Feeling Condemned?

I went through a lot of condemnation during a time in my life. For some of the things I did, God would have been totally just in saying forget this wicked servant. God in His longsuffering and patience forgave me and established me to the glory of His name and not mine, hallelujah.

Let me share with you a story. I had a man tell me after I was ministering the Word to him that he had been sinning and he wasn't sure if God would forgive him (he believed in Jesus already I might add). I told him that it was indeed God who granted repentance, and that if he had a broken heart and sincere desire to walk with the Lord, that meant God was granting him repentance, he just had to grab onto it because "faith without action is dead". He said that the scariest part about his sin - what bothered him the most- was that he didn't feel bad about what he had been doing. After he shared this with me, I recalled a time in my life when I said the exact same thing to a brother in Christ, but the answer to this flooded my mind in that very moment. The Holy Spirit was convicting him. Think about it. I looked at him and said, "so you feel bad because you don't feel bad?" he said, yeah! I said then that tells me something external is CONVICTING you that you need to change while there is time. Because that makes no earthly sense, to feel bad about not feeling bad. Praise God how committed He is to us when we aren't to Him.

Remember, Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy, "If perhaps God would grant them repentance, leading to a knowledge of the truth."

What I want to point out is that the way you know that you have been granted repentance, is by "being led to a knowledge of the truth." Once you realize, "You love me Father, and I have hurt you, and you alone (psalm 51)" and you respond in active obedience to Him by "if we confess our sins, He is faihful and just to forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness". "If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another then the blood of Jesus cleanses us from our unrighteousness".

Action. Sit out time is over, the only way to battle condemnation is by fellowshipping with his bride and that takes an immense committment to Jesus.

Now I am not saying that what has been committed doesn't require an earthly penalty, as we do reap what we sow. But remember when Nathan the prophet came to King David and told him essentially that he had been forgiven eternally, just not consequentially here on earth. The sword never left David's home, but it did not mean there was no eternal forgivness for King David.
I have done things in the past, and I know I have reaped things. I have also been disciplined heavily by my loving Father. I prayed to God that He would allow me to repair the brokeness I have caused to certain people, and amazingly as time goes on, I have been able to be a light to the ones I was once a complete hypocrite to. Be eager to make right what has been wronged - and for the stuff out of your control - give it to God and let Him help you.

Let's not forget the contrite publican in Jesus' parable. He beat his chest and couldn't even look up and said, "Forgive me God, a sinner." Oh my, may the passion of what Jesus did for you flood your Spirit, and be changed by these things.