Repentance

“For this is what the high and lofty One says—he who lives forever, whose name is holy; ‘I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.’”  Isaiah 57:15 (NIV)

 Repentance is the message for the church in America.  Why is it not being preached?  I believe we are like the frog in the pot of warm water. The water is gradually getting hotter, but we haven’t noticed—in fact, it feels pretty good. We have become comfortable with our little sins to the point that we don’t even recognize them as sins.  We think that some of the things in God’s word are optional.  Do we realize it is sin…

• To worry—“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life…” (Matt. 6:25). 
• To speak carelessly—“But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.” (Matt. 12:36).
• To not show mercy—“judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful” (James 2:13).
• To prefer the things of the world over God—“You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God?” (James 4:4).

Vance Havner once said, “The times are desperate, but we are not.”  The church is worldly and lethargic—we do not take God, or His Word, seriously. James 4:17 says, “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.”   We will not see revival until we are broken over our sinful condition. 

Isaiah 57:15 says that God lives in a high and holy place, but also with the contrite and lowly in spirit—to them He will bring revival.