What is Repentance? | Laying Down Your Life

by Alan Smith

He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
John 12:25–26

I’ve been blessed with three wonderful children. As great as they are, I must admit there are some lessons I haven’t had to teach them, like how to not share, and they all learned the same exact first word—“mine!” It seems all three emerged from the womb as the star of their own movie and the center of their own universe. They were born completely ruled by what they think, feel and want. My mom tells similar stories about me. How about you?

God created each of us with a soul. Our souls include our mind, will and emotions. Prior to Adam’s sin, God designed my soul to yield to His presence and voice through a unity of my spirit with His. When Adam sinned, that unity was severed, and mankind became ruled by the soul rather than submission to God by the Spirit. After The Fall, humans  came into the world ruled by the soul—what they think, feel and want.

Jesus operated differently. He yielded His soul to the Father. Instead of exalting His soul, Jesus laid His down. The Bible speaks of Jesus laying down His “life,” this is always translated from the Greek word that means “soul.”

Jesus laid down His life (soul) on the cross, and in doing so, He made a way for us to lay down ours as well. How do we lay down our lives? How do we die to ourselves? We lay down our soul—what we think, feel and want! True repentance is a daily decision to lose our lives in this way. Jesus promises if we will lay down the life of our soul, we gain eternal life.

1.  What area of your life is most difficult to lay down?

2.  How does Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross help you with this?

3.  How would your relationships be different if you were to more fully and consistently lay down your life?

What is Repentance? | Laying Aside Your Solutions

by Alan Smith

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.
Proverbs 3:5–6

It was a two-cycle engine, which required a mixture of oil and gas to operate properly. That would have been helpful information to have up front. All I knew was the dirt bike was out of fuel, so I bought some unleaded and filled up the tank. With no oil, the motor eventually locked up and the bike was ruined. Because I misunderstood the problem, my solution only served to make a simple problem much worse.

Many of us work very hard to fix things in our lives that aren’t working. We understand the needed changes and invest lots of time and energy toward setting things right. We know the solution. We work hard to do the right things and not do the wrong things. We learn right information and apply it in our lives. However, very often our most sincere efforts simply make things worse.

Jesus encountered all kinds of people who were committed to their own solutions. The Essenes thought the answer was to withdraw completely from a corrupt and compromised society. The Zealots thought the answer was to take up arms and incite revolution. The Sadducees thought the answer was to make nice with Rome and solidify their own powerbase through compromise. The Pharisees thought the answer was to make sure everybody worked harder at following the Law. Jesus had one word for all of them: repent.

Repentance is when I lay aside my solutions; when I abandon reliance upon my understanding, efforts, strength and wisdom. Repentance is not simply trying harder, however sincerely. Trying harder only produces futility and frustration. God knows how to unravel the knotted mess of my life. In the kingdom, I can experience His solutions applied His ways resulting in true healing and freedom.

1. What solutions do you need to lay aside?

2. How are those solutions rooted in a trust in your own understanding rather than God’s?

3. In light of this, what would true repentance look like in your life?

What is Repentance? | Changing Your Definitions

by Bob Hamp

You have heard that the ancients were told, 'YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER' and 'Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.'  "But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, 'You good-for-nothing,' shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.
Matthew 5:21–22 (emphasis added)

“You never bring me flowers anymore,” she said, tears flowing freely. 

He listened with eagerness; his love for her had him quickly running through the GPS in his mind. Where was the nearest flower shop? He narrowed it down, already mentally on a mission. He hugged her and assured her that she was wrong, he still loved her, and he promised to do a better job of showing it to her in the future.

The next night he arrived home from work at 8:30 pm with a beautiful bouquet of flowers in his hand. Quite pleased with himself, he handed them to her. 

Shoving them away, with tears flowing again, she passionately cried, “I didn’t want you to bring me flowers!”

When we misunderstand how God sees things, He can appear to be contradictory. First He orders Israel to assemble together, to celebrate feasts and to give a variety of offerings.  Then in Amos 5:21, He tells them, “I hate your feasts, and I can’t stand your assemblies.”  Is He confused, or have we misunderstood something? 

God has designed us to be a certain kind of person. People look for orders to follow, God looks for us to become the kind of people He designed us to be. People who naturally respond to God in celebration. How we define what God is after in our lives has a profound effect on our ability to relate to Him. We must first change our definitions before we can even understand what else might need to change.
   
Much of Jesus’ ministry was aimed at changing the way men had defined the things God wanted. Repentance—changing the way I see—allows me to see the world more the way God sees it. When that happens, I begin to define things more the way He does. Now we can begin to walk together; now not only can I please God, I can relax and become the person He created me to be. 

1.  What do you think God is asking of you at this point in your life?

2.  Has God ever shown you something that completely changed the way you saw your circumstances or yourself?

3.  What influences in your life have shaped how you understand how God relates to you?   

What is Repentance? | Changing How You See

by Bob Hamp

Now when the attendant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was circling the city. And his servant said to him, "Alas, my master! What shall we do?" So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." And the Lord opened the servant's eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

2 Kings 6:15–17

I stared again … sure it was a hoax. Changing my angle, moving first closer, then farther away, I still couldn’t see what everyone else was describing. All I could see was a page covered with swirly, abstract colors and forms. Everyone else told me they saw the space shuttle. This book, The Magic Eye, was full of these strange swirls, and to me, it appeared that page after page was filled with nonsensical, formless color—until I saw for the first time. I discovered it was not at all what I thought, and it was a completely new way of seeing.

We are so set in our ways of seeing the world that it often takes a jarring experience to get us to see what we could not see moments before. We are so affected by what we see, we seldom think about how we see. Our assumptions and our worldviews filter the information that gets into our minds, and we don’t even recognize the filter.

Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3 that he needed to be born again to participate in this thing called the kingdom. Nicodemus only had one way of seeing the word “born.” So he asked if men could enter their mother’s womb and be born a second time. He had not repented yet. He had not changed his way of seeing. So Jesus told him he could either see visible things like moving trees or “see” the force that moved the trees.

The way Jesus used the word “repentance” had everything to do with finding a new way to take in the world around us. If we change the way we see something, what we see and how we see it will forever be different. It is impossible to stay the same when we see everything in a new way.

1. Think of some things you read about regularly in the Bible but have never seen firsthand.

2. When the Bible says we walk in the flesh but our battle is not of the flesh, what does this mean?

3. How do women see things differently than you?

He humbled Himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross. Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Therefore, my dear friends … continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

Philippians 2:5–13

Imagine you have the chance to see the rock star icon of your childhood live in concert! You have tickets to see the king-of-rock himself, Elvis Presley. The concert will take place on television, so you arrive early to get the best possible seat in the house. You find your seat, the time has arrived; but, something has gone terribly wrong. You hear Elvis, but you don’t see him anywhere. Suddenly you realize you are on the set of the hit children’s television show, Barney. To your sheer horror, there, live in concert, is your favorite rock star dressed as the giant, purple dinosaur loved by children worldwide.  Elvis Presley is Barney the singing dinosaur!

While this scenario sounds ridiculous, how much more absurd is it that the King of the galaxies should humble Himself by becoming human in the person of Jesus Christ! How often do we minimize the extent of God’s humility simply because we can hardly grasp the magnitude of His Kingly reign! God became flesh in the person of Jesus Christ. This is a true testament of His humility and love.

Jesus completely surrendered His human life to the Father, even to the point of death on the cross. The night before his crucifixion, Jesus prayed, “If it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Yet, not My will; but Yours be done” (Luke 22:42).  Knowing the sacrifice that was needed, Jesus submitted His will to the Father in complete obedience. The Bible says that He suffered with this decision even to the point of sweating drops of blood!

Surrendering our lives to Christ is not an easy decision. We wrestle against our flesh on a moment-by-moment basis. We must choose to walk in the kingdom by submitting our will to His authority, His ways and His purposes. We must follow His example and humble ourselves to the point of dying to self. To the Father, we must daily proclaim in word and deed, “Not my will, but Yours be done.”

1. What areas do you need to surrender to the King?
2. What would true surrender look like in your life?
3. What is the Holy Spirit saying to you?

Introduction | Part One

The Gospel of the Kingdom
by Bob Hamp

From that time Jesus began to preach and say,“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is
at hand.”
Matthew 4:17

Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.
Matthew 4:23

For years after I came to know the Lord, I was taught to share the gospel in a variety of ways. Though I was always nervous, I loved to tell people the gospel message. Jesus died for their sins and was completely willing to forgive them, having paid the penalty Himself. Jesus came back to life to overcome sin and death, and He is completely willing to put that new life inside of them and make them a new creation. It was the best story I knew.

And then one day it struck me: it was absolutely impossible for this to be the gospel message that Jesus shared. All of the important events in the gospel I was sharing had not occurred during the time Jesus was sharing His gospel.

Ironically, the fact that He had not yet died, nor had He come back to life, did not seem to hinder Him at all. In fact, the Bible indicates that His message had a great deal of success. His message seemed to have more demonstrable effect than anything I had ever said or done. What was Jesus’ message? The Bible calls His message the gospel of the kingdom. While the gospel I had been sharing is true, and it is good news, it is not the same message that Jesus shared during His earthly ministry.

Listen to what He said: “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

This is not just the introduction to His message, it is the thesis statement. But, what does it mean? We will spend the next 30 days exploring that very question. For today, let me re-state His thesis to launch us on our devotional journey.

Jesus, the ruler of heaven and earth, stepped onto the earth, a battlefield for centuries under the rule of the one called the Adversary. Satan, through His influence, direct and indirect, had done everything he could to destroy all that God had made true about the earth. Men’s minds were blinded—allowing the kingdom of darkness to maintain control of their lives, bodies and relationships. It was into this setting that Jesus entered the fray with His declaration. Change the way you see, because the invisible rule of God is becoming visible again among men. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

1. Have you already received the new life Jesus offers through His death and resurrection?

2. Are you ready to embark on a new adventure as we enter into the kingdom of heaven?

3. In what areas of your life do you need to discover God’s willingness to take over?