Saviour. This change is often associated with crying and surrendering one’s life to Jesus. While all this is right and is repentance, repentance is not all this.
Repentance is best known with the Greek word metanoia. A transformative change of the heart, which changes life and living.
Change of heart has to lead to a change of thinking. The physical world and the laws of the physical world Vs the spiritual world and the Laws of the Kingdom of heaven, the latter being superior to the former.
Even in the natural world, at certain snapshots of time, there are important realisations. The law of gravity implies metal objects will fall. But later, the law of aerodynamics was formulated. This new law meant that metal and heavy objects like aircraft can fly without breaking the law of gravity. But in case a metal object or heavy object that flew before the law of thermodynamics, was brought out as a statement, it did not mean it broke the law of gravity. It only meant that a law of thermodynamics had to be formulated and a law of gravity required a superior interpretation. What we do not understand should not limit the possibility of King of Gods laws.
Many diseases caused by viruses existed before we had a microscope which could identify that the virus caused the sickness. This does not mean viruses did not exist. The list of possibilities known earlier than the discoveries and laws supporting them later means our understanding is limited. This means with God all things are possible. That means that our understanding should not be limiting our expectations and hope.
Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases, ( Psalm 103:2,3)
Pointing to the above and saying to the Lord that the Word of God says this, but our experience is not this yet. But we choose to believe your Word and not our experience. We do not put our faith in our experience. We do not bring our faith to the level of our experience, but we expect and pray for the experience to change and come to the level according to the Word of God.
Thus, similarly, each and every promise which the Holy Spirit has quickened to your current circumstances can be used. Prayers, declarations, meditation and even worship can be used to wage a war of repentance. A war which changes the way you think and the miracles of the Kingdom of Heaven become your reality even on earth.
Practice and discipline are required to benefit from an exercise regime. The same applies to spiritual exercise. Have a transformed life from a repentant heart.
