We have studied some wonderful and powerful truths about God and the finished work of His Cross. Your just reading these as mental information may be interesting to you, but it will not produce results in your life unless the Holy Spirit imparts it to you as revelation knowledge. I believe one major way you can position yourself to receive the message in this book as a message from God to you is to practice repentance, both now and as a lifestyle.

Repent means to return to your higher position.

The penthouse is the highest position on a tall building. When we repent, we return to our rightful "penthouse" position, on high, seated with Him in Heavenly places.

The word repent actually means to turn 180 degrees and to go in the opposite direction. It carries the meaning to turn and reverse the direction that you are facing. It does not mean to improve what you are doing, but to admit you were going down the highway in the wrong direction and that you need to make a U turn and go the opposite way.

Repentance in God's eyes is very powerful! He has all power, but He does not have power over your will. Only your will can cause you to repent. However God does contribute to your desire to repent by showing you His goodness. "Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?" (Romans 2:4). Why is repentance powerful? Because it puts you face to face with God and allows His presence to permeate your being.

Faith works by love.

Sometimes uncomfortable circumstances are opportunities to repent. Even harsh and ungodly people have a way of showing us our lack of love. Rather than fight off all uncomfortable circumstances, try repenting for those areas in your life that need to react in love. Remember, the Bible says that faith works by love. You cannot overcome without faith, and your faith will not work without love. Be diligent to seek out those areas that do not line up with God's love.

Here is an Old Testament promise that God will move when we repent.

"If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land" (2 Chronicles 7:14).

Repentance prepares your heart for more of Jesus!

Turning from your idol, the world culture, your family or generational curse, or your sin is powerful with God. This was God's plan for John the Baptist and it is exemplary of how God feels about repentance in general. John the Baptist's ministry was to cause people to repent and be baptized and in so doing this would prepare a path for them to see Jesus. "and saying, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand! For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: 'The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight''" (Matthew 3:2,3).

Repentance takes the control and influence away from Satan and gives it to God.

It can disengage spiritual forces that are acting against you in a way that nothing else can. "to open their eyes, in order to turn [repent] them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me" (Acts 26:18).

Repentance will bring God's presence and allow the Holy Spirit to have His way.

"Then Peter said to them, 'Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit'" (Acts 2:38).

"Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord" (Acts 3:19).

The path that the Lord needs for His Holy Spirit and His manifest presence is repentance. When we turn, He shows up!

Job.

Even though Job had a "perfect heart" he still had much to repent for. His view of God was too earthly, too small. "Then Job answered the LORD and said: 'I know that You can do everything, And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You. You asked, 'Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?' Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. Listen, please, and let me speak; You said, 'I will question you, and you shall answer Me.' I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes'" (Job 42:1-6). When Job repented he saw God in a different way, and his prosperity was restored.

Zacchaeus had a powerful repentance.

"Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, 'Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.' And Jesus said to him, 'Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost'" (Luke 19:8-10).

Peter became a powerful apostle and church leader through repentance.

"So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, 'Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?' He said to Him, 'Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.' He said to him, 'Feed My lambs'" (John 21:15).

What are some areas for repentance?

The biggest area in my opinion is to turn from independence to dependence on God. Jesus often said, "Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand." Then in Mark 4:11 He stated that the mystery of the Kingdom of God was contained in the parable about sowing His Word as a seed. We need to realize that His Word is supposed to supply all of our needs. The three greatest human needs are security (provisions and care), significance, and love. Humans go to great lengths go have these needs met through the world culture and through their own strengths. They also go to "other gods" some secular and some spiritual for these needs.

Not walking in the love of God towards others is another major area for repentance. There is always room for change in this area!

Obviously repentance includes turning from our un-holiness and sin, but it encompasses much more than that. Moral sins are just the result of the direction you are facing. Make sure your back is turned to the world, and you will see the power of God!

Turning our back on the world and turning to face Jesus is the greatest repentance. This is not just a one-time event but it should become a lifestyle. If you have a fascination for this world's culture, for excessive entertainment, for things that are not eternal but are transitory like wealth, fame, and power, you have an excellent opportunity to repent. Eventually you have to leave those things behind anyway, so why not do it now while you may still profit. "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" (Mark 8:36).

Lot turned his back on the Lord and faced the world. "Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent even as far as Sodom" (Genesis 13:12). Apparently there was always something in the "soil" of Lot's heart that craved the world and its culture. He never repented and ended up a defeated person.

Abraham turned his back on the world and faced Jerusalem. "And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD" (Genesis 12:8). This would most likely be facing Jerusalem. There was something in Abraham's heart that craved God and the heavenly Jerusalem that was in his heart. "for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God" (Hebrews 11:10).

Intercession for others.

Repentance is an extremely powerful spiritual force when interceding for others. While our individual repentance is powerful, so is vicarious repentance in certain situations. Sometimes praying for a family member, a child, parent or spouse can seem like there is no end in sight. My suggestion is to ask the Lord if this kind of prayer can be valuable in your case.

Daniel's intercession experience is a lesson for vicarious repentance.

Daniel had a powerful experience that gives us a powerful model for vicarious repentance that is repenting for someone within our realm of influence in order to deliver him or her. My wife and I have found this to be one of the most powerful forms of prayer we have ever engaged in. I know that intercessors that are called to the ministry of intercession and spiritual mapping use this principle to a great extent.

In Daniel chapter 9, Daniel was living in Babylonian captivity. He was living a godly life and had really nothing in particular to repent over, except perhaps for his daily failings in life. Yet he prayed a powerful prayer of repentance on behalf of his people Israel. It is a fairly long prayer, but I suggest that you stop and read the entire account now; Daniel 9:1-19. Here are some highlights.

"Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. And I prayed to the LORD my God, and made confession, and said, 'O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments, we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments'" (Daniel 9:3-5).

"O Lord, to us belongs shame of face, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You" (Daniel 9:8).

"Yes, all Israel has transgressed Your law, and has departed so as not to obey Your voice; therefore the curse and the oath written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against Him" (Daniel 9:11).

"O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for Your own sake, my God, for Your city and Your people are called by Your name" (Daniel 9:19).

Daniel repented as the standing representative for his family Israel. Notice he recognized that Israel's sin would bring a curse, even a generational curse.

How did God answer his prayer? "Now while I was speaking, praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God, yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering" (Daniel 9:20,21).

What vision did God give to Daniel? To simplify the answer, God spoke to Daniel in the next few chapters about overcoming in an end times environment. He gave Daniel the vision of the 69 and 70 weeks. The first 69 (7 plus 62) weeks was an amazing timetable to the exact date of the crucifixion of Jesus. (I have a lesson that includes that incredible math!) The remaining week is the prophetic look at the overcoming process after the crucifixion. I believe that the final week represents that period or periods of time in our own individual lives in which we overcome. I am not saying that the final week does not represent some period of actual future history. However if you only take it that way, you will be missing a tremendous blessing in your life.

Why end times? So many of our needs are the product of overcoming generational iniquities or curses. The generation that must pass away is the Adamic nature in each of us, together with its iniquities and curses. Each one of us has an "end times."

What am I saying? I believe that as we are struggling in prayer for our children, parents, spouses, and other family members, as we are praying for our country for our churches, or for whatever group or organization to which we belong, if we fast, pray and repent on their behalf, we will see high level principalities come down. We will see levels of generational curses removed in a way that could not be accomplished any other way. When we fast and repent as Daniel did, we put God's end time scenario into play. When we fast and repent, God goes about to remove the curse by means of the end time, or the overcoming process. As I mentioned above, repentance can pull the trigger for overcoming.

"Although I heard, I did not understand. Then I said, 'My lord, what shall be the end of these things?' And he said, 'Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, made white, and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand. And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days. [the difference being the time of overcoming] But you, go your way till the end; for you shall rest, and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days'" (Daniel 12:8-13).

Repentance can take the fruit of your sin away from you and your children.

When we sin we plant a seed for our own life and for the lives of our children. While a seed is small, the fruit is abundant. A little rebellion, a little drunkenness, a little of this or that in our lives, can be manifested as abundant fruit in the lives of our children. That is why so many people are suffering today. They are seeing the fruit, or the curse caused by sin.

When you repent for your past sins, the sins of your forefathers as Daniel did, and for the sins of your children, you may set them free from the fruit of that sin. Jesus actually bore the fruit of sin, so we can pray, "Lord I confess the sins of (whatever) and I reap the fruit of that sin on the Cross where it belongs.

Repentance in Revelation.

The amazing thing to me is the way the Book of Revelation parallels this concept in Daniel. For Daniel the "trigger that he pulled" to cause the action was fasting and repentance. Now compare that to Revelation. In chapters 2 and 3 God is calling His people to repentance, which is the cause or the "trigger" God desires. The affect or the reaction to repentance is the same as in the Book of Daniel. God then shows, beginning in Revelation chapters 4-5, the result of repentance, that being God is set into action to remove the curse by the unrolling of the Scroll. In a later chapter titled The Tabernacle Part 2 - The Bronze Altar I go further into the repentance mentioned in Revelation chapters 2-3.

Now be real with God and pour out your heart to Him. You may be surprised how many words of repentance will flow out. Then begin to vicariously repent for other.