"Thou Art the Man"
(Attitude of Repentance)
Praise the Lord, it�s the beginning of a new year. I�m excited in expectation of all God will do in 2005. Perhaps Jesus will catch away His church at any moment! From the last message we know that those who are truly ready will go up to meet Him. Before any of that is possible, before the filling with the Holy Ghost can take place, you must have truly repented! Not some hand-shaking, name-on-the-church-book-and-told-you-are-saved repentance � no! I�m talking about true �Repentance�.
In speaking with a lot of people, I�ve found
they don�t truly know what repentance is. Some think they are saved because they were told so by grandma or grandpa at a young age. Some will say, �well I was dedicated or sprinkled as a baby�. Some say, �well I�ve been baptized�� While speaking with folk I often hear them say, �well the reason I did this (sin, lying, murder, stealing, whatever, etc) was because someone caused me to�. Some even say �the devil made me do it�. That might have been cute in the 70�s when Flip Wilson said it, but I was a child then. Let me tell you what blaming sin on anyone or anything else is: it is a lie taking you to hell! It shows that �Repentance� has not taken place.
Friends, when you repent excuses stop! A truly repentant person no longer points the finger of blame at someone else. They know that any act of sin is due to their own lusts, whatever that lust may be. Any inward desire for money, power, etc, is what draws away and entices. James 1:13-15 is a good place to study this subject. You see, someone who is unrepentant is someone who doesn�t take any responsibility for their actions (sins). They try to blame someone else. They blame God! They blame the wife, husband, children, preacher, neighbors � anyone except the root of the problem � themselves! I hope to bring out some examples of the true �Attitude of Repentance�.
Most everyone knows the account of Adam and Eve�s fall in the garden, and the punishment that followed. For those who don�t, read Genesis 3. Here is the example of people�s unrepentant attitude today and it was right there with Adam (3:8-14). Here is Adam: he�s caught, he can�t hide from God, what does he do? He blames Eve and God in the same sentence. �And the man said, The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.� Adam did not take responsibility � he was caught and laid blame everywhere except where it belonged. What did Eve do in verse 13? She blamed the serpent! Yes, the serpent beguiled her, and the temptation was put before her. The temptation was also put before Adam, but who forced them to sin? Who forced them to disbelieve God�s word? Both Adam and Eve knew what God had told them, what God had commanded, but they deliberately made a conscious choice to disobey God. Eve was smooth-talked and tempted, but she made the choice! Adam freely partook! His choice was his to make. Neither took responsibility for their actions. Both pointed the finger of blame somewhere else. Where do you point the finger of blame? Adam and Eve did not have the �Attitude of Repentance�.
Let�s look at David, a man after God�s own heart. Still, he was a man who sinned, tried to cover up his sin, and adultery led to deception and murder (II Samuel 11). David was a man anointed as King, appointed by God, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. He had all the favor of God. David in his youth believed in God (I Samuel 17:34-37). He had diligently and continuously sought the face of God and His counsel, had depended on God in childlike faith (I Sam 23:2-4, 30:8; II Sam 2:1, 5:19-23). David had been humble, worshipping God and giving Him glory in public. Now he committed all these acts of sin, despising God and His word. Deliberate sin is a choice. Hiding it or blaming someone else is our choice! David came to a point that any true child of God does � he was miserable and he couldn�t stand it. He was separated from God. The short-lived pleasures of sin had too great a price. The child (David) was now separated from the Father (God). In II Samuel 11:27b we read, �But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.� David did evil in God�s eyes. David, miserable and still unrepentant, but God sends Nathan (II Samuel 12). God brought David�s sin to light. David had unfinished business with God. David even passed judgment concerning what should be done to a man who committed such an offense (II Samuel 12:5). What did God speak through Nathan? David, �Thou Art the Man�.
David confesses his sin by admitting it to Nathan (II Samuel 12:13). David still needs God�s forgiveness, and now his attitude was right to receive it. As we look at Psalm 51, where does David point the finger of blame? He didn�t say that Bathsheba tempted him by taking a bath on her roof! He didn�t say that it was Joab who put Uriah in the heat of the battle, causing his death! No, David puts blame exactly where the responsibility of sin belongs, on himself! To truly repent we must first be overwhelmed by the feelings of guilt. See, we must be broken. We must take a good look in the mirror and admit that �I have sinned�. Only then can forgiveness, cleansing and restoration come. Only then can we be made whole and be in a right relationship with God. Only then can the burden of guilt be lifted and we again become available for God�s service. Only when we are truly broken and repentant, and this is our choice! David in Psalm 51 confesses to God and cries out to Him, ��Blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin....� As you read this chapter, David accepts blame for his sins and does not blame anyone else. He knows what it takes to have joy restored. David knew that God didn�t want a bunch of money in the offering plate. He didn�t want him to run out and perform a bunch of empty works � God wanted a broken and contrite heart (Psalm 51:16-17). If you want to be restored, you must have an attitude of repentance. It�s time
to stop blaming sin on others, and to realize that �Thou Art the Man�.
The longer you put off repentance, the further away from God you get. The higher the wall grows. The more hopeless life becomes. Something that all must pay close attention to in David�s life is that even though he received forgiveness, he still had reaping to do. For someone who claims Christ to go out and willfully participate in sin is a very dangerous thing. In II Samuel 12:9-10, the word used to describe David�s reasons for committing sin was �despised�. He despised the commandments of God and despised God while in his sin. Friend, I don�t think any of us want God to feel like we despise Him! David�s actions were scorning to God, considered to count God unworthy of his (David�s) love and devotion. God still looks at sin the same way today, when His children commit adultery, deceive and murder (with the tongue). Even today when we are forgiven a reaping will come. It did for David, a man after God�s own heart � the sword never passed from his house (II Samuel 12:15). You and I have the same promise (Galatians 6:7-8). We are also promised God�s forgiving grace if we come to Him in the right attitude of repentance. Will you point your finger elsewhere, or will you remember the words of Nathan: �Thou Art the Man�?
Today is the day of salvation. Today is the day to take responsibility for your sins. Pointing a finger at people in church or at the pastor is no longer an excuse. No excuses will be accepted by God. If you�ve broken fellowship with God it is because you chose to, not because anyone caused it. If you hold on to sin and don�t confess it, you�ll make excuses right through the gates of hell! Stop blaming your wife or husband, your children. Turn loose of the past and come to God. Take a good look in the mirror � do you feel breath in your nostrils? Feel the thump of your heart? It�s there and you are still alive only by the mercy of God�s lovingkindness. The face in the mirror will decide where you spend eternity. I pray each person who reads this is in right standing with God. I hear people say, �why did God destroy those people in Asia?� God didn�t destroy them � they had no promise of His protection. Why? Anyone who prays or tries to come to God by any other name except Jesus Christ is doomed. God�s mercy will run out! No one can blame God � He has made it possible for ALL to come to Him. Sadly, people who know the truth and travel to and do business with those who worship false gods, put themselves in danger. Our choices � you either have the �Attitude of Repentance� or it will be said that �Thou Art the Man�.
In Christ, Bro. Don George
IS THIS YOUR EXPERIENCE?
(Author Unknown)
I knelt to pray when day was done,
And prayer, O Lord bless every one,
Lift from every saddened hear the pain,
And let the sick be well again.�
And then I woke another day,
And carelessly went upon my way.
The whole day long I did not try
To wipe a tear from any eye.
I did not try to share the load
Of any brother on the road.
I did not even go to see
The sick man just next door to me.
Yet once again when day was done,
I prayed �O Lord bless every one.�
But as I prayed, unto my ear
There came a voice that whispered clear,
�Whom have you tried to bless today?
Whom have you helped along the way?
God�s sweetest blessings always go
To hands that serve Him here below.�
And then I hid my face and cried,
�Forgive me, God, for I have lied.
Let me but live another day,
And I will live the way I pray!�
