Repent, For the Kingdom of Heaven Is At Hand

Below is but a small measure of revelation that my father had received from the Lord. I hope this will be a blessing to you. All that is written below are the words of my father.

Repent, For the Kingdom of Heaven Is At Hand

In loving memory of my father
Robert Louis (Bob) Padgett
July 28, 1931-May 22, 2023

That word, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand," is the first word of the kingdom of God. All of the "Old Testament" prophets preached repentance. To whom did they preach that word? to the chosen people of God. John the Baptist preached, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Jesus came preaching, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." To whom did John the Baptist and Jesus preach that word? to the chosen people of God. Today, many charismatic/Spirit-filled believers seem to believe, "That word does not apply to me because I am already saved." How tragic! Human nature has never changed. 

Everyone is familiar with the parable of the "prodigal son," as recorded in Luke, Chapter 15. The younger son said, "Give me," then went out and wasted his substance. After a series of difficult circumstances he repented and went back to his father. But we must always remember that he was always the son of his father, even when he strayed away. Further, who caused the famine in the land? Who caused that no man gave unto the son when he was away? That illustrates the sovereignty of God. If we are called of God, He will arrange all of our circumstances to help us to return to Him if we have strayed. But He will never override our will.

That example clearly shows that true repentance is something that begins with God, and not with man. It originates not in the will of man, but in the free and sovereign grace of God. Apart from the working of God's grace and the moving of His Spirit, man of his accord is not capable of repentance. Psalm 80 declares this fact three different times. When anything is repeated three times in Scripture, we best pay attention.

3 Turn us again, O God, and cause Thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.
7 Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause Thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.
19 Turn us again, O LORD God of hosts, cause Thy face to shine; and we shall be saved. Psalm 80:3, 7, 19

The verses above clearly state that unless the Father draws us by His Spirit, we cannot be saved (or born from above). But nothing is automatic. Because man has free will, we can still reject the call of God. Therefore we must accept the call of God. That requires a decision on our part, not an emotion. That acceptance constitutes the first-level of repentance; i.e., from the status of being a non-Christian to becoming a born-again believer. But everything begins with God. In the beginning, God; in the end, God; and in everything in between, God. Further,

No man can come to Me, except the Father which hath sent Me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. John 6:44 

63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

64 But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray Him.

65 And He said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto Me, except it were given unto him of My Father. John 6:63-65

For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.

Philippians 2:13

8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9

1 But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and He that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art Mine.

. . .

5 Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west;

6 I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring My sons from far, and My daughters from the ends of the earth;

7 Even every one that is called by My name: for I have created him for My glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him. Isaiah 43:1, 5-7 

18 Therefore hath He mercy on whom He will have mercy, and whom He will He hardeneth.

19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth He yet find fault? For who hath resisted His will?

20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?

21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

22 What if God, willing to shew His wrath, and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:

23 And that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had afore prepared unto glory,

24 Even us, whom He hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?

Romans 9:18-24

And when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto Him that put all things under Him, that God may be all in all. 

1 Corinthians 15:28

A "second level" of repentance, and the one which is perhaps most obvious to us believers is when we are convicted by the Holy Spirit that we have said something "wrong" or done something "wrong." Then, like David, we must be quick to repent.

8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

1 John 1:8-10

Nevertheless, we believe that there is another level of repentance ... and one which Jesus primarily meant when He came preaching, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." We must always remember that Jesus spoke those words to the chosen people of God

Recently I read on a web site a short excerpt, titled, "Removing the Candlestick!!" The excerpt was written by a believer of great, national reputation (his name is not important) and a man who was highly respected (he went to be with the Lord not too long ago). Although his article did not reference a specific Scripture, he undoubtedly had in mind Verse 5 in the following, because his article was about the dire need for repentance on the part of the Church today.

1 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith He that holdeth the seven stars in His right hand, Who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;

2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:

3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for My name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.

4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.

5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. Revelation 2:1-7

As an aside point, but one which needs to be emphasized, the Church at Ephesus in Paul's time was considered the "highest" in spiritual awareness of all churches. Clearly the Church at Ephesus in that day corresponds to the charismatic/Spirit-filled churches of today. We should never forget that all of Scripture is profitable for us today (2 Timothy 3:16). Verse 5 is an exhortation to us, you and me, today.

Everyone knows that the first and most important exhortation from the Lord to the Church at Ephesus was Verse 4, "You have left your first love." What is our "first love?" the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. The Church at Ephesus had become all engrossed and absorbed with hearing and learning new revelation from Scripture, with listening to all sorts of preachers instead of listening to what the Spirit was saying, with traditions of men, with focusing on "what's in it for me," etc.

In Verse 5, what are the "first works?" the works of the Spirit ... the works which were foreordained for us to walk in from before the foundation of the world. Perhaps the most important word for believers is, "Whatsoever He says unto you, do it" (John 2:5). Scripture is very orderly. We cannot do the first works unless we have returned to our first love.

What the author said in his article, "Removing the Candlestick!!" is 100% true, but comes short of producing results. Why? The problem is that we charismatic/Spirit-filled Christians have become so hard-hearted and ego-centered that very few understand what "repent" means. A slowly increasing number of ministers now preach "repent." Experience and observation indicates that very few who even preach that word understand what "repent" means to a believer. NEVER in my life have I ever heard or read the true meaning of this "third-level of repentance," except from the Holy Spirit. (I do not refer to the "textbook" definition of repentance, which could be "a firm inward decision, not an emotion ... a change of mind.) As an aside, Biblical terms must be defined by Scripture itself, not by "textbook" dictionaries.

The meaning of this level of "repentance" is found in Isaiah 6 and Job 42. This "third-level" meaning of repentance is, we firmly believe, that which Jesus referred to when He said, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Isaiah and Job were both pretty good men. But they both received a revelation (without which we will all continue to go around the same mountain day after day). They were allowed to see the holiness of God and the filthiness of us humans. What they were allowed to see (revelation) came not through the teaching of men or the doctrines of men.

1 Then Job answered the LORD, and said,

2 I know that Thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from Thee.

3 Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.

4 Hear, I beseech Thee, and I will speak: I will demand of Thee, and declare Thou unto me.

5 I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth Thee.

6 Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes. Job 42:1-6

Concerning Verse 5, we charismatics/Spirit-filled believers have heard, with our natural ears, all about the Lord. (Well, maybe not ALL, but quite a bit.) We have read all the books, listened to all of the TV preachers, listened to all of the DVDs, gone to all of the conferences, and perhaps have heard a number of new thoughts that have tickled our ears. Unforturately, that is the problem. We are so full of information that we have left off the most important part ... hearing from the Lord Himself. We are so busy with all of our church meetings and busy work that we have left our first love.

But the anointing which ye have received of Him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in Him. 1 John 2:27

Now we turn to Isaiah. 

1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple.

2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.

3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory.

4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.

6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:

7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.

8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. Isaiah 6:1-8

We do not intend to write a book about those verses. Many years ago, as I was reading those verses in Isaiah, I found myself reading it this way: "In the year that king self died I saw also the Lord ..." "Uzziah" does not mean "self." But the substitution of "self" in that verse is still true. If we desire to see the Lord, we must die to self. Paul said, "I die daily." "He must increase but I must decrease." Whenever anyone is allowed to see the King, the Lord of Hosts, he must repent. We must repent simply because of who we are ... our human nature. "Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit" (2 Corinthians 7:1). No man can cleanse himself! So how do we fulfill that commandment? Repentance. Then we allow the Spirit of God to do His work within us.

I am sure that almost every true believer will agree that no man, except Jesus Christ, could ever live up to the law. Jesus told us in Matthew 5:48 that we must, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect." That is a commandment! Why did Jesus say that? To help us to understand that just as no man, except Jesus, can ever live up to the law as given through Moses, in the same truth, no man can ever live the Christian life, except Christ Himself. The very FIRST principle of the doctrine of Christ (Hebrews 6:1) is repentance from dead works. That is the FIRST step toward perfection. That is required to return to our first love so that we can do the first works. If we do not fulfill that first step, we have no need to try to get to step two.

One of my favorite books in the Bible is the book of Joel. 

12 Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:

13 And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth Him of the evil.

14 Who knoweth if He will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind Him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God? Joel 2:12-14

In Verse 14, the "blessing ... even a meat [meal] offering and a drink offering," has nothing to do with the natural realm. The meal offering and drink offering speak of the remnant, or the sons of Zadok, who "shall teach My people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean" (Ezekiel 44:23).

We very strongly believe that the following verse is of utmost priority in the eyes of the Lord.

Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare Thy people, O LORD, and give not Thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God? Joel 2:17

Those verses were not written for the heathen. They were written as an admonition to you and me, upon whom the end of the ages has come. The "priests, the ministers of the Lord" does not equate to those who are called (by Christian men) apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. (Read Ezekiel 44 for the distinction between those priests who minister to the house versus the priests who minister to the Lord.)

As an aside point, revisiting Isaiah 6, many Christians believe they are "sent" to go out and save the lost. But before we are sent, we must have a clear vision of the Lord Himself. That involves much more than being born again and baptized in the Holy Ghost. We must have the same revelation that both Isaiah and Job received. Further, unless we are sent by the Lord, then our efforts are of little value. The Lord says,

For all those things hath Mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My word. Isaiah 66:2

Is it time to repent from our dead works and let Christ build His Church? Who perceives the difference between "dead works" and the works of the Spirit? (I do not refer to the traditions of Christian man in terms of a definition of dead works.) Does anyone care?