Third, be in God’s Word much and often, remembering to look for the cross/resurrection in it.
Try to read God’s Word as much as you can throughout the day, asking God to reveal the death and resurrection of Jesus to you. Listen to sermons from gospel preachers. Be often in church desiring to hear God’s Word preached. It is God’s Word, as illuminated by God’s Spirit that brings about godly sorrow and repentance.
I remember one time being on a layover in Hawaii by myself. I had just fallen badly and was hardened, deceived, and uncaring. But on Sunday morning I found a local church and decided to attend. The preaching cut me to the heart, and as I walked back to the hotel, I was crying my eyes out in confession to the Lord and genuine repentance. This is the desired effect of God’s Word.
“The instrument with which the heart is broken, and with which the spirit is made contrite, is the Word. ‘Is not my word like as a fire, saith the Lord; and like a hammer, that breaketh the rock in pieces?’ (Jeremiah 23:29).
Question 5. In Jeremiah 23:29, with what is our heart compared?
The rock, in this text, is the heart, which in another place is compared to an “adamant,” which is harder than flint (Zechariah 7:11, 12; Ezekiel 3:9). This rock, this adamant, this stony heart, is broken and made contrite by the Word. But it only is so, when the Word is as a fire to melt it, and as a hammer to break it.” The Acceptable Sacrifice—John Bunyan
Fourth, seek the Lord in prayer for godly sorrow and genuine repentance.
We must acknowledge that God alone can give godly sorrow and grant repentance.
2 Timothy 2:25-26 NIV “Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, (26) and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.”
Question 6. According to 2 Timothy 2:25-26, how do we find repentance so that we can escape the trap of Satan?
So, understanding that God grants godly sorrow and repentance sovereignly and by His grace, we must seek Him for it in prayer. Ask Him to give you the gift of repentance and faith, seek Him earnestly for it, and He will do it.
Question 7. Are you seeking for God to break your heart, give you godly sorrow over sin, and grant you repentance by His grace?
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Dear friend, if we are ever to escape the trap of impurity, it will be through receiving and embracing godly sorrow. This godly sorrow will do thorough work in our hearts, bringing us to repentance where we make dramatic changes in our lives. This is how God sets us free. May He do so in our hearts even today, as we kneel at the cross and look up.