No Regret in Repentance

Paul was a man who seized every opportunity to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.  It didn't matter if he was in a synagogue, the marketplace, Mars Hill with philosophers, or to women washing clothes down by a river.  He was bold to proclaim of God's judgment and the salvation through Jesus even before rulers.  After being arrested and imprisoned Acts 24:24-25 tells us, "And after some days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. ²⁵ Now as he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and answered, "Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you."

Felix trembled as Paul reasoned with him concerning righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come.  Jesus tells us the Holy Spirit has been sent to convict men of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:7-11), and Felix squirmed as judgment according to the Law was brought to bear upon his conscience.  Yet instead of confessing his sin and repenting, Felix decided to put it off for another day.  He was convicted by his sin but there was no evidence of sorrow.  According to the verses following, Felix never found a convenient time to call Paul before him.  Two years passed and Felix was transferred.  For our flesh humility, public confession, and repentance is never convenient.  It has the appeal of a cold bath to a water-phobic feline.  Repentance is a necessary step to be forgiven by God and spared eternal wrath.  Those who put off repentance long enough will have all eternity in hell to regret their procrastination.

The righteous demands of the Law and the sure judgment for sin are key aspects of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Peter, Paul, and others in the New Testament wove these themes into their addresses to unbelievers.  After declaring how God was not according to man's design, Paul said in Acts 17:30-31, "Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, ³¹  because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead." ³²  And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others said, "We will hear you again on this matter."  The sure promise of judgment by the Almighty God is not enough to persuade people to repent, but happy are those who sorrow for their sin and do repent.  There is no regret for those who repent and choose God's way.

To say you will respond to the demands of the Gospel in a convenient time is a promise to never do so.  Praise the LORD for sending the Holy Spirit to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment so we will never find rest or lasting comfort whilst in sin.  Unbelievers need forgiveness and so do Christians, for sin separates us from God.  Admission of sin and repentance are the first steps to putting us back on good terms with our Heavenly Father, and there is nothing to regret when God regains His rightful place in our lives as Saviour and LORD.

Revival and All Your Need

When I first visited Australia in 2009, some I spoke to lamented there had never been a spiritual revival in Australia.  Since then I have seen that claim was in error.  In fact I am reading a book now by J. Edwin Orr which speaks of revival and the move of the Holy Spirit in New Zealand and Australia.  We cannot muster up revival from our best efforts any more than we can make gale-force winds blow by flapping our arms.  Yet there is a connection between revival and willing and receptive hearts which prayerfully seek the LORD.  There are certainly hindrances to revival and we must be willing to admit them and repent to receive God's blessing.  J. Edwin Orr wrote of his experiences with a reluctant congregation in New Zealand:

The way to revival was made very clear - prayer and removal of hindrances.  The main object of the address was to make possible the prayer:  "Lord, send a mighty revival to Wellington, but begin first in me."  But I felt that too many people gathered there wanted an easy revival.  Everywhere one finds that type of Christian who thinks that revival is dependent on the recitation of a hocus-pocus magic formula.  This type was in that meeting, and when the necessity of confession was set forth, pride forbade public renunciation of sin.  And so many, in spirit if not in deed, prayed:  "O Lord, send a revival, but begin in somebody else first and convince me that it is possible"  We went home rejoicing that some had the courage of their convictions to get right with God:  but we were equally conscious that the Holy Spirit had been deeply grieved at the hardness of heart of the majority.  The organisers were all right, I think, and I felt conscious of no hindrance in the messenger - responsibility lay with the people. (Orr, J. Edwin. All Your Need: 10,000 Miles of Miracle through Australia and New Zealand. London: Marshall, Morgan & Scott, 1936. Print. page 38) 

One common aspect of the revivals Orr spoke of had woven throughout them the seeking of the LORD in prayer and meetings, the public confession of secret sin, and the joyful praise of the LORD.  I desire not only to read about revival or in some vicarious manner rejoice in a work God did long ago, but to experience a move of God's Spirit today.  Like J. Edwin Orr said, I agree it is fitting I would fervently desire a personal revival in my own life instead of being content to see revival.  I am not content to be a "third wheel" when it comes to God.  I believe many Christians fit into the "third wheel" category.  They see others walking with Jesus and how they have heard and are led by God.  These "third wheel" Christians wistfully wish they too could know God in a deeper way but are unwilling to remove hindrances from their lives.  I am convinced of this:  if I can experience a closer relationship with God than I must.  I am not content to see others leaping ahead spiritually while I shuffle slowly back:  if I desire revival I must want it for myself and be willing to pay whatever price is required.  I must lay down my life as a living sacrifice before the Lamb of God without demand of a return.  I must humble myself.  I must pray and align myself with God's Word.

Are you interested in seeing revival or are you hungry for God to revive you?  We must all recognise we have resisted and grieved the Holy Spirit through our unbelief, idolatry, and rebellion.  We cannot pray for revival in our church, city, or nation if we are not willing to seek God ourselves.  It is time to seek the LORD and turn away His judgment through humble repentance.  Psalm 85:6-8 is fitting for us to pray ourselves:  "Will You not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You? ⁷  Show us Your mercy, LORD, and grant us Your salvation. ⁸  I will hear what God the LORD will speak, for He will speak peace to His people and to His saints; but let them not turn back to folly."  It is God's will to revive His people.  Don't be on the outside looking in when God brings revival.  Today is the day!

Don't Fall for Formulas

Human beings naturally seek to benefit ourselves.  We are interested in results.  If we notice someone has lost weight or is packing on muscle, we are keen to know how.  There is often a formulaic approach to action we take or the method we choose because we hope it will work for us as it has worked for others.  Personal trainers and nutritionists are employed to aid us in our struggle for fitness.  Conferences are attended to learn from professionals how to maximise our net worth.  Routine is embraced so we too might have the benefits others boast of.  We read books based on the recommendation of friends and take advice from total strangers who post videos or blogs on the internet to help our cause.  We imagine there must be a formula to obtain our desired end:  if I do the right things, I can have the results I want.

We can do the same thing when it comes to Christian ministry.  A true principle of scripture can be distorted into a self-centred formula.  Let me preface my observations by saying not all people do this.  My aim is to suggest there is a danger we could do this and possibly we currently do this without even recognising it.  I know it can be done because I have done it, and may God continue to purify my motives.  As we see God in truth - His holiness, righteousness, goodness, grace, and love - in the light of His reality we begin to see we are rotten to the core.  We have prayed selfishly.  We wanted glory and recognition for ourselves instead of offering God sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving.  We have played the hypocrite, saying, "Yes LORD, but let me first..."

It's exciting to read about the Holy Spirit moving through people in the the book of Acts.  After the Holy Spirit came upon the believers on Pentecost, their lives were transformed for the better.  Through their witness the world was turned upside down and many came to faith in Jesus.  What boldness and power they displayed as those believers proclaimed Christ and followed Him rejoicing in the face of trials and persecution.  There was unity, generosity, gladness, and thousands were added to the church in a day.  But this was no passing fad as the last sentence of Acts 2:47 says:  "And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved."  That sounds pretty good, right?  What genuine follower of Jesus Christ doesn't desire to see people come to faith in Jesus?  Then we start looking around and realise in our gatherings there aren't people being saved.  Our evangelism efforts seem to lack results.  Hopefully this makes us do some soul searching.  But most of the time it is easier to point out faults in others or try to find a formula which will give us this result.

It is possible some have found their "formula" in a statement which occurs earlier in Acts 2:42:  "And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers."  We are always looking for something to do so we might benefit.  We can think, "It worked for the early church, and this should work for us.  If we follow the Acts 2:42 pattern as a lifestyle, we will have the same good results - that the LORD would add daily to the church those who are being saved."  Now this is certainly a good pattern of life.  But the LORD adding daily to the church was not the effect of continuing in doctrine, fellowship, communion (koinonia), or prayers:  it was by the grace of God for His glory.  This pattern of fellowship was the effect - not of a four-step plan - but because of the indwelling Holy Spirit in God's people.  The Holy Spirit was the cause of spiritual regeneration in believers and He consequently empowered them to live for God in a fallen world.  It would be a good thing to see Acts 2:42 in a church because it is evidence of the Holy Spirit moving in God's people - not as a program or a formula for "church growth."

The same mistake can be made concerning those who met together in one accord on the Day of Pentecost.  We can gather groups together, hoping for the Spirit to manifest Himself in power.  We want tongues of fire; we want to feel the place shaken!  But remember, the disciples tarried in Jerusalem in obedience to the direct command of Christ.  It wasn't their idea or plan.  There was no formula besides simple obedience to God and submission to His will.  We can push the prime button on our lawn mowers and pull the rope to start the engine until our hands blister, but without fuel the engine will never start.  The living sacrifice of a believer purified in the blood of Jesus is the only acceptable fuel.  Without the Holy Spirit the work will never be done.  Reading the Bible more and praying more will never aid you in achieving your plans but are means to God's ends.  These disciplines can be evidence of the Spirit within you or they can be empty exercises.  Spiritually we are like pneumatic tools which need the power of the Spirit (pneuma) to function and accomplish any purpose for which we are designed.  One soul in submission to God is of greater use for His kingdom than all the formulas or programs man can muster.

Don't fall for formulas.  It is only in the full surrender of a life before God, a soul who falls before God in humble faith and obedience, who will receive and in reality experience the abundant life God has provided for all who seek Him.

To Know War

"Now these are the nations which the LORD left, that He might test Israel by them, that is, all who had not known any of the wars in Canaan [2] (this was only so that the generations of the children of Israel might be taught to know war, at least those who had not formerly known it)..."

Judges 3:1-2

Last night at Calvary Chapel Santee the message began with these verses.  They immediately had an impact on me:  God wants His people to know how to fight, how to bravely contend.  God did not want His people ignorant of war when there was a war to be fought.  Though God promised to fight battles for His people, His people who were oppressed and subdued before their enemies needed to learn to fight.  God wanted His people to have practical experience of war and be good at it, to be courageous in battle, men who would surrender only to Him.

As Christians we are taught we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers, rulers of wickedness in heavenly places.  Some of us have never known war in the sense of hand-to-hand conflict, but God will see to it there remains a potential for bondage in our lives.  We are victorious through Christ and He is our peace, but God wants us to be a people who have done battle with our flesh and overcome by His grace.  He wants people who can follow His orders, who can suffer hardship without growing faint, and those who are willing to toil night and day for freedom.

You might ask, "If God has the victory and He will fight our battles, why should we know war?  What is the point of us being experienced in battle?"  Verse 4 tells us why God allowed many nations who opposed His people to remain in the land:  "And they were left, that He might test Israel by them, to know whether they would obey the commandments of the LORD, which He had commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses."  So why does God allow conflict, even oppressive circumstances in our lives?  God uses these "enemies" to become blessings, opportunities for growth and maturity embraced through obedience and faith in God.

So what do you know of war?  Let us relish the lessons God teaches us so our hands might be made strong to fight, to go out and come in before our King and Saviour Jesus Christ.  When we walk in His strength our power will not be diminished, nor will we be weak or weary.