The Unsettling: When Heaven Invades Earth
II Chronicles 7:14 NKJV
“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 heal their land.”
Repentance opens the heavens again!
James 4:8 says, “Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”
Satan’s favorite Christians are the ones that worship on Sunday, disappear on Monday, rejoice on holidays and stay lethargic. We cannot have His Kingdom come without first having a “my kingdom must die” moment. Jesus told us over and over, if we want the Kingdom of Heaven, it starts with repentance.
Matthew 4:17 NKJV
From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Matthew Henry said, “Wherever God designs to give life He gives repentance.”
Leonard Ravenhill said, “David had one of the most blessed gifts- he was miserable about sin!”
Charles H. Spurgeon said, “If you are renewed by grace, and were to meet your old self, I am sure you would be very anxious to get out of his company.”
We must cry out in repentance once again.
People say the Holy Spirit is a Gentleman. Where did they get that? He is an invader! He will wreck a room. He will knock down strongholds. He will bring a dictator to his knees. He will turn a lamb into a lion! He’s a counselor, a rebuker, a teacher, a convictor, a judge, an exhorter, an enabler, a baptizer, and a consuming fire.
Jesus said in John 16:8, “When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment:”
Larry Sparks said this, “I have heard people say the Holy Spirit is a gentleman. We’ve taken this to mean that the Spirit of God will not move with unusual power or force. He won’t make us uncomfortable. That’s a lie. You know how I know? Because God’s chief concern is not mankind’s comfort; it’s His kingdom! Jesus never seemed to consider comfort when he healed the sick or drove out demons. These kingdom-advancing activities always brought great freedom, while simultaneously attracting significant reproach from the religious community.”