 The first message Jesus preached was on Repentance .
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 Matthew 3:2 <br><i>
and saying, Repent ye: for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.</i>
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Late in His Ministry Jesus made this statement:
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 Luke 13:3 <br><i>
I tell You , Nay: but, except ye Repent , ye shall All likewise Perish .</i>
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So it appears Repentance is pretty important. What does it mean to Repent ? <br>
Definition: <i>To Change your thinking. To Change direction.</i> <br>
The Word Repent in the Greek is metánoia .
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 Jesus told us that our thinking is Wrong - that it is what is causing All of our problems.
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What caused our Wrong thinking?  The Sin Nature that formed in man in the garden.
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1. The first and most basic area of Wrong thinking is about God . The Nature , Character , Purposes and expectations of God were completely misunderstood when Jesus began His Ministry .
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The God that the Pharisees taught was an exacting, harsh, angry God who had to be placated by Righteous Human Performance in Order to Receive any kind of Blessing from Him.
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 Jesus showed the True Nature of God by Healing All who were sick, by forgiving All manner of Sin and by liberating All who were in captivity - <b> Freely </b>. 
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 John 3:16,17 clearly state the Truth about God`s Love and Will for mankind.
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2. The second important thing that Jesus told us to Repent about is Sin .
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 Jesus stretched the definition of Sin to include even Wrong thoughts! He purposely brought Condemnation upon All those who were striving for Performance based Righteousness .
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 Performance and Animal Sacrifice are inadequate. The Blood of Jesus and Only the Blood of Jesus can take away Sin .
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3. The third important thing that Jesus told us to Repent about is Unbelief .
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 Jesus made it perfectly clear that Unbelief is unacceptable to God - that it is the Enemy of God and man.
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The Will and expectation for Good is how Heaven operates . Unbelief does not Understand the Good Will of God and as a result does not expect Good to Manifest .
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 Jesus taught us to expect Salvation , Good Health , Freedom , Victory , Power , Love , Joy , peace...etc. to Manifest in the Physical Realm because it had been willed in Heaven .
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 This is having Faith in the Grace of God through Christ Jesus .
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4. The fourth important thing that Jesus told us to Repent of is our self image.
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In the Old Testament the Jews were referred to as Children of Abram and, most often, as Children of Israel . 
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In David`s writings he used the imagery of shepherd and sheep to show the Relationship between God and man.
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 Jesus told us to refer to God as Our Father . This represented a monumental Change in the Relationship between God and man.
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 The Relationship God had with Abraham and His promises to Abraham are what sustained the Children of Israel for two thousand years.
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God does not want us to have second hand Relationships with Him !
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In the shepherd sheep imagery we See God as a different species than man Just as the shepherd is a different species from the sheep he tends.
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God does not want us to dumbly depend on His care with no Hope of ever becoming more than a sheep. He has made us His Children through the NewBirth.
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We are Now Sons of God ! We are filled with His Spirit ! We may come Boldly to the thrown of Grace . We are a Royal priesthood.
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5. The fifth important thing for us to Repent about is Prayer .
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Jesus showed by Example how Prayer is supposed to Work . 
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Jesus spent Time in the Word , meditated on the Word , prayed for Wisdom and Revelation in the Word . His Prayer Life was one which invited the Father to Manifest the Word in His body.
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 Jesus Prayed to prepare Himself to be able to operate in the HolySpirit and the Word . His Time in the wilderness before he began His Ministry was the most significant Time of Prayer in His Life but there were no Doubt many other instances.
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But once He was prepared, He Spoke and did the Will of the Father - <b>without asking the Father to do anything</b>. <br> He taught with Authority . He commanded Demons to leave with Authority . He Healed with Authority . He forgave Sins with Authority .
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Contrast our Lord`s Example of Prayer with that of the typical Church person today. Most Prayer is one of petition for specific needs, often coming across as begging God to do something.
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Sometimes it even sounds like the person Praying is ordering God to do something.
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 Jesus Never begged God to do anything or commanded God to do anything.
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 Jesus told us to Ask and Receive , Seek and Find , Knock and See the door opened .
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 Repentance is repudiation of the Sin Nature and turning to Christ Jesus who gives you God`s Nature through the NewBirth .
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So, the question is : Have I truly Repented ? 
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 Luke 13:3 tells us that we Will Perish if we don`t Repent . Jesus was not threatening us with hell-fire because the Gift of God is Eternal Life . But He was telling us that failure to Repent Will cause us to fail to experience Abundant Life which was His Purpose in coming to earth.
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 James 1:8 tells us that a double-minded man is unstable in All of his ways. 
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We All Need stability in our lives. The solid rock of Christ Jesus , the written and incarnate Word of God , is our Foundation . But our Minds must be Transformed through heart-felt Repentance before we Will See the Manifestation of the Power of God in us . 
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Added 20170314<p>
 Christians have historically lived below their privilege.
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We have chosen to Focus on the Words He Spoke which are easiest to accept/follow.
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 Jesus began His Ministry with this statement: ~ Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.~ 
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Many Christians have used the Word , Repent , to Think about Confessing Sin . You don`t have to Confess when You are proven Guilty . The verdict is valid with or without your acknowledgement. But, its easy so we do it.
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What Jesus meant by <b> Repent </b> is:
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~Change your Way of thinking about God and the Spirit Kingdom . God is Love , I am the Sacrifice that Proves that Love and Reconciles You to Him. You must be BornAgain of the Spirit to be One with the Father . When You are Born of the Spirit You are to Manifest the Father`s Character and His Power ! You are His Child . You are His Heir . You are His hands and feet in the earth. By His Spirit Manifesting through You the world Will be Saved . I am King of Kings , Lord of Lords . You are empowered to be Witnesses of Me . Go in my Authority to Heal the Sick , to Free the Captive , to bring Abundant Life to whosover Will Receive it.~
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I put the above in Quotes with humility recognizing it is the Holy Spirit who teaches us of Christ Jesus .
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