Everyone hears about God's love, God's grace and God's mercy, but never really know what it means for us as believers in Christ. Yes, you know how Jesus died and bled for us and calls us to repentance. It is through the fear of God that we repent. The fear of the Lord is an active, loving submission to God characterized by obedience and a desire to please him. Paul says in 2nd Corinthians chapter 6:14 through chapter 7:1 do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers for what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness and what communion has light with darkness and what Accord has Christ with belial or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols for you are the Temple of the living God. As God has said, I will dwell with them and walk among them. I will be their God and they shall be. My people therefore come out from among them and be separate. Says the Lord do not touch what is unclean and I will receive you. I will be a father to you and you shall be my sons and daughters says the Lord Almighty. Therefore having these promises beloved let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit perfecting Holiness in the fear of God. So what does that mean for us today? It means that you shouldn't surround yourselves with all unrighteousness or unholiness, but through God's love You should desire to repent which is the fear of God when coupled with the desire to draw near to God. If your heart is not in it then it's not true repentance. It's not true respect for the Lord. James said it this way. James chapter 4:7-10 therefore submit to God resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands you sinners and purify your hearts you double-minded lament and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and He will lift you up. There is a lot to unpack in this one. Cleanse your hands. This isn't talking about literally washing your hands. It's referring to your outward works like Paul mentioned to cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh, but how do you do that? It's not about works for Paul also said it's it is by Grace. You have been saved through faith. This is not of ourselves. It is a gift of God so that no man should boast so then through faith you are saved. But James also said faith without works is dead in chapter 2 which goes on to the next point. Purify your hearts you double-minded which is referring to your inward submission of your heart. Your love for God should bring you to want to repent. So let's humble ourselves in God's sight so we can grow to fear Him. Just look at our own father. He is always there to take care of you. He loves you and disciplines you when you mess up, but you do your best to not disappoint him there. In the previous verse we read that God will be a father to us and we will be his sons and daughters. So God is painting us a beautiful picture here. Think about it. He said he is our father not just some distant God. He desires personal intimacy with each and every one of us. He protects us, leads us and guides us and is there to lift us up. So we should fear the lord. So we can have that relationship with him. So it is through our love of God that we should fear and respect him James chapter 2:18-19 But someone will say you have faith and I have works. Show me your faith without your works and I'll show you my faith by my works. Do you believe that there is one God you do well even then demons believe and tremble so you can see through this. You can't just believe in the Lord. You also have to repent. You got to learn to fear him and I'm not talking about being afraid of him. I'm talking about respect. You got to respect him. Draw near to him and he will draw near to you. Otherwise you're no different than the demons themselves because even they believe in God they just don't trust him Revelation chapter 3, :15 and 16. I know your works that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of my mouth. Now when you're thinking about vomit, it's never subtle. It's always violent and that is how Jesus feels towards the lukewarm Church. He'd rather you be cold than lukewarm. This is a call to repentance. We need to learn to live side by side with the Lord. We can't just Coast through life. Thinking . Somebody else will do it or I have time? I can do it later. Why not do it now? Why wait? You never know when your time has come? Everything starts at the heart. That's why it's so important to spend time with God that he may fill your heart with the holy Spirit The heart has to change first to love God and through that love the inward works the submission the respect. The repentance will naturally flow through you. So let us humble ourselves to the Lord ask for forgiveness for by grace. You have been saved through faith and cleanse ourselves of sin. So we love our Lord, our God, our personal father so that we may fear him and live our lives according to his purpose