Repentance Equals Forgiveness and Deliverance

Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.  Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.  When I kept silent, my bones grew old through my groaning all the day long.  For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was turned into the drought of summer.  I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden.  I said “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.  For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You in a time when You may be found; surely in a flood of great waters they shall not come near him.  You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. (Psalm 32:1-7)

Why is it a blessing when one’s sin is forgiven?  Forgiven sin doesn’t mean that I’m no longer a sinner.  However, the blessing is that the Lord has chosen to forgive me when I confess my sin to Him and that my sin is covered by Him through the blood of His Son’s sacrifice.  Because my sin is covered by Christ, I now can come into the presence of the Father, which is indeed a blessing.

Charles Spurgeon says; “The word blessed is in the plural, oh, the blessednesses! The double joys, the bundles of happiness, the mountains of delight!”  This blessing is continual, how amazing is that?  Especially since the Lord no longer will impute iniquity to me anymore.

If we go back to Psalm 1 we can read how we can be blessed; that is by not walking in the counsel of sinners nor standing in the path of sinners; instead, we are to delight in God’s word.  The more we meditate, study, and act upon God’s word the more blessed we will be.

David understood that his transgression had crossed a line by defying God’s authority.  He knew that his sin was causing him to fall short and missing the mark.  He also knew that iniquity stemmed from crookedness and distortion.  This is why he mentioned all three of these in the first two verses of our focus passage.  He also mentioned three amazing things in those first two verses that God does.  When God forgives, He lifts the burden or removes the debt.  Sin covered comes from the sacrificial blood covering.  And, the idea of not imputing is bookkeeping; God does not count our sin against us.  This is true deliverance!

If the Spirit of God within you is groaning and aching as it did in David, maybe you need to come to the Lord in a spirit of repentance and seek His forgiveness and then you will be delivered from that.  This doesn’t mean we will always be delivered from the problems our sin may have gotten us into here on earth (study the life of David), what it does mean is that we will not suffer eternally because of it: we have been delivered from eternal punishment! 

Dale LaFrance   (please look up Psalm 1)

Led By the Spirit

And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.  So he came by the Spirit into the temple.  And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said: “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel” (Luke 2:25-32)

We don’t know very much about Simeon, who was given a promise by God and was led by the Holy Spirit to be present when Jesus was brought to the temple to be presented as was the custom ordained by God.  Luke tells us that he was a “just and devout” man of Jerusalem; other than that, I would venture to say that like most of us he was just an ordinary man whom God chose to use for His glory (so like God).

It’s very likely that Simeon had been praying and waiting for the salvation of his people according to the scriptures from the prophets.  We do know this; the Holy Spirit was upon him.  This is one of the last recorded instances of the Holy Spirit being upon someone before that gift was available to those who would receive forgiveness because of the sacrifice Jesus makes for all mankind

Interestingly, Simeon, led by the Spirit, offers up a profound prayer (which is still used today liturgically as the Latin Nunc dimittis in many churches) and gave a prophecy alluding to the crucifixion.  He saw not only the salvation of Israel in Christ, he saw a light that would shine to all the Gentiles as well, and only the Holy Spirit could reveal this to him.  Of course, Joseph and Mary marveled at the things that Simeon spoke of and would carry them for the rest of their lives.

Just like Simeon, we too can be used by God to do His work here on earth.  However, there is one condition; we must be willing and obedient to the leading of the Holy Spirit.  Are you seeking God?  Are you listening to Him?  We live in a world that is full of noise and distractions. Many are self-imposed. We need to find a quite zone to be with God on a regular daily basis.  I really believe this is what made Simeon a “just and devout” man; he daily sought after God and mediated on His word. So, I want to urge all of God’s children to be led by His Spirit.

Dale LaFrance   (please look up Romans 8:14)

First Words Offering Praise to God

Now Elizabeth’s full time came for her to be delivered, and she brought forth a son.  When her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had shown great mercy to her, they rejoiced with her.  So it was, on the eighty day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him by the name of the father, Zacharias.  His mother answered and said, “No; he shall be called John.”  But they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.”  So they made signs to his father; what he would have him called.  And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, “His name is John.”  So they marveled.  Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God. (Luke 1:59-64)

I find it very interesting that when Zacharias was asked what the name of the child would be that his tongue was not loosed at that very moment to declare his name would be John as told by the angel of the Lord nine months prior.  Instead, he has asked for a writing tablet so that he could write the name down for all to see.  Once he had done that, his tongue was then loosed, and the very first words out of his mouth were praises to the Lord God Almighty.

Let’s flash back nine months when Zacharias first received the news from the angel regarding how God had heard his prayer while serving in the temple, and that he and his wife would be blessed with a son in their late years.  Zacharias responded with a lack of faith, and because of that he was made mute until John’s birth.  During that time, I believe Zacharias reflected on what had happened while serving in the temple and his encounter with the angel of the Lord.  I would also venture to say that he repented of his unbelief (lack of faith) and spent time meditating on God’s words and saw God’s redemptive hand at work. 

When he was struck mute he had time to be still and know God.  I believe Zacharias grew even closer to God during the nine months he couldn’t speak.  He also was able to communicate with his wife Elizabeth because she knew the baby she was carrying would be God’s vessel and that he was to be named John as well.

So, once Zacharias wrote the name John on the tablet, his tongue was loosed and the first words out of his mouth were praises unto the most High God.  Then filled with the Spirit of God, he spoke a prophecy not of his newly born son John, but of the unborn Jesus.  Zacharias was given a second chance to display his faith and he did not fail.  Just like Zacharias, we too are given second chances to display our faith to the world.  So, when that opportunity is given to you, I hope that you take advantage to speak praises to God!

Dale LaFrance   (please look up Psalm 46:10)

The Greatest Man

Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS.  He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of his father David.  And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.

(Luke 1:30-33)

What constitutes a great person?  Many would say a person who has integrity, compassion for others, someone who puts other’s needs before their own, someone who is a giver not a taker, someone who is always there for others, someone who is a provider and a great leader as well as a teacher.  How many of us could qualify as a great person based on just these few examples that I have listed?  I must confess that I have failed at all of them, simply because I am human and because of my selfish sinful nature.

Interestingly, the angel of the Lord told Zacharias that his son John would be great in the sight of the Lord (Luke1:15), but he told Mary that her Son would be great.  I believe the difference here is that not only would Jesus be great in the sight of the Lord but that He would be great (and indeed was and still is) to all mankind throughout history. He would be the greatest man to ever have walked the face of this earth.

Charles Spurgeon said this about the greatness of Jesus: “No one has influenced history more than Jesus Christ.  Is it not proven that he is great?  Conquerors are great, and He is the greatest of them.  Deliverers are great, and He is the greatest of them.  Liberators are great, and He is the greatest of them.  Saviors are great, and He is the greatest of them.”

Jesus is great in the perfection of His nature.  Jesus is great in the grandeur of His offices.  Jesus is great in the splendor of His achievements.  Jesus is great in the numbers of those He rescues. Jesus was the greatest perfect man to ever walk the earth, humbly submitting to the will of His Father to accomplish His will and bring Him all the glory.

We are called to be imitators of Christ (1 Peter 2:21), and we can only do this because of what He has done for us and only through the gift of the Holy Spirit that is given to all those who receive His gift of salvation upon repentance of your sin.  When we do this, we can become great in the sight of the Lord and the greatness of Christ can be reflected through us as we live in obedience unto Him.  So, be great in the Lord today!

Dale LaFrance   (please look up Philippians 2:3-8)

Spirit-Filled From Birth

But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.  And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.  For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink.  He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.  And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.  He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

(Luke 1:13-17)

While performing his priestly duties, Zacharias, having drawn the lot and having the honor and privilege to go into the holy of holies is visited by an angel sent by the Lord.  The angel points out that not only was his prayer heard about having a child but that he would be great and specially consecrated in the sight of the Lord: this is most likely in reference to the vow of a Nazirite as seen in Numbers 6.

The unique thing about John would be the fact that he would be born filled with the Holy Spirit (as noted in our focus passage) while still in his mother’s womb. This was unprecedented, and yet, it was anticipatory of the permanent, personal coming of the Holy Spirit to all believers for salvation and ministry as prophesied by Joel and mentioned in Acts 2: 17-18.  “And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams.  And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy.”

Please don’t be confused by the statement of the end days; the end days began after the resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ.  John the Baptist was filled with the Spirit prior to his birth to do the ministry he was called to do for the Lord.  Now all those who receive the gift of salvation offered by the Lord through His Son Jesus Christ are born again in the Spirit.  From this point on we become a temple where the Spirit of God resides.  We are giving His Spirit as a gift, but yet, for a purpose.  That purpose is to do the work that the Lord God directs us to do.  Each believer who has received the gift of the Holy Spirit may have a different ministry, but we all have the same mission; our mission is to point others to Christ, and the salvation He offers through the cross, while glorifying our Heavenly Father.

Dale LaFrance   (please look up Romans 8:1-39)