III.  REPENT

 I JOHN 1:8  If we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth. 9  But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong. 10If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.

Confession and repentance of sin are a constant mark of the person walking in the light of fellowship with God.

When someone begins to talk about repentance we always have

 a little lawyer who steps out into our mind and says,

 “I OBJECT… MY CLIENT ISN’T SO BAD – 

WHY LOOK AT HIM/HER OR THEM”. 

 He immediately begins to rationalize and defend our actions.

But if we truly want  all God has for us we must be willing to ask God to search us and tell us where we are truly at.

Repentance The Romans sometimes compelled a captive to be joined face-to-face with a dead body, and to bear it about until the horrible effluvia destroyed the life of the living victim. Virgil describes this cruel punishment: 'The living and the dead at his command Were coupled face to face, and hand to hand; Till choked with stench, in loathed embraces tied, The lingering wretches pined away and died. Without Christ, we are shackled to a dead corpse -- our sinfulness. Only repentance frees us from certain death, for life and death cannot coexist indefinitely. Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations 

How long will you stay attached to your sin!  REPENT!