Triumph Over Your Past — And Boldly Face Your Future

Here is an article that came from The Elijah List today - it was written by Bobbly Conner. This goes with the repentance theme from the past few days:

God Restores and Refreshes

Dear Believer, we have entered a new season. It is the season of a fresh start! We are in a divinely appointed time of refreshing and restoring:

"So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the crawling locust, the consuming locust, and the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you. You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, who has dealt wondrously with you; and My people shall never be put to shame" (Joel 2:25-26).

This is a new day in which you may boldly declare, "Old things have passed away!" (see Isaiah 48:6-7).

God Offers Forgiveness

One of the sweetest words in any language is the word forgiven! God promises that even if your sins are red like crimson – bright, obvious, glaring, unmistakable – they have been forgiven, washed white as snow, because of the crimson Blood of Christ (see Isaiah 1:18)!

Not just a few sins or a handful of mistakes, but each and every betrayal, sin, and offense is under the Blood of Christ. Each and every mistake is forgotten and erased. Truly, beloved, it makes no difference how twisted and tangled your life has been or now is: Through the shed Blood of Christ at Calvary, God has made all forgiveness and grace abound toward you!

Heaven and earth may pass away, but "His compassions fail not" (Lamentations 3:20-22). Why? Because Christ Jesus already bore our sins and iniquities!

...Because He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. Isaiah 53:12

God Forgets Your Past

Through our repentance, God always makes a way to free us from our past. Brothers and sisters in Christ, take this encouragement to heart: Do not let your past failures keep you from experiencing your future victories! Remember this vital promise:

"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death" (Romans 8:1-2 KJV).

The Lord has already lavished you with abundant, extravagant forgiveness and grace to empower you to leave behind every single past sin and failure, the days of regret, doubt and fear, the many missed opportunities and failed relationships, the seasons of backsliding and passivity, the detours of the works of the flesh.

As we believe His Word of forgiveness and set our heart to seek the Lord, we will find overwhelming grace and mercies for each day (see Jeremiah 29:12-13). Never give up; never give in again to a mindset of guilt and failure (see Hebrews 10:35). You were created by your Maker to carry His glory and presence into a lost and dying world. God has confidence in you (see Deuteronomy 28:13). Remember, you are His choice (see Ephesians 2:10), chosen for "such a time as this" (Esther 4:14).

God Redeems Your Wounds

Truly, it was by the stripes of Jesus Christ that we were healed (see Isaiah 53:5). Take comfort in this, dear Believer: Even the wounds that you have suffered will become great avenues of healing. When we are healed from our wounds, then we receive grace for healing others! We bring Christ's healing and comfort to others in the areas in which we ourselves have been afflicted (see 1 Thessalonians 5:11).

God Brings Breakthrough!

God is even now releasing divine favor to us for accomplishing great exploits for His glory. In Psalm 84:11 (NLT), we learn how He lavishes His blessings of grace and glory:

"For the LORD God is our sun and our shield. He gives us grace and glory. The LORD will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right."

Even if you have not succeeded in previous days and years, do not lose heart! God is saying, "Try again!" It is time to regroup and try again, knowing that failure is never God's plan (see Jeremiah 29:11). You will see doors open that were closed to you previously. God is granting breakthrough.

I pray that your entire family will experience the overwhelming love and favor of God as you leave the past behind and boldly take hold of the blessings and promises of God!

Bobby Conner
Eagles View Ministries
Email:manager@bobbyconner.org
 Website: BobbyConner.org

Bobby Conner: This "Gentle Giant" is uniquely anointed with refreshing humor and razor-sharp prophetic accuracy, which has been documented around the world. Bobby's dynamic capacity to release outstanding demonstrations of the miraculous – healings, signs and wonders – reveals the very heart of the Father toward us! Surviving a dramatic abortion attempt by his mother, being rescued again by the hand of God from drug dealing and suicide, the story of Bobby Conner is a display of a man who now walks in his God-ordained destiny to set others free! Highly esteemed as an internationally acclaimed conference speaker, Bobby has ministered effectively to over 45 foreign countries as well as here in the States for many years.

Seek The Lord

The results of seeking the Lord:

1.    Joy

     1Chr. 16:10...let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord! (Ps. 105:3)

        Ps. 40:16   Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You...

        (Ps. 70:4)

2.    He will be found

    1Chr. 28:9  ...if you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off for ever. (2Chr. 15:2; Ps. 9:10)

     2Chr. 15:4   But when in their trouble they turned to the Lord God of Israel, and sought Him, He was found by them.

3.    God will hear, forgive and heal our land

   2Chr. 7:14 If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

4.    The Lord gives us peace from our enemies

        2Chr. 14:7   ...we have sought Him, and He has given us rest on every side. (Ezra 8:22)

5.    Prosperity

       2Chr. 26:5...and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him prosper.  (2Chr. 31:21)

      Ps. 34:10  The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger; but those who seek the Lord shall      not lack any good thing.

6.    The Lord looks for those who seek Him

        Ps. 14:2 The Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there are any who understand, who seek God. (Ps. 53:2)

7.    Deliverance from all fears

        Ps. 34:4 I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.

8.    Life

        Ps. 69:32  ...you who seek God, your hearts shall live. (Ps. 22:26)

        Amos 5:4   For thus says the Lord..."Seek me, and live..."

9.    We are blessed

        Ps. 119:2 Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with the whole heart.

10.  Understanding

        Prov. 28:5  ...those who seek the Lord understand all.

11.  The fear of the Lord

      Hosea 3:5 Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the Lord their God, and David their king; and shall fear the Lord and His goodness in the latter days.

12.  We find a hiding place

       Zeph. 2:3  Seek ye the Lord, all you meek of the earth, who have upheld his justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden in the day of the Lord's anger.

13.  Everything we need will be provided

      Matt. 6:33   But seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you. (Luke 12:31)

       Matt. 7:7–8 Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. (Luke 11:9)

14.  Healing

        Luke 6:19  And the whole multitude sought to touch Him: for power went out from Him, and healed them all.

15.  He rewards those who seek Him

        Hebr. 11:6   ...He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

7 Things - The Repentance Process

 I love this verse from Joel - the concept of repentance here, is that we come to God, but we also have to keep on coming to Him:

Joel 2:12 "Therefore also now, says the Lord, turn and keep on coming to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning [until every hindrance is removed and the broken fellowship is restored]. (Amp)  

1. Sorrow over sin is the secret to the foundation of repentance.

Confront yourself

Psalm 38:18 But I confess my sins; I am deeply sorry for what I have done. (NLT)

Repentance is not only being sorry for our sin - however, we cannot have repentance without being sorry that we sinned. That sorrow can come when we take God's side in the matter and agree with Him over the seriousness of our actions. In order to truly repent, we need to understand the extent of what we have done, and how it has hurt our relationship with the Father. In fact, continued sin leads to death (Rom. 6:23)

2. Confession of sin is the secret to the power of repentance

Death to self

Confession doesn’t give you any more forgiveness, but it does put the full extent of our sin on record so that the full extent of His forgiveness can be applied. We don't necessarily need to confess to a person, although that can sometimes be helpful.

Prov. 29:13 He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy. (NKJV)

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us of all unrighteousness.

We know that we have already been forgiven (1 John 2:12), but sin separates us from the Father. Confession propels us back to Him as we see the true extent of what we have done. Confession walks us through the door of repentance – it takes us from the destructive attitude of wallowing in shame to rejoicing in the reality of His forgiveness. True confession states clearly what we have done without offering excuses.

3. Turning is the secret to the heart of repentance.

Turn yourself

Matt. 3:2 And saying, Repent (think differently; change your mind, regretting your sins and changing your conduct), for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

This means to change our hearts, minds and actions. Most scholars agree that true repentance means to be sorry, turn around and go in the opposite direction. Not only should we feel sorry for our actions, we must yield our heart so that it can be turned or changed until we have God’s heart for sin – a hatred for it. Only then will our actions follow along and we will have the strength to change our behavior.

It's one thing not to sin - it's another not to want to! Jacquelyn K. Heasley

Jeremiah cried out to God – asking Him to help in the process of turning and restoring his heart:

Jer.  31:18-19 Restore me, and I will return, For You are the Lord my God.

Surely, after my turning, I repented; And after I was instructed, I struck myself on the thigh; I was ashamed, yes, even humiliated, Because I bore the reproach of my youth.' (NKJV)

Turn me again to you and restore me, for you alone are the LORD my God.

I turned away from God, but then I was sorry. I kicked myself for my stupidity! I was thoroughly ashamed of all I did in my younger days.' (NLT)

4. Forgiveness is the secret to the release of repentance.

Wash yourself

Ps.86:5 O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive, so full of unfailing love for all who ask your aid. (NLT)

We must receive the forgiveness that the Lord has so freely given to us. It is not enough to believe in forgiveness, we have to receive it, walk in it, and minister it to others.

>Forgiveness comes through Jesus – Acts 13:38

>The Lord is eager to minister forgiveness to us – 1 Peter 3:9

>There is no unforgivable act. All sin has been fully dealt with on the cross. The total penalty has already been paid for your sin – 2 Cor. 5:21; 1 John 2:2

>Simply ask God to forgive you – then by faith, receive His forgiveness

>As we receive forgiveness, we release joy into our lives

>The process of forgiveness means that we must forgive others – Matt. 6:12
>The process of forgiveness means that we must forgive ourselves

“I think that if God forgives us we must forgive ourselves. Otherwise it is almost like setting up ourselves as a higher tribunal than Him.” C. S. Lewis

5. Restoration is the secret to the healing of repentance

Believe in yourself

As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:12

It is important to realize that the Lord has lifted the burden and shame of sin from us. He doesn’t just stop at that, He wants us to walk in full restoration. Once again, it is not enough to believe in forgiveness, or even to receive it by faith. Our hearts are healed as we move on from there and walk as forgiven people – restored to fellowship with Him, and participating in the destiny He has declared over us.

Acts 3:19 Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord…

6. Obedience is the secret to proving your repentance

Rise up for yourself

Matt. 3:8 Prove by the way you live that you have really turned from your sins and turned to God. (NLT)

The time for words is over. If we want to see the fruits of repentance (Matt. 3:8), we must be walking in obedience. Our lives, and the changes we make will prove that we have really turned ourselves around.

Radical obedience will change your life

I love this verse that lists the 7 changes that come in our character as we walk in obedience and repentance:

2 Cor. 7:19-11 For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.

For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter.

7. The fear of God is the secret to maintaining repentance

Guard yourself

The fear of God causes us to walk carefully and to respect the Lord above all things. When we walk in the fear of God, we become worshipers – our eyes are on the Lord, and we leave no room for our old sinful behavior.

Prov. 8:13 The fear of the Lord is to hate evil (NIV)

Prov. 16:6 …the fear of the Lord makes men turn from evil. (NEB)

Job 29:28 …the fear of the Lord is wisdom, and to turn from evil is understanding. (NEB)

The temptation of the age is to look good without being good. Brennan Manning

More on Repentance: HERE and HERE and HERE