“Lord, I am so sorry and am grieving that I am not believing  I am righteous, and I repent of that right now.”

“Everyone who has been believing lies about God, others, your circumstances, or about yourself, run to the altar right now and repent.”

“Please do not participate in communion until you have repented of the belief you are not 100% worthy to do so through Jesus’ obedience and death on the cross.”

These statements are not the norm in how we think, but should they be? I say, “yes,” because the Greek meaning of the word repentance is “to change the way you think”. 

I am so looking forward to when there are powerful repentance meetings where people will repent from beliefs like this:  1) “Lord, I am so sorry that I have believed that I am whom my past says I am and not who You say I am..”  2)  “Father, I am so sorry that I have not believed You love me unconditionally..”  3)  “Lord, I am grieved that I have believed that I am a sinner instead of a saint.” and 4)  “Father, I am experiencing deep Godly sorrow because I have believed I am unworthy to be blessed.”

I do not want to devalue the importance of repenting from wrong behaviors, but the greatest thing to repent from is believing lies. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, "No temptation has come upon you except which is common to man . . . “.  The most dangerous temptations we face are to believe lies. The devil is the father of all lies (John 8:44). He is only empowered when we meditate on and believe his falsehoods. This is what happened to Eve in the garden in Genesis 3. She was first deceived about God’s character and then sinned in her actions. We all hear the same lies that we need to repent from.

When I heard Francis Frangipane say, “Every area of your life that doesn't glisten with hope means you're believing a lie and that area is a stronghold of the devil in your life”, I realized that my greatest repentance was going to be about lies that I was believing. And this repentance was not a one-time event. I realized I was not done repenting until I had glistening hope in the area that I was repenting about. 

Repentance is indeed a lifestyle, not an event. I am to daily and intentionally change the way I think (repent). I am transformed by the renewing of my mind. The renewing of the mind could also be called repentance. I am transformed by the repenting in my mind (my thoughts). 

Again, there is a place for deep sorrow for the wrong behaviors we have (see 2 Corinthians 7:8-12), but this sorrow needs to lead us to confront the beliefs producing the behaviors. Igniting Hope Ministries is committed to helping you on your repentance journey. We have certified Belief Trainers that can help you get breakthroughs and a strategy to overcome the lies creating emotional and circumstantial restrictions. Click here to find out more.

Let’s get back to the idea of a different kind of repentance meeting. One place it can happen is during our communion services. “Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep” (1 Corinthians 11:27-30). “Let a man examine himself.”

For most of my life, I have examined my behavior, not my beliefs, during communion. I have believed I am taking communion in an “unworthy manner” if I have not measured up behaviorally. Certainly, if we are not sincere about our relationship with Jesus, it is unwise to participate in communion, but I would argue we are taking communion in an unworthy manner if we do not believe Jesus has made us fully worthy to participate in it. Space does not allow for an exhaustive study on this, but I invite you to pray into what I am sharing. 

Finally, the key to repentance is valuing and immersing ourselves in God’s Word. It will actually cause us to let go of lies and believe truth:

• Abide in the Word, know truth, be made free - “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).
• Word in our heart prevents sin - “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You” (Psalm 119:11). 
• The Word in us saves our soul (our mind, will, and emotions) - ”Receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls” (James 1:21).
• Get the Word in our mouths and it will cause obedience, prosperity, and success - “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success” (Joshua 1:8).

How about having a different kind of repentance meeting? Many of you already do this but may not have realized it. Let’s truly make it a lifestyle to repent and not quit until we have glistening hope in the area we are repenting of. Remember, it is a process, so celebrate your progress. Bless you, much.