REPENTANCE, MERCY, AND HEALING
By Todd Bentley

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Part 2 of 2

God knows what it takes! Keep that truth in mind as we take another look at the Prophet Hosea's plea to the nation of Israel in Chapter Six, verse one. Last week I explained that Hosea's message was like God saying, "I want you to repent because I want to heal you." This week, I'm going to explain more about how repentance brings healing and how God gets us into the right position so that we can receive His healing touch. Here we go!

THE DEALINGS OF GOD BRING REPENTANCE

"Come, and let us return to the LORD; for He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up" (6:1). I want to emphasize: "He has torn . . . He has stricken" because God's people were in a real mess. On the one hand, their painful reality (being torn and stricken) was the result of their own willful sin. But on the other hand, the Lord knew what it would take to turn their hearts back to Him. Affliction! Their difficulties, all their pain and suffering, would work in their favor. All because, under God's masterful hand, it would bring them to their senses so they could return to Him. That's God's mercy! What's more, if they would return, He would heal them and bind up their wounds-"heal us . . . bind us up." That's repentance, mercy and healing, in action!

Now let's bring this closer to home. More often than we care to acknowledge, a lot of the time God has to really deal with us before we "get it" and repent. Last week we looked at the connection between the mercy of God and the kindness of God. I explained that the kindness of God leads us to repentance. This week I want to emphasize that His kindness is also His "dealings"-those precise difficulties prescribed by God to help us to come to our senses and repent.

IF!

Just like the Israelites, God will use all the distressing pressure bearing down on us, whichever form it takes, for our good, if we let Him. Then, when He is satisfied with what He sees, He will go on and do what He longs to do in our lives-"After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His sight. Let us know, let us pursue the knowledge of the LORD. His going forth is established as the morning; He will come to us like the rain, like the latter and former rain to the earth" (vv. 23, 3). What a wonderful promise! Here's what it looks like.

When Hosea spoke about the latter rain and the former rain, not only was he was speaking about the blessing of God, fruitfulness, and harvest, he was also speaking into what everyone knew, which was, without rain, there will be no harvest. Without the latter rain, there's no crop, there's no reaping. Without the former rain, there's no sowing. You need the latter and the former for sowing and reaping, so there can be fruitfulness and blessing.

The Bible says He will come like rain, like the latter and former rain. The rain brings life. We're talking about the blessing of the Lord, the rain of His Presence. He will come to us! Wow! We're talking about the showers of blessing. We're talking about the goodness of God. We're talking about fruitfulness. We're talking about harvest. He says, "Come, let us return." That means return in every area where we have rebelled, hardened our hearts, and turned away from God. It means any kind of secret sin, any kind of backsliding, any way that our heart has been cold and we no longer have the passion that we once had for God. It means in any area where we have compromised our standard, the standard we know God wants us to live by, or in any way that we've turned from God.

Maybe you're not backslidden big time but you know there's even just maybe a small piece of your heart that you've hardened and you're ignoring God. There's a small piece of your heart that's in rebellion. There's a small piece of your heart that's got a little anger and bitterness to someone that you know God has asked you to forgive. There's a small piece of your heart that has compromised your commitment to Christ. And now you no longer live as you once lived for God. That's still backsliding.

By backing away from God even just a little, it means we've still fallen away from where we once were. And God is calling us back-"Come, and let us return to the LORD . . .". God is saying (paraphrase): "I want you to return, I want you to repent because I want to bring blessing; I want to leave a blessing behind, My manifold goodness and kindness. I want you to return to Me so that I can bind you up and heal you. If you will return then I can begin to come with the rain of My Presence again. As I begin to turn your captivity around, I want to bring you blessing and fruitfulness. I want you to repent because if you repent, I can give you mercy. And when I can give you mercy, I can give you healing. That is My heart." Hallelujah!


UNGODLY ATTITUDES DRY UP THE RAIN OF GOD'S PRESENCE

So who wouldn't want to return to the Lord?! What is it that influences people one way or the other? To begin answering that question let's examine what happened to King Hezekiah, the consequences of an alliance he made with Egypt, and how the Prophet Isaiah was God's messenger to turn him back to God. I want you to see how repentance not only brought forth a miracle in his life, it affected the whole nation of Israel.

In the book of Isaiah, Chapter 38, verse one, we see that Hezekiah was extremely ill and Isaiah came to him and said, "Thus says the LORD: 'Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.'" Then he turned his face toward the wall and began weeping and praying, bringing to the Lord's remembrance how he had walked before Him in truth and with a loyal heart, doing what was good in His sight (v. 2).

Something rose up in Hezekiah. Even though he was told to set his house in order because he would die, he humbled himself and contended with God! It's like he said, "I know that as I weep and repent and turn to the Lord like this, God will turn His face to me because He is merciful. I'm going to humble myself and God is going to hear from heaven. He's going to turn and heal me and He's going to heal the land!" Look. He could have said, "The word of the Lord has warned me to set my house in order because I'm going to die. Since God said it, I'm going to believe it. That settles it." But his attitude was: "No. I'm going to repent. I'm going to turn to the Lord. I'm going to cry out to the Lord. I'm going to weep.

For some of you, the doctors have come and said your medical condition is hopeless. Maybe a negative report has come that you're going blind, or that you're losing your sight, or there's an incurable disease in your body. Or maybe there is a bondage and a torment because the devil has told you you'll never be free, and so there's hopelessness and despair on you. Some of you believe that report of the doctor. Some of you believe the accusation of the accuser of the brethren. Some of you have come into the hopelessness and the despair of discouragement and you're no longer able to believe the promise of God.

My best advice is DON'T GIVE IN! And the key is repentance. When Hezekiah repented God's mercy came upon him. But what was it that Hezekiah needed to repent of? I asked the Holy Spirit why he was sick and if there was any sin in his life. What was the door that opened him up to a terminal disease? The Holy Spirit began to speak to me about Egypt, that Hezekiah made an alliance with Egypt and how "Egypt" means: man's strength; the arm of flesh. It represents sin and bondage. (Hezekiah's sin is implied in 2 Kings 18:21-24.)

But how does this apply to us? How have we made an alliance with Egypt? We do so when we trust in our own way, in our own strength, and in our own plan. For example, sometimes we trust more in the medical system and what the doctor says than what God says. "I'm going to trust in the arm of flesh. I'm going to trust in the arm of man. I'm going to trust in the fact that if God doesn't heal me in that crusade, I can always go to the doctor." Now don't get me wrong, I value our doctors and medical science. But I believe that if we would turn away from the alliance that some of us have made with Egypt, we will see a greater release of miracles and healing. That means where we need to repent, let's do it!

After Hezekiah turned to the Lord and cried out to him in repentance God told Isaiah to tell him that He wasn't only going to give him 15 more years to live, He was going to deliver him and his city from the king of Assyria (v. 5, 6). What's more, God would confirm it by giving Hezekiah a great sign. He would move the sun back by 10 degrees. Not forward, BACK. What a great deliverance-and God wants to bring a great deliverance in your life too!

There comes a time when we need to allow the Lord to deal with us. By not doing so, sickness lingers and miracle-healings won't happen. So let's allow the Holy Spirit to examine our hearts. Maybe there is a bitter root judgment against someone, perhaps a pastor or a leader, and words have been spoken against them. Maybe there is rebellion, jealousy and envy. Friends, ungodly attitudes dry up the rain of God's presence. Our focus shouldn't just be about needing a physical healing-miracle and concentrating on that fact. A lot of the time it's more about needing to be cleansed of "spiritual leprosy" because that is the connection and open door to our illness.

I believe today God wants us to return to Him. Before mercy and healing, I believe God is saying "I want repentance." Maybe the Spirit of God has touched the attitude of your heart. Maybe you've seen something in your spirit, something that's been there and God wants to just cleanse the core of your heart.

CLOSING

Is there a cry for holiness and truth in your life? Do you sense God calling you to a deeper season of consecration? He wants to consecrate you. He wants His Presence to consecrate you. He wants you to say "My God, I want the spirit of judgment and burning" (Is. 4:4). Is there a cry in your heart for the spirit of judgment and burning to come to your life?

Paul the apostle said to the Corinthian church that many of them wouldn't be sick, weak and dying if they would judge themselves (examine themselves), if they would discern the Lord's body" (1 Cor. 11:29, 30). Such examination isn't a place of condemnation. It's a place of, "O God, search me, try me, know me. Here's my heart. I give it to You God." It's David's prayer resonating within you-"Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my mind and my heart" (Ps. 26:2).
 

My God, You're a God of mercy. Lord, I want Your mercy, but I want to know the attitude of my heart, those areas where I need to come to You. I want to see my sin because when I see it, I can bring it to You. I can return to You. I want to be cleansed.

Please, Holy Spirit, come and begin to bring conviction, the beauty of conviction . . . because Spirit of God, I want to return to the Lord with all of my heart. I want to renew my commitment and to make a deeper commitment to You.

In Jesus' name. Amen.

Todd Bentley