Repentance for Saving Self

It is only through repentance that we pave the way for revival. And in the same measure, the greater our repentance, the greater will be the Spirit’s outpouring. If we want the “next Great Revival” to cover the earth, we will have to lay a foundation of deep repentance. It is only as we get low, that the Spirit of Christ will rise high in our experience. Christ is always on high but are we experiencing Him in His heights? The test is revealed in the direction of our choice for “less of me and more of Him” or “way too much of me and simply not enough of Him.” One Way is the abundant Life, the other path is death and the sparsity of self.

The Life of Christ is our only answer. Our main need for repentance is the sin of choosing “self” over Him. We neglect His Ways and Life in preference for our own way and efforts. Actually, all sin simply makes self the center rather than being Christ-centered. And it’s our attention and focus that reveals our idol or our God. And in actuality, it is either a focus on Him or self, but not both. We have two eyes and they focus together not apart. Likewise, the direction of our gaze tells us everything about what is going on inside our hearts.

Choosing and Repentance

“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Joshua 24:14-15 ESV

Choosing this day whom we will serve, is our everyday encounter. We have the opportunity to make this choice daily and often moment by moment. It is a question of who will I enthrone, Satan through serving my “self” or God? It is frighteningly this stark.

The Choice for Self

To take this further, and this is always a frightening thought to me! Satanism has only one commandment of its followers and it boils the whole falsehood down to its essence. “DO AS THOU WILT!” This draws a bold line between what is of the Kingdom of God and what serves Satan. The pivot point upon which everything rests is my choice of will. If we do as we will, we serve the realm of darkness, if we yield to God’s Will and Life we serve The Kingdom of Heaven. Unbelievably it has never been a choice of 3 ways, God’s, the devil’s or mine. There are only two ways of choosing. The first is for God and His Kingdom or the other is self for the devil. Whenever I find myself serving self, I can know at the core I’m choosing Satan.

“This was to fulfill what was written in the book of the prophet Isaiah: “Listen! You will hear a thunderous voice in the lonely wilderness telling you to wake up and get your heart ready for the coming of the Lord Jehovah. Every twisted thing in your lives must be made straight. Every dark way must be brought to the light. Wrongs righted. Injustices removed. Every heart of pride will be humbled low before Him. Every deception will be exposed and replaced by the Truth so that everyone everywhere will be ready to see the Life of God!”
Luke 3:4-6 TPT