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Genuine repentance includes four main steps:

First, we must admit our sin. This means that we agree with God and what He says about our sin.

Second, we must confess our sin. It's not enough to exercise mental assent, we must speak that agreement to God and others.

Third, we must forsake our sin. According to Proverbs 28:13, mercy comes to those who confess and forsake their sin. You cannot follow your sin and your Savior at the same time.  

Finally, you must trust Your Savior. You must believe that you are forgiven, not because of your works but because of the work of Christ.

Believe it or not, many of us get tripped up on the very first step. It's hard for us to honestly admit our sin. Perhaps that's because we do not value God as we should. Lamentations 3:35 calls God the “Most High.” He’s not Santa Clause. He’s not your grandpa. He’s not your butler. He’s not your buddy. He’s the Most High.

On May 2, 2019, astronomers released an image called the Hubble Legacy Field. Over a period of 16 years, cameras from the Hubble Telescope took over 7500 pictures of a region of space that was long thought to be relatively empty. Those images were compiled into one massive image.

At least 265,000 galaxies were documented, including some so faint and distant their light measures 1/10-billionth of the brightness the human eye can see. Tonight, before you go to bed, I want you to go outside and hold your index finger at arm’s length and look up at the sky. From earth, you can cover the entire Hubble Legacy Field—complete with its 265,000 galaxies—with the tip of your index finger held at arm’s length. And that section of space your index finger blocks out represents our view of about 1/240,000th of the entire night sky. What if every one of those 240,000 fingerprint-sized portions of sky contains more than a quarter million galaxies?

Everybody agrees our universe is massive. The Bible tells us that the God who created this universe, the Most High God, is infinitely more massive. Isaiah 40:12 tells us that God measures the universe with his fingers! If God were a small god than our sin would be a small thing. But He’s not. He’s massive. He’s infinitely glorious and infinitely holy and every sin is an incomprehensible assault on His glorious name. In the presence of the Most High God, we are fools if we refuse to admit our sin.