KINGDOM CULTURE Sunday – 24th August 2014

Kath Ibbotson

On the M62 . . . .

Balancing the

Books!

Keeping Short Accounts

HOW?• Through

REGULAR confession of our faults and failings.

• Through genuine REPENTANCE!

• AND RECEIVING the FORGIVENESS.

Keep short AccountsR E P E N T A N C E

Repentance is often – rightly - linked to our Baptism.Acts 2:38 Peter replied, "Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

A Promise!

We do get the Holy Spirit! As Peter

promised!

• We receive it INTO the state of the vessel that we are at that point in time!• We set the limitation – not Father – He does

not intrude! Free Will.

• If our prior to baptism repentance ‘Spring Clean’ is thorough – we get the ‘MORE’ – Ground has been taken!

• If we are sloppy or ignorant at this stage – only the ‘cleaned’ area is fillable - we receive ‘LESS’ – Ground has been lost!

We do GET Forgiveness

At Baptism

IF ASKED FOR!

• Sometimes things can get left out – and true serious repentance – removing things from our account – can often get missed out.

• Events happen in your experience that don’t fall in the same order as other people’s.

• Ongoing! We learn other things later on that impact on our ability to pray into situations far better than when we were a new Christian.For Example: Spiritual warfare – Eph. 6

A change of directionin thought and behaviour

R E P E N T A N C E

To change one’s mind!

As we learn As we grow As we give opportunities for the Holy Spirit to give us REVELATION As we take advantage of opportunities to receive MINISTRY As we ABSORB THE WORD As we walk the walk, talk the talk, live the life – we enable opportunities to receive

MORE. To Grow in God.

BUT that is not the END of it . . .

•We are a work in progress.•We still have access to the MORE

(Infilling)

• Repentance is on-going.

• Trust the Lord will bring to mind things in your life that need bringing before him in prayer.

• Sometimes if is not out of our ignorance – sometimes it is just TIMING. Father knows what you can cope with and when you can cope with it.

I N H I S T I M E !

. . . in HIS time . . .

The Armour of God

Eph 6:11-13 11 Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

There is a battle?

We need armour?

How do we use it?

Released from ‘Strongholds’ ? ? ?

• For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

• Things we have done or been involved in could have exposed us to this type of warfare – and we did not even know it existed or could impact on our lives, physically, emotionally and spiritually.

• Eph 4:27 ... and do not give the devil a foothold.

• If you do not know that the kind of thing you were/are involved in could be a foothold for the enemy – why would you think to repent of it?

Breaking ‘Mindsets’ ? ? ?

How can you be released from ‘strongholds’ and ‘mindsets’ – if you do not know they exist and that you CAN BE and NEED TO BE released from it. You can be RESTORED!• How can you have VICTORY in this warfare?• How can you be DELIVERED from them?• How can you BREAK their hold over your

life?• How do you know you have the authority –

when you have an enemy who wants to keep you BLIND?

BECAUSE - When you get rid of the RUBBISH

– you can get filled up MORE!

Why would you confess reading your horoscope; having your fortune told; visiting a

medium, etc. ...Deut 18:9-14 9 When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. 10 Let no-one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practises divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, 11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord, and because of these detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you. 13 You must be blameless before the Lord your God. 14 The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practise sorcery or divination. But as for you, the Lord your God has not permitted you to do so.

Just because you thought it was insignificant and meant nothing

does not mean that God does - or that your ignorance stops the enemy from getting a foothold

into your life through doing so.REPENTANCE – Gets rid of that foothold!

Repent of W H A T & W H Y ?

W H A T•Things we have chosen to do that

have harmed us•Wrong choices we have made and

consequences•Things that have spoilt us, damaged

us Bitterness• The things we put before God - these

limit our relationship with Father•Things that would block the Holy

Spirit•Corrupt/limit our understanding of

the Word•Things that cause us to compromise

the Word•..... etc, etc.

Like NOT

Reading It!

Repent of W H A T & W H Y ?

W H Y •To enable us to be ‘CLEAN’.•To restore our relationship with

God•Enable a greater closeness in that

relationship• Bring Glory to Jesus - 2 Cor 3:18

And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.•Develop the family likeness•. . . etc, etc.

RescuedRestoredReleased

Unrepented SIN is like an Umbrella between YOU and GOD!

Up and blocking

your blessing!

Shrinkage through ‘living

the life’!

Put it down!Don’t just test the waters –

RECEIVE your FORGIVENESS

!

We need to put our blockages BEHIND

us!

In Spiritual Warfare – it could be more like this . . .

Lust

Bitterness

Unforgiveness

Resentment

Envy

Worldliness

Loneliness

Jealousy

HurtfulChildhoodexperiences

Blockages

Let GOD In!

Confessing them lets the ‘air’ out

and they lose their hold on your life.

The Divine Exchange

We can let ourselves be ROBBED!

S W A GSins

We

Ave-n’t-let

Go-off!

DROP’EMBe Free Indeed!

By hanging onto our sins you lose your freedom and your blessing!DAYLIGHT ROBBERY!

Keeping Short Accounts: THE BENEFITS

Rev 3:5 He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels. (NIV)

[Repentance results in overcoming!]Rev 20:10-13 &15 10And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulphur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. 11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. .... 15If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (NIV)

This is a Judgement of REWARD - NOT for SIN!

In Jesus - YOU have been FORGIVEN!

Rev 21:27 [New

Jerusalem] Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.

We are FORGIVENWe are SAVEDWe are in the KINGDOMWe have ETERNAL LIFEHowever, I believe that the things in our lives that

we have NOT confessed and repented of are STILL kept ‘on record’!

Ps 103:11-12 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; 12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.1 John 3:5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin.Rom 4:7-8 7 "Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. 8 Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.”Rev 1:5 To him (Jesus) who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, . . . .

The ones that have been covered

by the BLOOD of Jesus are GONE!

Matt 6:14-1514 For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly

Father will also forgive

you.15 But if you

do not forgive men their sins,

your Father will not

forgive your sins.

SYMPTOMS OF UNFORGIVENESS Notes given out at ‘LIVING FREE’ Conference ~ Led by: Scott & Hilary Dalton

at West Street Baptist Church, Rochdale ~ 19th & 20th Sept. 2008

Still thinking negative thoughts about the one who offended you. 

Reviewing the hurtful incident over and over in your mind. 

Losing sleep over obsessing on why the person was so hurtful to you. 

Lack of peace. 

Tendency to avoid a certain person. 

Speaking negatively about the person. 

Secretly hoping something bad will happen to them, so they can be ‘disciplined by the Lord’. 

Feeling angry or disappointed with God. 

Feeling secretly please when a hardship comes upon the person. 

Dreaming up harsh words of correction for them. 

Vowing never to speak to them again. 

Thinking, “I’ve got to love him, but I don’t have to like him.”

Rick Renner – ‘Sparkling Gems From The Greek’ – 18th August 2014

We often throw open the door to the devil when we:

•Refuse to let go of old hurts and wounds.

•Refuse to acknowledge what we did wrong.

•Refuse to forgive others for what they did.

•Refuse to stop judging others for their grievances.

•Refuse to admit we were wrong too. •Refuse to say, “I’m sorry” when we’re

wrong. •Refuse to lay down our “rights” for

others.

If you and I do any of these things, we leave a “marked-off place” through which the devil can enter to accuse others in

our minds. But we don’t have to fall victim to the enemy’s tactics

. . . .

Symptoms of Unforgiveness

Keeping Short Accounts

Regularly update your books!

Keep in sync with Father!

Do a regular ‘cheque-up’!

Steps To Forgiveness

THREE STEPS TO

FORGIVENESS

STEP 1: TO Forgive

Others STEP 2: TO Ask For Forgiveness For Yourself

STEP 3: TO Forgive

Yourself

Steps To Forgiveness: FORGIVING OTHERS

Father, You have made it clear that You require me to forgive. You desire the healing and freedom for me that forgiveness brings. So today, I choose to forgive all who have set me up to enter into sin and all who have hurt me. I choose to release them, each and every one. I let go of all judgements against them, and let go of all punishments for them I have harboured in my heart. I turn all of this, and all of them, over to you. Holy Spirit, I thank You for working forgiveness into my life, for giving me the grace I need to forgive, and for continuing to enable me to forgive. In Jesus’ Name. Amen!

Steps To Forgiveness: ASKING FOR FORGIVENESS FOR YOURSELF

Father, now that I have forgiven all others, I thank you that I can now come to receive Your forgiveness. So I come to You, through the shed blood of Jesus and the power of His Cross, asking You to forgive me of all of my sins. I acknowledge and take responsibility for each and every time I have violated Your commandments, as well as for the iniquity that is in my heart. 

Holy Spirit, thank You for working forgiveness into my life, for healing me, and for cleansing me from all unrighteousness. Thank You, Father, for restoring me to fellowship with You.

In the Name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!

Steps To Forgiveness: F O R G I V I N G Y O U R S E L F

Father, because You have forgiven me, I choose to forgive myself and to release myself from all accusations, judgements, hatred, slander, mistakes, stupidity and falling short of the mark. I choose to accept myself, just as I am, because You accept me. I choose to love myself because You love me. I even expect to begin to like myself. 

Holy Spirit, I ask You, I give You permission, I expect You, to work Your work of sanctification in me. I fully embrace this trust and look forward to working with You so I can be changed into the image of Christ. In the Name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen!

Spend a few minutes accepting God’s forgiveness;

Check your heart to ensure that you truly ‘feel’ forgiven

Then start to receive all that Father has to give you.