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Ryan Goodman:
Good morning, everybody, and happy Sunday! Thank you for tuning in to today’s message at Zion Freedom Fellowship. My father, Robert Goodman, asked me to cover today for him. I am his third son—I’ve done it a few times before—and my name is Ryan.
Um, no video today, just due to the poor lighting conditions in my apartment. It’s a bit of a cloudy day outside, so the shadows make my apartment pretty dim, and I figured I’d just do audio.
I have a very important message from the Lord today. It’s not an easy topic to talk about—both because of the subject matter and because it’s something that greatly grieves the Father’s heart. The Lord has been speaking to me a lot about it lately, and it’s been difficult for me to grasp as well. That topic is repentance.
It’s something the church only seems to talk about in regards to sinners and new believers needing to repent for their past sins, but after that, it’s greatly left to the wayside for believers in modern-day churches—which is very unfortunate. So, before we dive in, let’s go ahead and pray, and then we’ll go into the message.
[Prayer]
Dear Heavenly Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, I ask that you would cause this message today to go forward and that your words, not mine, would be spoken. I thank you, Father God, for the anointed message that you have given me today. Lord, I know that the repentance of the hearts of the people is greatly upon your mind, Father, that it weighs heavily upon you and your heart. Lord, I would ask that the words that go forth today through this message you have given me would be planted in the hearts of those who hear it. Whether the individual who hears these words scoffs or is truly repentant, let the words be received. In Jesus’ mighty name, amen.
Alright, everybody. So, repentance… Repentance is not a fun thing to talk about. It’s not an easy thing to talk about. It’s not an enjoyable thing to talk about. But it’s a good thing to talk about. Repentance is so crucially important in our walk and in our development as someone who is working toward becoming like Christ.
Right? Christian means to be Christ-like. Christ was perfect; everything He did was good and righteous and just, and so we aspire to be like Christ. Unfortunately, today, many Christians adopt a lifestyle of going to church, and that becomes their whole identity as a Christian—their church walk, their church community. They get involved, they put their hands to things, but most of it isn’t done out of a heart that desires to be more like Christ or to have a heart purified. They do it because it’s how they were raised, or because the church greatly encourages it.
Now, I’m not saying it’s a bad thing to be involved in your church—it’s a good thing. But being a good churchgoer and a good pew sitter doesn’t make a good Christian walk in and of itself. Those are things we’re just supposed to do on the side for the community. Christ called us to be an outreach to our community—to help the widows, the poor, the homeless, and the sick. Not just to get involved with the community and do nothing else.
A lot of that ties together with people just not knowing what a real Christian walk looks like. It’s difficult to focus on sometimes, but thankfully, we have the Word of God that provides us throughout the entire New Testament with a guide on how to live a genuine Christian walk.
That walk is actually about having a relationship with Christ. It’s an intimate relationship with God the Father, with Christ the Son, and with the person of the Holy Spirit. One of the key components of maintaining that relationship is knowing when you’ve messed up. The Bible says we all fall short of the glory of God, and if we all fall short of the glory of God, then we must aspire to be better.
Thankfully, the grace of God is available for us. It is there for us. We have it available to us, right? Praise God! But when we sin, we must repent.
And the church does not do a very good job of reminding people what sin is. Sin is falling short; it’s when you mess up. Many people misunderstand that God is a black-and-white God. He is right and wrong. This is detailed throughout the entire Bible. Even in the New Testament, it says, “Let your yes be yes and your no be no.” It even talks about how Jesus would rather we be hot or cold, because if we’re lukewarm, He will spew us, or puke us, out of His mouth.
That is strong imagery for a reason. It really hits you, and it should. It should make you realize that God means business.
Some people are cold, living in ignorance, and some people are hot—they have an understanding of their actions. But those who are lukewarm are doing things even though they know they shouldn’t. And that’s where sin comes into play for believers. You now have an understanding.
The moment you’re born again, your sin nature dies, and you’re given authority over it. But what comes next is having to learn to accept and embrace what God has given us as believers to overcome it. The Bible says we are all given a perfect portion of faith. That means we don’t need any more faith—we just need to learn how to utilize what God has given us to stand on His word and to overcome sin, fear, demonic and spiritual oppression, and the whole nine yards.
But let’s specifically talk about sin. I want to pose a question to you all to think about throughout this message: Will there be believers—people who believe in God—in hell? Are there believers in hell?
It’s troubling to talk about because many people say, “You can’t lose your salvation,” or “Once you accept Christ, you’re good—you can live however you want. You can keep on sinning, you can keep on living in your flesh, and you’re fine.” Some churches teach this, but that’s not necessarily true. You can look in the Bible for many examples.
I want to share with you some of the things that the Lord has shared with me—some of it is heavy, and it’s been hard for me to process. Don’t get it twisted, everybody. Everything we do is observed by the Spirit of God that lives within us as believers. Once we accept Christ into our heart, He is there. There’s nothing we can hide from Him.
Psalm 139 says, “If I try to hide myself in the valley, you are there. If I try to hide myself in the grave, you are there. If I try to hide myself in the shadows, all darkness is like daylight.” So, everything—everything we think, do, say, desire, hope for, wish for unto other people—is visible to God. The good and the bad.
So, let’s go ahead and start in Jeremiah. Most of what we’re going to talk about is in the Old Testament, though I don’t really like to call it the Old Testament or the old covenant. I prefer to call it the first covenant. And as a reminder to those listening, the Old Testament is not null and void. It has just as much weight as it did when it was first written, and it will continue to have weight throughout all of eternity.
Christ Himself said He did not come to wipe it away. So, we have to spend time in the Old Testament just as much as we do in the New Covenant that came with Christ Jesus. And as a reminder, most of the New Testament is written to believers—not unbelievers. The whole Bible is for everybody, of course, but most of what Peter, Paul, etc., wrote is for believers.
So, let’s go ahead and go to Jeremiah 39. If you haven’t read Jeremiah, it’s an incredible story—one that is quite encouraging, but there’s a lot of heavy stuff in there too.
In Jeremiah 39, it’s talking about the nth year of King Zedekiah’s reign, and King Nebuchadnezzar is coming and Jerusalem is falling. Let’s start at verse 15, where Jeremiah is remaining in Judah. He’s warned everybody, “Hey, surrender, it won’t be so bad.” But of course, the king doesn’t listen to him.
The Lord had given the following message to Jeremiah while he was still in prison: “Say to Ebed-Melek the Ethiopian, ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: I will do to this city everything I have threatened. I will send disaster, not prosperity. You will see its destruction. But I will rescue you from those you fear so much. Because you trusted me, I will give you your life as a reward. I will rescue you and keep you safe. I, the Lord, have spoken.’”
This happens due to the iniquity of Jerusalem, right? It’s all throughout the Old Testament, through Jeremiah, through the previous books—you can read it in 1 and 2 Kings, Chronicles, etc. There were a lot of mistakes that the people of Jerusalem made out of carelessness.
I asked myself once, “Why did God choose the Hebrew and Israeli people?” They messed up all the time! I was shocked. I asked the Lord, “Why did you choose such an imperfect people?” The Lord spoke to me very clearly. He said, “I wanted there to be an example of those who can make every possible mistake.”
That hit me hard. Not because God picked people because they were foolish, but because, out of all people, the Israelite people are a perfect example of God’s grace, His justice, and His unwavering desire for a pure and holy people willing to set themselves apart for the good pleasure of the Lord.
Everything that you could possibly do has already been done in the Old Testament—several times over even! So, if you’re ever feeling bad, just go back to the Old Testament. I guarantee you’ll find something they did first, and you’ll see that they were restored.
But you’ll also find that oftentimes, before restoration came, judgment had to come first. Sometimes when a people are especially headstrong, judgment must come before restoration, because some of us aren’t willing to go to the Father and repent as we should.
And we have it even easier now than they did back then because Christ died on the cross and opened the way for the full forgiveness of our sins. We can go right to the Father and confess to the source of our forgiveness. They couldn’t do that back then—only the selected high priest could enter into the Holy of Holies for the remission and forgiveness of sins. But now, Christ is our High Priest. The tabernacle was torn from top to bottom, the temple doors were pushed open, and we can go and seek forgiveness.
But we have to seek forgiveness, guys. We have to seek it and ask for it. You can’t just keep sinning and say, “Oh well, I’m forgiven.” You have to ask for forgiveness.
Let me get a drink of water real quick.
Okay, so we’re going to go ahead and jump forward a little bit—still Old Testament—and we’re going to go to a book that the Lord keeps turning me to. It’s a difficult book to read, but it’s Malachi. Malachi is the final book in the Old Testament, and in many ways, it mirrors Revelation and the final books of the New Testament.
You know, there are a number of prophets in the Bible called minor prophets, which is an unfortunate term, but they give major, major, major revelation. So, let’s go ahead and turn to Malachi chapter 2.
I want you to remind yourselves that we are called priests. When we become Christians, we are welcomed into the priesthood of Jesus Christ, and we are considered priests. Malachi chapter 2 is a warning to priests. We’re going to jump around a bit, as there’s a lot of stuff in here, but let’s go ahead and dive in.
Ryan Goodman:
So, Malachi chapter 2, starting at verse 1:
“Listen, you priests—this command is for you! Listen to me and make up your minds to honor my name,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “or I will bring a terrible curse against you. I will curse even the blessings you receive. Indeed, I have already cursed them because you have not taken my warning to heart. I will punish your descendants and splatter your faces with the manure from your festival sacrifices, and I will throw you on the manure pile. Then at last you will know it was I who sent you this warning, so that my covenant with the Levites can continue,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
“The purpose of my covenant with the Levites was to bring life and peace, and that is what I gave them. This required reverence from them, and they greatly revered me and stood in awe of my name. They passed on to the people the truth of the instructions they received from me. They did not lie or cheat. They walked with me, living good and righteous lives, and they turned many from lives of sin.
“The words of a priest’s lips should preserve knowledge of God, and people should go to him for instruction, for the priest is the messenger of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. But you priests have left God’s paths. Your instructions have caused many to stumble into sin. You have corrupted the covenant I made with the Levites,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “So I have made you despised and humiliated in the eyes of all the people, for you have not obeyed me but have shown favoritism in the way you carry out my instructions.”
Ryan Goodman:
Now, have you guys ever looked at the news media lately? There’s a lot of stuff coming out about different pastors—pastors who are engaging in sexual sin and immorality, defrauding the tithes and offerings given to them by members of their churches, or being involved in great sexual iniquity from their youth. What happens to these people? They are outed; they are put before the whole world. And just as it says in Malachi, “I have made you despised and humiliated in the eyes of all the people. Why? Because you have not obeyed me, but have shown favoritism in the way you carry out my instructions.”
We are given instructions to be righteous. Of course, the Bible states that all the righteousness and glory of man is like filthy rags before the Father. Nothing that we can do out of our own strength, authority, power, or will can ever stand up to the holiness of God. Nothing can. Now that probably sounds pretty bad—it probably sounds rough. But repentance… repentance and a broken and meek spirit enable us to cast off those filthy rags. The Bible tells us that we have to take off the corruptible and put on the incorruptible. Nothing we have is incorruptible. We have to be willing to receive the gift of righteousness that God gives us through Christ Jesus.
But our sin gets in the way of that. The Lord has been revealing a lot to me lately. If I can speak personally, I will share some of the things that God has spoken to me directly. The Lord has been reminding me, or re-educating me, about things in my life that I didn’t even consider sinful. And of course, the Bible talks about it. But there are some things that, when we read the Bible, it’s as if we have a veil over our eyes. We just don’t understand. Or we choose not to understand, or we have an unwillingness to understand due to the pride in our hearts or an unwillingness to give up our unrighteous ways for God’s righteous ways because they’re difficult and they mean giving up something we like.
The Lord revealed to me that I have an issue with gossiping—gossiping of all things. Gossiping is a pretty broad thing. It could be talking about other people, making fun of others, or speaking poorly of others when they’re not there. This was an issue I had at work, and praise God, He revealed it to me so I could work on it. I am by no means perfect. I am far from it. In some ways, I am the most wicked person. But praise God for the transforming power of His blood that was shed for me. Even if Christ were to only spare a single drop of His blood, that one drop covers even a multitude of sins.
Another thing we must remember and consider is this: I want to turn to the Book of James now. I wasn’t expecting to go here, but let’s turn to James. If I can find it—it’s such a small little book, it likes to hide—where is it? Here we go. James is probably the most underlined book in my Bible. James talks a lot about how to be righteous. It’s a very instructional book in the Bible, and if you haven’t spent a lot of time there, I encourage you to go and meditate on the Book of James for a while. You’ll find that if you’re willing to receive some education, the Lord might keep you there for a little while, as He has with me.
Let’s look at James chapter 3. I’m going to go ahead and read verses 1 through 12:
James 3:1-12
Dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly. Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way. We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth. And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches. But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself. People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water? Does a fig tree produce olives, or a grapevine produce figs? No, and you can’t draw fresh water from a salty spring.
Ryan Goodman:
We’re going to continue with this, but I want to pause to highlight something that really wrecks me every time I read it—because it’s something that God is still convicting me about. In verse 9, James says, “Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God.” I want to change this and rephrase it a little bit: It curses those who have been made of God—which is all of us. The Bible is clear—we are made in the image of God. It’s not just Christians; it is unbelievers, Mormons, Muslims, Chinese, Indians, Native Americans, African Americans, Black Americans, Asian Americans, Swedes, Japanese, Australians, Russians, and even, even the President of the United States, Joe Biden, was made in the image of God. Donald Trump was made in the image of God. Nancy Pelosi was made in the image of God. Hillary Clinton was made in the image of God.
But how many times have we spoken out of a desire to make ourselves feel better about the current political atmosphere of the United States and even geopolitics, and cursed those who are in authority? The Bible is clear about authority. It says not to bring a railing accusation nor to curse those who are in authority but instead to pray for the king so that the lives of the people under the king would be peaceful.
I want to ask you guys a question. I’ve asked a few, but why do you think the world is in such turmoil? Sure, you can say it’s the sign of the times. It’s the end times. But there’s a more intimate answer. There is a deeply more intimate answer, and that answer troubles the heart of God. It is because we have troubled the Holy Spirit. It is because, like the priests in Malachi chapter 2, we have decided to travel away from the paths of God. We curse those who are in authority. We do not pray for them. We do not pray for the remission of their sins so that they could come to know Christ. Instead, we damn them and curse them. So, therefore, what James said has come to pass in our lives, several thousand years later—that the spring that bubbles up fresh water is also bubbling up bitter water. But that’s not something that can happen. A spring does not bubble up, and is not meant to bubble up, good water and bad water at the same time. Because we all know, if we mix something bad with something good, what does it taste like? It tastes bad. It doesn’t taste good. The bad overwhelms the goodness. It’s like putting too much salt in your pasta water—the pasta doesn’t taste good.
We have to repent. We have to repent. Do we want to end up like Jerusalem in the Old Testament being besieged by King Nebuchadnezzar? The only thing that God gave them said, “Let’s go back to it…” Hold on. It’s pretty clear.
Ryan Goodman:
So, let’s go back to Jeremiah 39, starting at verse 18:
“I will save you, and you will not fall by the sword, but you will escape with your life, because you trusted me,” says the Lord.
It doesn’t say you’ll escape with all your belongings, your wealth, or your comforts. It simply says you will escape with your life. God is merciful. Thank God that He is merciful! And thank Him that we live in a time of grace, that we live in an age of grace. But that doesn’t mean that the anger of the Lord is not stirred up against us.
Malachi is very clear about that. Malachi, if we go back to it, mirrors Revelation. And even in Malachi 4, 3, and 4, we see discussions about the end times—especially Malachi 4. Let me go ahead and read that for you:
Malachi 4:1-3
“The Lord of Heaven’s Armies says, ‘The day of judgment is coming, burning like a furnace. On that day, the arrogant and the wicked will be burned up like straw. They will be consumed—roots, branches, and all. But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in His wings, and you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture. On the day when I act, you will tread upon the wicked as if they were dust under your feet,’ says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”
This passage speaks about judgment coming. It speaks about the fate of the wicked, and it speaks about the triumph of those who fear the Lord. But I want to clarify something important here. It does not say that God will burn up only the unbelievers, while the believers will be saved. No—it says the arrogant and the wicked will be burned up. And remember, you can be just as wicked and lost as a believer in God as an unbeliever can be. That’s a hard truth to swallow, but it’s something we must all come to terms with.
So, what should we do? We must let the Lord chastise us. Let Him reveal to us the things in our hearts that are wrong. Let Him convict us. I often think about things I did when I was younger that were foolish, and I find myself repenting for those things, even now, because the Lord continues to bring unresolved sin to light so that we can repent and move forward in our relationship with Him.
Don’t just brush that stuff aside. If you’re feeling convicted, repent. If you feel the presence of God, repent and say, “Lord, I’m sorry.” Remember, in the Lord’s Prayer, which Jesus taught us to pray, it says, “Forgive us our trespasses.” That’s everything. And so, if Christ said we should repent when we pray, don’t you think we should repent whenever we pray? We shouldn’t get hung up on it excessively, of course, for the Bible also says that when we repent, God takes our sins and casts them as far as the east is from the west. That’s forever. Because Christ died on the cross for our sins, He was the perfect sacrifice. The Spotless Lamb. The only one worthy to do something like that—to cover our sins.
But we still have to repent, lest we be like the priests in Malachi. Go read Malachi. Go read the whole book, and then go read all of James. And I challenge you to say, “Lord, what in my life grieves You?” Just wait on Him. And if you don’t hear a response right away, sit on it. Meditate on it. But I want to take us to Romans real quick now. We’re going to read from Romans 6:23. This is an answer to my earlier question of whether or not there will be people who believe in God in hell—people who went to church every Sunday but did not seek repentance actively in their lives.
Romans 6:23
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”
It doesn’t say the wages of sin for unbelievers is death—it just says “the wages of sin.” Period. It is death. This is why repentance is so important. Yes, the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus, but we must seek forgiveness. We must seek that forgiveness actively.
Now, let’s go to Psalms for a moment. I want to take us to Psalm 51. Actually, I think I’ll read the entire psalm because it’s so relevant to our discussion. Psalm 51 is a powerful example of true repentance.
Psalm 51
“Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. For I recognize my rebellion—it haunts me day and night. Against you and you alone have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just. For I was born a sinner—yes, from the moment my mother conceived me. But you desire honesty from the womb, teaching me wisdom even there. Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Oh, give me back my joy again! You have broken me—now let me rejoice. Don’t keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt. Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you. Then I will teach your ways to rebels, and they will return to you. Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves! Then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness. Unseal my lips, O Lord, that my mouth may praise you. You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one. You do not want a burnt offering. The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God. Look with favor on Zion and help her; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Then you will be pleased with sacrifices offered in the right spirit—with burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings. Then bulls will again be sacrificed on your altar.”
Ryan Goodman:
What are the rewards of repentance and forgiveness? David makes it clear—there is joy. The joy of our salvation will be restored. We will have hope restored to us. A loyal spirit will be given to us, and we will not be banished from God’s presence. The Holy Spirit will not be taken from us.
It’s so important, guys, that we don’t let our unforgiven sin get in the way of our relationship with God. In the same way that a hurtful word can destroy trust in a relationship with a spouse, sin gets in the way of our relationship with God. God desires nothing more than to know us and for us to know Him. We are His, and He is ours.
We are moving into a new era—the church age is coming to an end, and the age of the Bride is beginning. Don’t miss the opportunity to be the bride of Christ. Christ didn’t come just to forgive our sins—He came to purchase us to be His bride. To be perfect, sanctified, set apart, holy, and redeemed. Not of the world, but set apart from it.
I know some of you might be thinking, “I’m a man—I’m not interested in being a bride.” But cast those thoughts out. Cast them out! Don’t call the word of God weird or strange just because it doesn’t fit into your understanding of masculinity. Because in my heart, above all else, I want to be the bride of Christ. I want to be in the inner courts, in the holy of holies, at His feet, listening to Him.
Why would you be like a foolish virgin who falls asleep, instead of a wise virgin who waits with her lamp full of oil? We were purchased for a reason—not to erect idols of religion and legalism in our lives, but to worship God and be a holy people set apart and sanctified. But we cannot be set apart if we look at the world and desire the things of it.
Don’t be like Lot’s wife, who looked back on Sodom and Gomorrah and was turned into a pillar of salt. The Lord chastised me the other day and said, “I’m bringing you out of things—don’t look back at them. Don’t do it. It’s evil. It’s not good.”
We must seek God with open hearts. We must adopt the proper heart posture, one that doesn’t elevate our pride or our worldly righteousness over God’s righteousness. There’s no contest—there’s no comparison. We can’t even come close.
Let’s continue next with Psalm 139…
Ryan Goodman:
We must seek God with an open heart. We have to adopt the proper heart posture that doesn’t try to raise our pride and our worldly righteousness and glory over God’s glory. It’s no contest. We can’t even compare or come close.
We can’t. So, let’s go ahead—I mentioned Psalm 139 earlier. Psalm 139—I’m going to read all of it, because it’s important and has a lot to do with repentance, and it also has a lot to do with having a proper walk with God. So, let’s go ahead and turn there:
Psalm 139:
“O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord. You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!
I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there. If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me. I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night—but even in darkness, I cannot hide from you. To you, the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you.
You made all the delicate inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.
How precious are your thoughts about me, O God! They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them—they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!
O God, if only you would destroy the wicked! Get out of my life, you murderers! They blaspheme you; your enemies misuse your name. O Lord, shouldn’t I hate those who hate you? Shouldn’t I despise those who oppose you? Yes, I hate them with total hatred, for your enemies are my enemies.
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.”
Ryan Goodman:
It’s always open, that path. But it’s not wide, like the path to destruction. It’s narrow. It’s difficult to walk. It’s hard to navigate. And you know why that is? Why that path to righteousness is so narrow? Why the path to God’s holiness and His goodness is so narrow? To aspire to His righteousness? Because few people walk it. Few people walk the path of righteousness. Wide is the path to destruction because many people walk the path of destruction.
We don’t have to worry about whether or not where we put our feet is the right place, because the Bible describes God’s word as a lamp unto our feet. We know where we are walking, for God’s hand is on us, just like David said. I know it’s difficult to accept when you’ve fallen short, and it’s easy to get hung up about it in the wrong way—to get tied up by something awful you’ve done that you think is too terrible, too abominable, to be forgiven. So, even when you ask for forgiveness, you still don’t believe that it’s been given to you. It haunts your sleep. It haunts your thoughts when you’re awake.
Many times, the enemy doesn’t even have to do anything because we bully ourselves and beat ourselves up. We torment our own selves because we reject the revelation of God’s love and His forgiveness, and we reject His gift of forgiveness because being hurt is comfortable. Being sore and scared is comfortable when you’ve been in it for so long, and anything different is scary because it requires you to stand up, to walk before the throne of God, which was made open to us through the sacrifice and death of Jesus Christ. As it says, “No one can come to the Father but through Me.” It’s not going through Mary or any of the other dead saints; it’s going through Christ. You go through Christ. You prostrate yourself. You adopt the heart posture and say, “Father, forgive me. I am sorry.” Enable me to stand on my faith, to believe and understand that I am forgiven. Give me a new revelation of your love so that I can know and hope for what you have for me, and that it is good.
Let’s go ahead and wrap up in prayer.
[Prayer]
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for the words that you have spoken today. Lord God, I would ask that you would lift the veils off of people’s hearts, that you would remove the scales from their eyes. Father, I ask for the remission of sins that have been unforgiven—that you would temporarily set them aside so that the Holy Spirit can move upon the hearts of those who hear this message. Whether it is tomorrow, whether it is a week from now, whether it is a year from now, whether it is ten years from now—Lord, I ask that your words would convict them.
Father, forgive your people. Don’t let them miss out on being your bride. Bring us to repentance, Father God. Don’t let us hide our sin or try to get away from it. But instead, bring us unto repentance, Lord.
We thank you for your forgiveness. We thank you that your presence has not been taken from us, and that the Holy Spirit remains with us. Lord, I ask that you would continue to move in the hearts of your people. In Jesus’ mighty name, we pray. Amen.
Ryan Goodman:
I know this was a difficult message today, but I hope you will take time to read Psalm 139, meditate on it, and read it earnestly. Don’t turn away from the hand of the Father. Instead, repent. God is a good Father, and He chastises those He loves. Remember that we are all together in God’s kingdom, and though we all fall short at times, thank God for His love and the transforming power of Christ’s blood.
We cannot forget these things. There’s no time left to forget them. We must be willing to let our spiritual maturity be accelerated. There’s a lot of work to be done, and too few workers for the harvest. So, don’t wait. Don’t say, “I can hold it off until tomorrow.” What will you do when you hear the trumpet sound, the shofar blast from heaven, announcing the mighty and fearful day of the Lord?
There is no time left. Repent. Be willing to acknowledge that you’ve fallen short, and repent so that God can bring you into all of His promises. His heart is for you. I pray that you take this to heart—it’s not my words, but the words of the Father for His people. It’s okay to make mistakes—just repent. Don’t let the enemy tell you that you can’t be redeemed, because you can be redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ.
Be blessed this week as you go into your workweek. Be blessed as you lay your head down and wake up. Ask God every day for a fresh anointing. When you lay down at night, ask for forgiveness. Pray Psalm 139 when you wake up and wait on the Lord with an expectation that He will reveal His truth to you, because He will.
Alright, everybody. Be blessed today, and thank you for listening. Bye-bye.