Repentance Brings Times of Refreshing

Acts 3: 19 - 21, 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, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began. NKJV

The Spirit of the Lord has been dealing with my heart about the spiritual condition of the church, as well as our nation. However, the purpose of this word today isn't to preach about what's wrong; it is to share with you what the Word says about repentance. The Holy Spirit took me took me to several scriptures recently that illustrated times when Israel had turned their hearts away from God. Nevertheless, God remained faithful to them, as a faithful Husband to an unfaithful wife. Through these scriptures, He showed me how His love for the children of Israel (and for us today) goes far beyond our unfaithfulness.

Please allow me to share just a few passages with you, so that the truth about times of refreshing from the Lord can be established in our hearts. As a result of our being refreshed, hope can spring forth in our hearts for a brighter tomorrow. 

1 Kings 18 : 37 - 42, Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that You are the LORD God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again." Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, "The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!" And Elijah said to them, "Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let one of them escape!" So they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the Brook Kishon and executed them there. Then Elijah said to Ahab, "Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain." NKJV

Take note that after the children of Israel repented, and the prophets of Baal, as well as the false prophets who ate at Jezebel's table were killed, the rain began to fall in Israel, and the forty-two-month drought was ended. We see in this account the faithfulness of God to His people; He brought refreshing times to them and their land, after they turned their hearts back to the Lord.

Joel 2 : 16 - 19, Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children and nursing babes; let the bridegroom go out from his chamber, and the bride from her dressing room. Let the priests, who minister to the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar; let them say, "Spare Your people, O LORD, and do not give Your heritage to reproach, that the nations should rule over them. Why should they say among the peoples, 'Where is their God?'" Then the LORD will be zealous for His land, and pity His people. The LORD will answer and say to His people, "Behold, I will send you grain and new wine and oil, and you will be satisfied by them; I will no longer make you a reproach among the nations. NKJV

Just look at all the blessings and the increase that God promised Israel He would pour out on His people, if they would only turn to and pursue Him with all their hearts. God promised to restore to Israel the years that the enemy had stolen from them and to remove the reproach that had come upon them as a NATION... if they would only repent. Once again, we see that God is waiting on His unfaithful wife to return to Him so that He can show her His goodness and lavish His love on her. After repentance came into the hearts of God's people, the Lord relented from the harm that was about to be released upon them for their sin. Instead, God desired to pour out blessings and to bring them times of refreshing. 

Isaiah 54 : 4 - 10, "Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed; neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame; for you will forget the shame of your youth, and will not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore. For your Maker is your husband, the LORD of hosts is His name; and your Redeemer is the Holy one of Israel; He is called the God of the whole earth. For the LORD has called you like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, like a youthful wife when you were refused," says your God. "For a mere moment I have forsaken you, but with great mercies I will gather you. With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; but with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you," says the LORD, your Redeemer. "For this is like the waters of Noah to Me; for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth, so have I sworn that I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you. For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but My kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace be removed," says the LORD, who has mercy on you. NKJV

Once again, the Lord led me to a scripture that uses the reference of a husband and a wife. Even though God was angry with Israel for a moment and even forsook them, afterwards, He swore to them that He would never again forsake them... just as God had sworn to Noah that He would never again destroy the earth with a flood. If you will read the entire chapter from Isaiah, you will discover the tremendous blessings that God promised His people, if they would only repent and return to Him with whole hearts. 

I sense in my spirit that God's heart is broken over the choices of the hearts of His children; they have turned a deaf ear to the truth of His Word. It grieves the Holy Spirit when we seek to please ourselves rather than please our Husband, Jesus. The Lord led me to share this with you today so that you would know that it is always God's intention to bless His children, even while we're being unfaithful to Him. However, He cannot bless us, until we repent of our wicked ways and return to Him with whole hearts. 

Let us pray for our governmental leaders, church leaders, our nation, and one another, so that God will grant us the privilege of repentance. Consequently, He can, once again, shower us with His blessings and restore our nation to a place of honor. Change begins with us as individuals, as we become broken and honest before a holy God.

Seeking the Lord with All My Heart,
Pastor Asa Dockery