Humility, Repentance And An Increase Of The Anointing

Walking in humility, repentance and a greater anointing

Humility is a key to seeing God move and for Him increase you in the anointing.

Biblically speaking, Humility has a lot to do with fasting and vise-versa.

Fasting had to do with mourning.

Jesus was asked: why don’t your disciples fast. He said: how can the guests of the bridegroom MOURN while he is with them.

Matthew 5:4 says: Blessed are those that mourn...

Jesus was not talking about a morbid sorrow that results in a person becoming depressed, discouraged, and feeling hopeless.

He was taking about us loathing sin.

But Some of us who claim to be followers of Jesus are very comfortable with sin: we hold on to anger, gossip, power-plays, office-theft, pride, bragging, fighting, flattery, lust, sexual sins, pornography, breaking promises, and a variety of other sins. A sharp response. A pattern to over-indulge. A failure to give thanks. A lustful glance. An ill-judgment passed. A tendency to over-spend. A bent towards impatience. A cowering to speak.

The problem is aggravated by some preachers and teachers who encourage us to be become insensitive to our sins. They speak about grace as if it is a license to sin.

The apostle Paul struggled with his sin. He was sensitive, but he also rejoiced in God’s forgiveness.

Jesus was not talking about a preoccupation with sin, but a sorrow that occurs when we sin, which leads us to a confession and a forsaking of that sin.

The apostle Paul shows this balance in the following passage:

Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin. Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (NASB) Rom. 7:24-8:1

Paul called himself The chief of sinners.

Spurgeon said: The holier a man becomes, the more he mourns the unholiness which remains in him.

Luke 6:25 Jesus said, "Woe unto you that laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.

James 4: 7Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9Grieve, mourn, and weep. Turn your laughter to mourning, and your joy to gloom.…

The book of James was written to encourage believers back to faithful living:

James 1:21

Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

James 4:8-10

8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

James 5:19-20

19 My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, 20 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

James wants his readers to feel the weight and heinousness of their sin, and to mourn over it.

But why as believers should we mourn? Why should we weep over our sin?

1. Sin is deadly (James 1:15)

15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

James 5

20 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering hwill save his soul from death and iwill cover a multitude of sins.

2. Sin is defiance against a holy God

Sinning is believing a false promise from the world above a true promise from God.

All our sins find their origin in the desires rooted inside our hearts (James 1:14–15).

When was the last time we looked our sin in the mirror and came away broken?

When was the last time we felt the gravity of our sin as betrayal against a holy God?

Rarely do we weep. Our hearts are callously numb.

Though justified by the blood of Christ, we are still infiltrated with sin, and most of the time we appear okay with it.

We need help.

We need reminders.

Here’s one: Rom 8:13....For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

The gospel becomes glorious when the depth and power of our sin is understood as grievous.

When we see a clearer glimpse of our sin we behold a clearer glimpse of the cross. The horror of our sin magnifies the beauty of Christ’s sacrifice.