By Pastor William F. Kumuyi

God expects you to earn is called repentance. When you embrace that unique experience by repenting here on earth, heaven will recognize you and immediately issue you a passport. That is when God will cloth you with the garment of righteousness, which does not fade away. You sure need that supernatural transformation through repentance.

The verb for repentance is repent. Let me give you the acronym for repent. R- recognize your sin. Some people blame Adam and Eve for institutionalizing sin in the world. That is, if they had not eaten that forbidden fruit, we would be living a wonderful life. Others move away from our first parents by passing the buck to their grandparents. That is, if not for the mistakes of their grandparents, they would obviously not have been in the sorry state where they now find themselves. Another splinter group say that the root cause of their problem is as a result  a curse emanating from the village; the mainly held view is that the sadists in their communities do not want them to succeed. But I want to submit the truth to them and that is, they have failed to recognize that there is sin in their lives, which is hampering their success story. The first major step to greatness is to recognize your sin before God.

Psalms 51:3 “For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.” David did not absolve himself from blame nor did he accuse Bathsheba of washing herself in an inappropriate place. He recognized his sinful nature. If you are going to repent, you will not be the accuser, but the accused found wanting of sin.

E- expose your sin. You will not use a cloak of darkness to cover your sins; but you will expose it before God. Proverbs 28:13 “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.”

P- plead guilty for your sin. You are to affirm your guilt of sin before God as you beg for mercy and forgiveness. After all, your sin was a contributory evil which nailed Christ at calvary. Isaiah 43:25-26 “I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins. Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified.”

Jesus suffered for you not because you are good but because you are a bad person and guilty before God. That is why you need to own up your guilt and beg for mercy.

E- express sorrow for sin. Sin is a grave offence to God, which attracts the capital punishment. You have to plead to God by expressing how sorry you are for breaking His commandments because the noose is already placed on your neck. 2 Corinthians 7:10 “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.”

N- neutralize the damaging effect of your sin. If in the course of committing sin you hurt another person, you destroyed the life of another person, you frustrated the efforts/opportunities/chances of another person, you caused sorrow and damage to the life of another person, and in repentance you should be willing to neutralize the damaging effects of your sin.

Luke 19:8 “And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.”

Zacchaeus was willing to repair the damaging effects of his sin. The man who is committing adultery with another person’s wife, but claims to have repented of his wickedness while he is still damaging that family in his evil deed, has not repented. The person who is stealing in the office or home, yet claims to be a churchgoer and a worker in a local church, and still continues in his habit of stealing has not repented. But a definite change of life and mannerism can take place today, because I see that you are hungry and willing to repent.

T-turn from your sin. 2 Chronicles 7:14 “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways…”

You can turn from evil deeds and idol worship. It is possible to turn away from immorality. You can turn away from immorality and turn to God Almighty today. Ezekiel 18:30-32 “…Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin. Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.”

God is demanding that you turn away from all forms of transgressions. That is, you are to turn away from those evil deeds that you like or dislike, which give you unlawful and forbidden pleasure as well as satisfaction.

A change will come into your life today as you humble yourself before God and ask for forgiveness, because today is a day of forgiveness and salvation.

2 Chronicles 7:14 “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

As you come to God in all sincerity, with a bowed heart soaked in humility; and plead for mercy as a sinner longing for salvation, God will hear from heaven and will forgive you those sins.

Romans 10:13 “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”