Repentance is referred to more than 1,000 times in the Bible. It’s a pretty important concept to God. In fact, God commands it.
What Is Repentance?
The Hebrew word for repent is teshuvah, which literally means “to turn,” as if turning back from something or someone you were once turned toward.
So, biblical repentance means you must have strayed from God or looked away from Him and then chose to turn back to Him—to face Him. It’s changing the way you think from contrary to God’s Word to in agreement with God’s Word.
Repentance is a call to turn away from your sins and return to God. The benefit of the lifestyle of repentance for born-again believers is the restoration of your relationship with God and the refreshment of your soul. Because of the restored relationship with God, you are now in His presence and can…
- See situations spiritually, trusting His goodness and faithfulness toward you.
- Know He has only good plans for you.
- Feel the love of the Father, which refreshes you.
- Blessings come from repentance because it positions you to take hold of God’s promises through Jesus!
Return When You Wander
“’For I am the Lord, I do not change; therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob. Yet from the days of your fathers you have gone away from My ordinances and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘But you said, “In what way shall we return?”’”—Malachi 3:6-7
Malachi wrote that God’s people have “gone away” from Him. However, He said that when they returned to Him, He would return to them. This is a picture of biblical repentance. Repentance is about a relationship, a coming together to be joined once again, to share in the refreshing blessings of who God is.
God Said This to Israel
“‘…try Me now in this,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.’”—Malachi 3:10
When there is a “returning,” God opens up the windows of heaven!
What Does Repentance Do in the Spiritual Realm?
- Repentance reestablishes you in the Lord.
- Repentance realigns you with God’s heart.
- Repentance frees you from the enemy’s accusations.
- Because of these things, you are restored and refreshed!
Repentance Leads to Restoration
When you repent, you come before the throne of God and agree with His Word. You humbly admit where you’ve come into agreement with a lie, and you confess it to God, placing it under the blood of Jesus.
Know this: God will not condemn you when you repent. Condemnation is from the enemy. Conviction is from God. When you repent, God restores you!
He is not in the business of tearing you down, but rather tearing down the strongholds and everything that sets itself up against the knowledge of who He is (2 Cor. 10:5). These things keep you from Him. He doesn’t want to tear you down; He wants to lift you up with Christ!
1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
James 5:16 says, “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”
Proverbs 28:13 says, “He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.”
Repentance Leads to Refreshing
When we hold on to an offense, refusing to or not seeing the need to repent, resentment and bitterness begin to take root. This often happens when someone has been hurt, and there is unforgiveness in the heart.
Bitterness steals our joy and peace, holding us in bondage. Hebrews 12:15 says that bitterness springs up and causes trouble and defilement. In other words, bitterness leaves a sticky residue that keeps us from the joy and peace meant to refresh us. We get worn out and worn down.
Resentment and bitterness cause a barrier between God and us, but repentance clears it away so we can receive a refreshing from the Holy Spirit—a fresh anointing!
Jesus taught that in prayer, we are to approach our Heavenly Father, ask for what is written in His books to be manifested, ask for forgiveness, and forgive others. In other words, He reminds us to turn to God, agree with His Word, and repent.
Acts 3:19 says, “‘Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord…’”
Matthew 6:9-12 says, “‘…Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.’”
God is merciful and forgiving. Remember, the enemy condemns us, but the Spirit of God convicts us of unbelief so that we come to belief. He stirs our hearts to see things as He does, how our sin keeps us from experiencing more of His love and mercy. When we hold back confession and repentance (when we refuse to turn to God and ask Him to remove any offensive way in us), we are actually creating a hindrance in our…
- Emotional life
- Prayer and spiritual life
- Physical life
- Relationships
This is why God calls us to repent!
Why It’s Important to Repent in the Courts of Heaven
When we understand how important it is to repent, we can boldly come before the throne of God because we know we are covered by the blood of Jesus. We can enter the Courts of Heaven and cancel what we have done, spoken, or thought or what has been done, spoken or thought toward us. These things keep us from experiencing and accessing all God has for us.
When you go into the Courts of Heaven, you can…
- Enter in because of Jesus’ blood
- Repent of anything God reveals to you that you have believed, spoken, or operated in that is contrary to His Word
- Renounce the lies of the enemy
- Claim the promises of God
- Trust that God will manifest these things in your life in His timing
These are your legal rights as a child of God bought by the blood of Jesus!
Going into the Courts of Heaven to repent is critical in spiritual warfare. Repentance begins the process of issuing a gag order on the enemy, silencing the accuser so you can start overcoming!
“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death,”(Rev. 12:11).
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Curt Landry, founder of Curt Landry Ministries, and his wife, Christie, travel extensively, preaching and teaching about the Jewish roots of the Christian faith. Together, their passion is to empower families to live and leave Kingdom legacies and understand their own personal heritage.
