Repent or Repeat
Proverbs 4th Chapter
24Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee.
25 Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before
thee. 26 Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. 27
Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.
This week we will begin the series "Repent or Repeat." Repentance
is moving away from not just your own spiritual weaknesses, sins, and strongholds
but also from those of others. In one of the sessions to come we will discuss
repentance of generational ways and traditions. Even from our text, we are told
to put away from thee "A froward mouth" and to put far from thee "perverse
lips"(24th). This scripture applies not only to the things we say about
ourselves, but also to the things our parents, grand parents , and great grandparents
might have said, like "No one in our family ever……"
So how can we "repent" of D.N.A. — "Dem’ No-good Ancestor"–
traits that we don’t want to carry over to the next generation. The remainder
of our text tells us to do four things:
Look ahead to our divine destiny. (25th verse)
Our vision should be focused toward our future. As we look ahead, we prepare
to have an expectation of God to do everything He said He was going to do in
our lives—-to be the provider of more than enough and to make the best days
of our past only foretastes of our future. We also look ahead to become everything
God has called us to be.
Think on what God has for us to come. (26th verse)
Thinking on the path that God has for us should be enough incentive for all
of us to never look back. Do you remember that last "big" breakthrough?
If you would have known the exact time and date it was going to happen before
it happened, you would not have been swayed, afraid, or dismayed while waiting
on it. The only thing that would have been on your mind was, December 6th, 11:32
eastern standard time—-the particular date and time. Nothing could have discouraged
you because you would have known without a doubt — "IT’S COMING!!!"
Well even though you don’t know when it’s coming , I’m here
to tell you — "IT’S COMING!!!" Just keep meditating on
that vision of deliverance. And if you have problems with that, then meditate
on this — God loves you too much to leave you where you are.
Establish all your ways in the Lord (26th Verse)
After focusing on the vision and meditating on the things God has for you,
you should establish all your ways to God’s vision for your life. No matter
where He wants you to go, you’ll go. No matter what He wants you to do,
you’ll do it. And by making "double doggone sho’ nuff for sure"
that His will is top priority in your life, you will find yourself neck-deep
in favor and every good and perfect gift you’ve ever desired from heaven
simply because you chose to establish your way in Him!
Go!( 27th Verse)
Once you’ve gotten the plan of deliverance for your life , put the plan
into action and FOLLOW THE PLAN!!! It’s very important that we get on
the path God has for us, but it’s just as important that we stay on the
path. The shortest point between two distances is a straight line; our text
tells us not to go left or right. In other words, you will go "THROUGH"
trials. You won’t have to pitch a tent in the land of "anger."
And you won’t try to park your Winnebago in the land of "self-pity."
You will keep going "through" to the land of delivered, set free,
and made whole.
So turn from all those traditions and superstitions. Determine for yourself
that nothing is going to keep you from allowing God’s will to be first
in your life as you turn from your ways and turn towards God’s will. By
doing so, you won’t have to go through the same headaches and heartaches
that you and your relatives have already gone through.
Repent or repeat — it’s up to you.