Dear beloved: As we look at the issues of confession and repentance, it is important to keep in mind what our end goal is, that is to prepare ourselves to stand before a Holy God. David says it best in Psalm 24:3, Who may ascend unto the hill of the Lord? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood, and has not sworn deceitfully. v5 He shall receive a blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation... So in order to ascend higher on the mountain of God, we have to get cleansed, to purify ourselves, to be ready to meet the Lord without any spot or wrinkle.
Please read all of Psalm 51, the Psalm of confession and repentance of David. I will just quote a few of the passages here, but get a feel for David's heart as he cries out to the Lord, and asks God to relieve the burden of sin from him. Psalm 51:2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity; And cleanse me from my sin. v3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. v4 Against Thee, Thee only, I have sinned, And done what is evil in Thy sight, So that Thou art justified when Thou dost speak, And blameless when Thou dost judge. ...So David acknowledges God's position and authority over his life, and grants to Him the right to judge Him as He sees fit. Then the cleansing process starts in earnest. v10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. v11 Do not cast me away from Thy presence, and do not take Thy Holy Spirit from me. v12 Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation, and sustain me with a willing spirit. v14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, 0 God, Thy God of my salvation; then my tongue will joyfully sing of Thy rightousness. v15 O Lord, open my lips, that my mouth may declare Thy praise....The final stage of confession and repentance is to be broken and humble before the Lord, to stand before Him and say to Him "Lord, there is nothing I can give You or do for You that will increase my standing with You, other than this one thing: my broken and contrite heart. Lord take it and do with it as You will, as You mold me into the image of Your Son, Jesus Christ." Psalm 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, 0 God, Thou will not despise.
In his book "Final Quest", by pastor and teacher Rick Joyner, the Lord revealed to Rick the levels of the holy mountain of God, and how the levels are attained in spiritual warfare. Quote: "On the mountain, there were ledges at different levels for as high as we could see. At each higher level the ledges became narrower and more diffucult to stand on. Each level was named for a biblical truth. The lower levels were named after foundational truths such as "Salvation, Sanctification, Prayer, and Faith", and the higher levels were named after deeper biblical truths. The higher we climbed, the larger both our shields and our swords grew, and fewer of the enemy arrows could reach our positions. When we reached the level called "The Unity of the Brethren", none of the enemies arrows could reach us. At each level there were arrows of Truth scattered about, which I knew were left from those who had fallen from that position (many had fallen from each position)."
And so we see that the Christian walk is really a climb, a climb up the mountain to reach the peak and commune with God. And just as mountain climbing on this earth is treacherous, and strenuous, and there is great peril along the way, so too is the climb up the mountain of God. The apostle Paul describes it this way, Phillipians 3:13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet (to have already become perfect); but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, v14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. ...The upward call, the higher ground, that is our goal. Press on beloved, reach for that higher ground, don't be satisfied to stay down in the valleys and the foothills fighting with the enemy, move up to that higher ground where you can look down on him! May God bless you this day as you move upward in battle. In Christ, Jim
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