David, that was a good letter about what to do with hurt feelingsI had a couple other incidences recently at work that fit perfectlyGetting feelings hurt is inevitable, whether intentional or notThe PDF you sent is belowI finaly figured out how to copy and paste PDF'shttp://www.thelordsgrace.com/resources/GODLY%20REPENTANCE.pdf
GODLY REPENTANCE
2Co 7:8 If I caused you pain by my letter, I do not regret it. Even if I did regret it before - for I do see that that letter did distress you, though only for a short time -
2Co 7:9 now I rejoice not because you were pained, but because the pain led you to turn back to God. For you handled the pain in God's way, so that you were not harmed by us at all.
2Co 7:10 Pain handled in God's way produces a turning from sin to God which leads to salvation, and there is nothing to regret in that! But pain handled in the world's way produces only death.
Paul here is addressing the Corinthian church about his previous letter to them [
1 Corinithians]. In that letter he rebuked them for allowing unrepentant and open sexual sin to exist in their midst. [1 Cor. 5:1-5] A man was sleeping with his step mother and the whole church knew about it. Paul wrote to the church and told them to cut off their fellowship with this unrepentant man. The church obeyed Paul and this led to the man repenting and being restored to the church. Now in this 2nd letter to the Corinthians, Paul is using this situation to teach about godly repentance versus worldly repentance. Paul said that godly sorrow leads to repentance. The word "sorrow" means emotional pain. God through Paul had brought discipline to this church, which was painful to them. None of us like being corrected! He did it according to God or in God's way of doing it. He didn't pray for bad things to happen to them or that they would experience some calamity and come back in line. No, God brought correction to the Corinthians the same way He chooses to discipline all His children. He did by His letter! Paul said that they experienced sorrow by his letter. Now, this was not just any letter. Paul was writing under the control of the Holy Spirit and the letter he wrote to them was scripture. God uses the scripture to discipline and correct us and to bring us to repentance!
2Ti 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is valuable for teaching the truth, convicting of sin, correcting faults and training in right living;
2Ti 3:17 thus anyone who belongs to God may be fully equipped for every good work.
God uses all of scripture to teach us the truth, convince us of our sin, and to correct our faults. Have you ever opened up your bible and a verse just seems to speak to a certain area of your life that was not right? You
shut the bible, and get into your car and a preacher on the radio is talking about the same thing! Then you go to work and someone brings up that subject out of the blue! You turn on the TV that evening and switch onto a channel and someone is talking about it again! God is bringing correction! Do not despise this or buck against it. [
Prov. 3:11] You just need to repent. Many do not know what repent means. They think it means to cry hysterically with snot flowing. This is not necessarily repentance! The godly kind of repentance the bible speaks of comes from the Greek word metanoia- meta- change; nous- the mind. It literally means to "change the mind". Now, when you change your mind it might lead to an emotional experience but it will always lead to a course change. You will turn around and act differently. When we yield to the Word of God it will bring repentance or a change in our thinking. This is why it is so important to attend church where the Word of God is taught to us. This is why daily study of the Word is so valuable and important. When the Word goes forth then repentance [change of thinking] takes place. When a minister under the anointing teaches and preaches the Word of God then repentance will take place. Now, if we cut ourselves off from the Word then we will continue down the wrong road without a change in our thinking. We actually will not stay the same but our lives will deteriorate! God intends the path of the just to get brighter and brighter [better and better]. [Prov. 4:18] If you are not coming to church and not regularly reading and studying the Word of God for yourself then you are lacking in repentance. Your thought patterns are not changing for the better, so your life is not changing for the better! Repentance is not a bad thing! It is a good thing! Paul said that repentance leads to salvation. This does not mean you need to be saved again, but it means you will experience your salvation in a greater way- healing, deliverance, freedom, and joy.
You can handle the pain of your sin in a godly way or a worldly way. The world’s way of dealing with pain is to avoid it, stuff it, or medicate it. The world’s way is to explain it away and to make excuses. The world’s way of dealing with sin is to punish yourself with condemnation or turn away from God and give up totally. Judas took this to the extreme and
killed himself. [
Matt 27:5] Peter repented and came back to God and received His love and forgiveness.
The book of Revelation says that God's
voice is as many waters. [Rev. 1:15] If we are listening we will hear His voice throughout our day. God is trying to talk to you so that you will change the way you think! You will hear His voice as a soft stream in your morning devotion. You will hear His voice as a gentle brook in a song on the radio. You will later hear His voice as a rippling waterfall in the counsel of a friend. Still later you hear His voice as a bubbling spring in a sermon on TV. If you will stop, ponder, and consider what God has been speaking to you in the many ways, situations, and times of your day and combine them together, then God's voice becomes the sound of many waters. God's message will come through very loud and clear to you. God is speaking to you all the time. He is trying to get you to change the way you think so He can bless your life! Repentance is not just turning from gross sin, but it means to change your thinking to God’s way of thinking in any area. When you hear His voice, do not harden your heart. [Hebrews 3:15] Choose to change you thinking. Turn to God and trust Him. Put your faith in Him and His righteousness. Accept the forgiveness that His blood has provided. Trust in Christ within you to work in you the desire and power to do live out His will. [Philippians 2:13] This will lead to salvation in your life!