In the Spirit there is liberty.
Posted by appolus on April 26, 2019
In the Spirit there is liberty, by the letter there’s captivity.
The Holy Spirit laid that on my heart around midnight after reading 2 Cor chapter 3. There are men who stick to the letter of the law, without understanding of the work of the Holy Spirit. So many times I have been grieved when listening to brothers and sisters pray for repentance, typically when looking for revival. This grieving was for a long time confusing to me, what could be wrong with a focus on repentance? The Lord Himself directs many of the churches in Revelation to cry out in repentance, He was looking for them to return to their first love, to focus again on where they had come from and how they had begun. Paul is in anguish with our Galatian brothers and sisters. Right out of the gate he marvels that they are so soon removed from the beauty and simplicity of the Lord and he is so bold as to call it another gospel. Can you imagine opening a letter from one of the most prominent Apostles and this is his charge against you? It does not get any better in the second chapter, Peter and Barnabas are accused of hypocrisy. Then again in the third chapter he continues his boldness and calls them foolish and wants to know who has bewitched them. Not many men I know, or churches today could or would take that kind of criticism on the chin. Pride would rise up and the messenger would be shot down.
So, back to me being grieved. What was it? It was the focus on sin. Time after time, again and again, lifting up sin. This is the letter that kills and brings captivity. When Jesus tells us how to pray He begins with telling us to be anxious for nothing but our prayers and supplications must be framed with thanksgiving. Sin cannot be the focus, Jesus must be lifted up. It is not about not confessing sin, for sin must be repented of, but Jesus must be lifted up. He must be glorified. Our eyes must rise to the heavens and focus on Him. Inward looking self obsessed repenting only highlights ourselves and our sins and brings condemnation and actually empowers sin, there can be no victory in this. This is the ministry of Moses.
Unless Jesus be lifted up, unless the Lord is the primary focus in everything that we do and say, there will be no breakthrough, there will be no rending of the heavens. It is so subtle and it has the look of something spiritual but it is flesh. Moses and the law and the OT all points us towards Jesus, Jesus is the fulfillment of all things. Jesus in Revelations is urging His people to return to the beauty and simplicity that was found in their first love, the Lord Himself. In this there is liberty. Not only liberty, for in the 4th chapter of Revelation John writes “After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven:………And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.” Can you see what just happened brothers and sisters? Returning to our first love in genuine repentance and simplicity where Jesus is the focus opens a door, which no man can open or shut, only the Holy Spirit, and now we are in the throne room of God Himself, just like the prophet Isaiah. And there the cry goes up, night and day “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God almighty.” In this place we are changed forever brothers and sisters. Think about the boldness that the prophet had after his own encounter. Fire from the altar, fire on our lips, fire in our bones, burning in the glory and the majesty of God and His manifest presence. This is life, this is what we have been called to, this is the ministry of the Holy Spirit. In the Spirit there is liberty, dont you want this brothers and sisters?
A Call To The Remnant 
Robert Price said
Hi Brother Frank Isn’t there a kind of repentance though that does acknowledge and confess and turn from the sin of not being in fellowship with the one we love who is knocking outside the assembly door? When a person or assembly has become so self dependent and self satisfied, then repenting towards satisfaction only in Him and dependence on Him is a precursor to fellowship I’m thinking of the letter to the church at Laodicea . Jesus says if they repent of this attitude then He will come in and fellowship with them. Our fellowship with Him seems to be in that case or set of circumstances directly dependent upon repentance and then restoration. I agree totally with your premise though. The focus of restored fellowship and prayer to that end must be based on a hunger and desire for Him. I just wonder if within that hunger is an initial acknowledgement of our having been satisfied with far inferior things. I’m not suggesting this as a formula but just pointing out that God may be pleased with a humble confession of the pride of life.
appolus said
Hi Robert, I think it is helpful for us to think of the word repentance and what it means. Basically it means “to turn from.” To do a 180 in other-words. Now when we turn from our sin, what or who do we turn to. IN essence we are taking our eyes of of sin and casting our gaze upon Him who knows no sin. Isaiah is actually a good example because he starts of with crying out “woe is me.” He knows he is a man undone and a man of unclean lips, but of course before that chapter is over He is gazing upon the throne of God crying out “here am I, send me.” Humility before the throne leads to restoration of fellowship with God. So to answer your question. the grieving or repentance we see here in Revelation or Isaiah does not leave us looking at ourselves for that would be a 360 rather than a 180. So I totally agree that the kind of repentance you mentioned is indeed a precursor to renewed fellowship. It is not good enough to repent of sin but then not fill ourselves with Him, for then when the house is swept clean will it not just create renewed room for more sin to come in. When we empty ourselves in repentance and humility and surrender before the throne, it is so we can be filled. This is why we see the open door in Rev 4, the vision of an open door to heaven, or as we might put it another way, the heavens have been rended. This is a work of the Holy Spirit, no man can open or close this door, this open heaven……………………bro Frank