Godly repentance leads to salvation

Dear Bro’s & Sis’s – This is the time Lets surrender our life completely into the hands of God
– Let the Lord Guide me to speak what he wants me to speak now & nothing from my flesh
be manifested- let the Lord call each & every one of us who is thirsting for him, Let our
hearts be open to his words & let us bare 100% fruits for his kingdom – Holy Spirit of God
guide us – Mother Mary & all the holy angels saints please intercede for us – In Jesus name
we pray.

A mother who was very angry with her Son comes to meet the priest and says that she has a
terrible son, who doesn’t want to go to school or to study only wants to play, eat and sleep.
She said that he even doesn’t want to pray or go to church with her, when the priest heard this
he told her where is her Son – she said he is the one waiting near the door – now this priest
took the child and asked him how he was & he reacted saying he was very bad, then the priest
made him stand near to him and asked him is it true that he was not interested to go to school
and even to pray then he said yes my mother has said all this right. Then this priest asked the
boy that his mother told that he did not want to go to Church & the boy replied no I don’t
want to go to church & the Fr asked him why – then he said he did not want to church
because before I go to church my mother would have told many bad things about me to God
and whatever I say God would not believe because my mother is always in the church and
also praying and God will believe her more than me, I have no chance with God, Now this
priest understood that this boy is having a picture of God who is a punishing God, angry God
– so the priest told this Boy how much Jesus Loves him, he even died for him on the cross as
this priest was telling about the love of Jesus – this child started to crying he felt sorry and for
the first time he understood what God is from him & he said if this is what it is I love my God
& he changed his life –
We see in this case the deception that was there in the mind of the Child which never led him
to repentance but when he understood the reality of the love of God there was a true
repentance from the heart.

Many times we repent but we fall again into the temptation then we ask God why you don’t
take this thing away from us, but we should understand that Gods grace is sufficient for our
every need because Gods promise for his children in
1 Corinthians 10:13 13 No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is
faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will
also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.

When God allows certain trails & temptation in our lives – we are given the grace to be
strong , for Eg when exercise our body muscle are subject to resistance through which it get
stronger & stronger, but on the other hand if we don’t our muscle are not subject to resistance
then the body becomes fat and not strong. Same way when we face certain trails and
temptation we are being made strong & God doesn’t allow us to be tempted above the our
capacity, but give us the grace & strength to overcome it. Say if the child is studying in grade
5 the teacher will not give the child examination of grade 7 but will give only the
examination of grade 5, same way we should understand that when we are been tempted
Gods grace is more for us to resist and come back to the Lord.
As it says in
Romans 3:23 since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
But we have good news of repentance through the sacrament of confession – as we have
entered in to the season of Lent, with the Ash Wednesday where we begin with the
imposition of the ashes “repent and believe in the Gospel” – today we are going to see how
Godly repentance leads us to salvation or lead us close to God. As we all know what is
repentance – Repentance is a true change of mind and heart about sin, resulting in a person
turning away from sin and seeking to honor God.

St John Vianney says “We come to confession quite preoccupied with the shame that we
shall feel. We accuse ourselves with hot air. It is said that many confess and few are
converted. I believe it is so, my children, because few confess with tears of repentance.”

When we go through the Bible from Old testament to the new testament we see there is a call
for repentance – but it matters are we repenting as Gods wants or we go according to the
World. St. Paul clearly says in 2 Corinthians about the people who grieved to Godly
repentance. ( king Saul – when conquered the Amalekites & King David )

As it says in
2 Corinthians 7:9-10 9 Now I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because your grief
led to repentance; for you felt a godly grief, so that you were not harmed in any way by
us. 10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation and brings no regret, but
worldly grief produces death.

Just to give you an example – on the world repentance when we read in the Gospel of
Matthew 27 :3-10 ( The Suicide of Judas ) In verse 3 it says when Judas saw Jesus was
condemned to death, he repented and brought back the thirty silver coins to the chief priest
and the elders saying that he has sinned by betraying the innocent blood but they did not
brother for what he said and the result was Judas ending his life by hanging on the tree.

Whereas in the Prodigal Son / Merciful father Luke 15: 11-24 (32)– when the son came to
his senses he got up from the Pig’s place and makes his way back to the father with deep
repentance in his heart to ask forgiveness from the father, we see the father was waiting for
his Son’s return & when he sees the Son from far he runs towards him hugs him & when his
Son starts to ask forgiveness from the father ( Father I have sinned against God & against
you, I an not worthy to call your Son) and speaks about his wrong doing the father does not
mind of the Sin but sees the repented heart of his Son and starts to restore the place of his
sonship with the father.

Testimony – Man who insulted people who were going to retreat

This Man who was living near the retreat centre but use to make fun of the people & the
Priest also commenting on the people going to the retreat centre, he considers that the retreat
centre is the place for drunkard, adulteress and those people who are facing different types of
problems. If anyone tells him he would go for the retreat he would make fun of them saying
that they have a problem this happen for a long time and one day this man fell very sick that
he had kidney issue and was admitted in the hospital wherein the doctors had given him few
days of time to leave on & told his wife to inform everyone that hi days are numbered. This is
the time one poor uneducated lady when praying got inspiration from the Holy Spirit to got to
the particular hospital and meet the man named Baby- when she came in she meet the wife of
this man & said that I have a message from God to this man who is in the ICU and I want to
pray for him, now the doctor’s did not allow her as the condition was critical, after insisting
the doctor with anger the doctor left her go inside. Now as she was inside she was alone with
this man and she started to pray for him and lead him into the repentance going through the
10 commandments, all the sins he was doing, making fun of his parents, cheating people of
money & threatening making fun of people and many other things for 15 long years were
revealed to him a the end she said to him that the Lord will not reveal any of his Sins to
anyone as it says in
Job 14:17 my transgression would be sealed up in a bag, and you would cover over my
iniquity.
All the faithfulness, infidelity the Lord has covered / sealed in the bag, now repent and God
will heal you then this women left that place – it was the moment this man started to cry, he
felt sorry for his Sin & he told his wife that he needs to have a confession – they immediately
arranged for the priest then he had a good confession & received the anointing of the sick
after which he started to recover from his sickness in one weeks’ time his kidney started to
function & even the doctors were amazed to see his recovery – after the recovery he was
completely changed & transformed, he started to bring many people to the retreat and anyone
said to him any thing he would not talk anything back – he said that he had taken the policy
for his life from the book of Sirach 5:11&12.
Sirach 5:11-12 11 Be quick to hear, but deliberate in answering. 12 If you know what to say,
answer your neighbor; but if not, put your hand over your mouth.
Luke 19:9-10 9 Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he
too is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.”
Here I have listed 4 step towards Godly repentance
1. Recognize our low stature without God
2. Reach high for the Grace of God.
3. Respond to God’s personal invite
4. Rebuild a whole new life

1. Recognize our low stature without God

Romans 8:39 39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate
us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
When Zacchaeus who was the chief Tax collector – understood that having everything but not
Jesus he was missing something, so he climbed the sycamore tree wanted to see who Jesus
was but when he was looking for Jesus – Jesus stood there below for him.

2. Reach high for the Grace of God

Unmerited favour of God – ( St Paul was praying to remove the thorn from his flesh – he
prayed 3 times & the Lord said my Grace is enough for you )
2 Corinthians 12:9 9 but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power[a] is made
perfect in weakness.” So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power
of Christ may dwell in me.

3. Respond to God’s personal invite

Revelation 3:20 20 Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open
the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me.
Be open to God so that the love of God flows into your heart and the mercy of God touch you
only
Invite him to come & touch your life – so that God can come and work in your life
4. Rebuild a whole new life
2 Corinthians 5:17 17 So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has
passed away; see, everything has become new!
In the book of John 4 – the life of Samaritan women was completed changed when she heard
the message about her life – she ran telling the good news of Jesus – Once this same women
was hiding her self from the village now openly goes into the village to proclaim the good
news because she has rebuild her life with Jesus.