A Call to Repentance

The first step in following Jesus Christ, is to repent  “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” Mark 1.15.

testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. Acts 20:21

We Must All Repent

To repent means to turn away, think again, to change your mind about sin.  To turn around and go in another direction and then to believe in the Gospel. It does not mean to say sorry and continue. It means to acknowledge, those things were wrong,  and to stop. Its an action and a choice of the free will to make that change.

What does it mean to turn away? John the Baptist tell us how to do this in  Luke 3.3:

He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.  As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:

“A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. Every valley shall be filled in,  every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth.  And all people will see God’s salvation.’”

7 John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?  Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 9 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

10 “What should we do then?” the crowd asked. 11 John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.” 12 Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?” 13 “Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them.14 Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.”

John the baptist, told these people to acknowledge their sin and stop doing evil. Repentance is an action, it means to think again and go in the opposite direction. Sin offends God.  

What is Sin

We sin when we transgress or break the moral law of God. The outline in Exodus 20.

1. You shall have no other gods before Me
2. You shall not make yourself a graven image
3. You shall not take God’s name in vain
4. Remember the Sabbath, to keep it holy
5. Honor your father and mother
6. You shall not murder
7. You shall not commit adultery
8. You shall not steal
9. You shall not lie (bear false witness against your neighbor 
10. You shall not covet 

When we truly change our mind about sin, we stop doing the things we used to do. Changing our mind about sin ends in an action that causes us to change the direction of our life and follow God. This deep change involves the working of the Holy Spirit who help us to be transformed into a new creation. Start a new life in Christ 

 Jesus Christ said, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel. Mark 1.15. Acts 17.30 says this Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent,

We all make mistakes and go astray; God knows this and is waiting for us to turn away and turn to Him. After all He created Us in His image and similitude. God wants none to perish but for all to come to repentance.

A Prayer of Repentance.

Say something like the following prayer.

Father God I come to you as a sinner, and I know I have sinned against you, I now choose to repent (turn away) from my old life. (As an example, this may be unforgiveness, anger, lying, stealing etc.) Please forgive me of my sins. I believe  Jesus Christ is the Son of God, died on the cross for my sins was buried and rose again on the 3rd day.

Forgive Others.

Because Christ forgave me on the cross, I now choose to forgive all those people that did me wrong.

I now also choose to release all those people that may have hurt, abandoned or said things about me. I now release all of them and forgive myself.

I want to start a new life in Christ and turn away from my old life.

Believe and Trust in Jesus Christ.

But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame. Romans 10.8-11

If You Believe. You are Now Sealed With The Holy Spirit

In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. Ephesians 1.13

Get Baptised.

Find a good Bible believing Church and get baptised. Follow Christ each day and live a Holy life.

'Repent and be baptized, every one of you, 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.

Why Program  Exodus

Program Exodus is liken to the Book of Exodus Chapter 6. When God Almighty heard the cry of His people and came down to set the captives free through Moses. Free from the power of Pharaoh and his henchmen who were keeping the children of Israel captive. Slaves, like a puppet on a string he holds all the cards and is always in control. Of course, Pharaoh grants conditional freedom when it benefits him to give the sense they are free.

Much like an addiction always running in the background, allowing partial freedom for a time, but when it needs feeding the call answered.

The children of Israel were so caught up in their false identity as slaves with their mental state over time conditioned (institutionalised) to act, think and speak as a slave to serve their master. They had completely forgotten there were children of God. They BELIEVED they were slaves and acted accordingly.

Let My People Go 

In a similar way the Lord wants to set you free from Pharaoh and his henchman. Today he sets the captives free through the Good news of the Gospel. The message of sin and the cross.  Sin is a destructive force which has many in bondage. For this purpose, the Son of God appeared, that he might destroy the works of the devil. 1 John 3.8

Trauma & Addictions

Most addictions surface because of the effects of trauma from a person’s life. The majority are during childhood years. The addictions develop as coping mechanism to dull the pain, to escape, to forget and to bury painful events. Not all turn to addictions some manifest in different ways.

Today, your Pharaoh is the biggest trauma you’ve encountered. This is when the strong man steps in with his henchman into your house (the body) and starts to occupy and take control through open doors.

There are many traumas, the more prevalent are listed below:

• Abandonment (Missing parent(s) not wanted, lost).
• Abuse - mental, emotional, physical, sexual.
• Rejection – unwanted, no value, nobody cares.  
• Cruelty – dead inside, emotionless, unable to express oneself, no worth.
• Demonic/ Occult/Witchcraft  
• Childhood trauma (can be all the above).

When the strongman enters through the trauma he brings his henchman, they work with the strongman to keep a person captive and manifest through emotions and feelings. These are different control mechanisms, that keep the person bound. Certain lies they want the person to believe.  These are like a heavy ball & chain.  They are hidden below the surface in the layers of a person. They come out of a person in layers. 

• Suicide
• Worthlessness
• Shame
• Self-loathing
• Condemnation
• Confusion
• Feeling lost
• Disconnected

Pain Blockers, escape activities.

• Range of behaviours
• Various Drugs
• Alcohol
• Pornography
• Gambling
• Destructive behaviour
• Isolation
• Self-harm i.e. cutting, overdoes, hanging etc.

Jesus Christ has come to set you free from the power of these addictions .

John 8:36 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.