Quote from Forum Archives on June 25, 2005, 12:41 am

Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Word for Today, Sat, 25 Jun, 2005: Repentance
Dear friends,

Today's devotional message comes from Glory of His Cross
Prophetic Ministries. I doubt that I have shared this one with
you because it is much longer in length than the material that I
typically share with you. Therefore, I will abbreviate my
comments and encourage you to read this when you have time, and
tuck it away unless you can read it now.

This message warns against being lukewarm in our actions and
beliefs, and in short, the message describes the seven early
Christian churches, as recorded in the book of Revelation.

I urge each one of you to know the Bible, as I've been stressing
over and over again. This study will provide yet another
opportunity to really dig in, but make sure you read not just
this article, but the Bible itself. (If you can't do both, read
the Bible)!

Yours in Christ,
Brian
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*The Church Must First Repent*
J. Edwin Orr
Jun 25, 2005

"As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore,
and repent." (Revelation 3:19)

The occurrence of the word "Repent" in the messages to the Seven
Churches is truly remarkable. The word "Repentance" -- in the
mind of the average Christian--is connected with sinners and not
with professing Christians. And yet the word used throughout the
New Testament in the presentation of the Gospel message to
sinners is exactly the same word repeated by our Lord in His
messages to the Seven Churches.

The word "Repent" occurs over seven times in these seven
messages. It is omitted from two of them--Smyrna, the poor,
persecuted Church--for a church in persecution is generally a
purified one, and Philadelphia, the loyal Church, the Church that
had kept the faith. The noun "metanoia" (repentance) is defined
variously as a change of mind, a change of heart, a change of
attitude, or a change of direction.

With this information borne in mind, let us examine the uses of
the verb in the Revelation.

1. In the first message, Ephesus is described as an energetic
church, patiently laboring for God, and perfectly sound in
doctrine. "I know thy works, and thy labor, 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: And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's
sake hast labored, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have
somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first
love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and
repent..."

2. The (third) message to Pergamos complains of their eating of
meat sacrificed to idols, of fornication committed, and of the
holding of the hated doctrine of the Nicolaitanes. "Repent!"

3. Thyatira is likewise rebuked in the fourth message. And again
repentance is urged.

4. The dying Church of Sardis is again commanded to repent.

5. And Laodicea is urged to repent as well.

Before we come to the application of these messages, it is
appropriate that we should consider the nature of the word
"Church" for the simple reason that many people repudiate it as
applying to a really Christian Church. "Ekklesia" the word used,
may be interpreted "assembly" or "gathering of called-out ones",
or "convention " in the best sense of the word (being
convened). It occurs more than a hundred times in the New
Testament, and is always translated "Church" with the exception
of the instances regarding the Civic Assembly in Ephesus.

In the Septuagint translation of the Old Testament, the word
Ekklesia is used along with the Greek for Synagogue to translate
the Hebrew Kahal, which fact throws further light on the
subject. For Kahal is used variously in the Old Testament to
denote a called-out assembly of Israel or of a tribe, or an
assembly gathered out for worship.

So whether we use the word "Church" to denote the general
professing Church, or the actual Church of believers, there are
lessons to be learned. It is when we study the message to the
Church of the Laodiceans that we find our message. The condition
of the Laodicean Church fits our present-day state in Christendom
exactly.

"I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would
thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and
neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because
thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need
of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and
miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked...As many as I love, I
rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I
stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open
the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he
with me"

Can this be made to apply to the spiritual condition of believers
? Let us see. First of all, Laodicea was an ekklesia, a
gathered-out assembly for worship. Secondly, it is suggested
that this church was in a peculiar relationship with the Lord,
because of the words : "All whom I hold dear, I reprove and
chastise."

"For whom the Lord loveth," says the writer of Hebrews, " He
chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth. If ye
endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons, for what
son is he whom the father chasteneth not ? But if ye be without
chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards,
and not sons."

Which makes me think that the rebuke given Laodicea may be fairly
applied to believers. Lukewarmness, self-satisfaction.,
halfheartedness, backsliding, formalism, indifference, self
righteousness, greed for gold, worldliness, pride,
self-deception, spiritual destitution, blindness and lack of
vision, easily-seen-through--these are the characteristics of
Laodicea, and these are the characteristics abounding to-day.

What would anyone think of an individual who possessed all these
characteristics ...surely the greatest backslider living! But
examine the position collectively. Are there any lukewarm
Christians in your church ?

Any self-satisfied ?
Any indifferent ?
Any self-righteous ?
Any backsliding?
Any formalistic ?
Any half-hearted ?
Any greedy after lucre ?
Any worldly ?
Any proud ?
Any self-deceived ?
Any spiritually destitute ?
Any without vision ?
Any shameless ?

Put together they look rather bad. If the majority of your church
members share a majority of these indications of spiritual
poverty, then your church is a Laodicean church. And if the
majority of churches in your district are thus backslidden, then
everything said to Laodicea applies to your neighbourhood. What
would you do with an individual Christian who was thus
backslidden in heart and life ? You would first pray for him. You
would seek to show him his need. You would seek to make him
concerned about his need. You would point out to him the life
more abundant. You would tell him that Calvary means power, and
that Christ will restore.

All that has been said about individuals applies with equal force
to the larger groups in which individual Christians find
themselves a place. The life of the majority of churches and
societies is sub-normal, stunted in growth, paralysed instead of
powerful. What is the trouble ? It is just general
backsliding. The author was once told by an agnostic: "I think I
would be a Christian [if it were not] for the Christians."
Another man, of communistic views, is reported having said to a
parson: "I have a regard for your Jesus, but I am sure I see no
connection between Him and the life of your church." Churches,
and all other groups of Christians, are just like
individuals--either they are growing in grace or else they are
backsliding. Such backsliding is often a vicious circle, for
spiritual poverty produces worldliness, and worldliness brings
greater spiritual poverty.

Little by little, the church loses its grip on essential things,
becomes a social club, goes to sleep or flies off at a
tangent. All over the world we find sleeping churches, and all
round them are the gospel-starved masses. Instead of performing
the first thing of importance, evangelising the rnasses, they are
engaged in a bewildering variety of pastimes--anything but the
real thing. It has pleased the Lord to intervene at times to
bring back His people to a more normal life. This is called
revival. Revival, it must be noted, is solely the concern of
believers, and is not an evangelistic campaign as many seem to
think, although such a gospel effort may be the outcome of
revival among Christians.

The greatest need of the churches today is revival.

Revival is of course a matter for individuals as well as
churches--and in such cases, it is often called 'full surrender',
or 'a clean heart', or 'victory over sin',--the term is not of
such vast importance provided we recognise that the experience is
simply the forsaking of a subnormal experience for the normal
Christian life. This is individual revival. Returning to the
words of Scripture, we find the message of the Lord blunt and
powerful. " I counsel thee..." There is no mistaking what the
Lord thinks of that Church. His denunciation; "You say that you
stand in need of nothing " is met by an offer of pure gold
instead of dross, clothing instead of shame, ointment to cure the
blindness.

Again...repentance ! What does it mean? Be in earnest, and change
your warped mind, change your backslidden heart, change your
wrong attitude, change your contrary direction. Repent ! The next
exhortation is one of mixed tenderness and urgency; "Behold, I
stand at the door and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open
the door, I will come in and sup with him, and he with Me." This
plea, preached so often with effect to unregenerate sinners,
would be even more effective with believers in the Church.

It is the Lord Christ Who stands outside the door of the
Laodicean Church. He is patiently, tenderly knocking. Few hear
Him, and many of those that do are too busy with other things to
open the door. And those that are eager to open the door are
often hindered by others who stand in the way. Still He is
knocking. To the individual, there is wonderful comfort. Christ
does not say, " If you persuade all the rest to let Me in----"
but rather " If any man hear My voice" Individual responsibility
is as great regarding revival as regarding salvation. Letting
Christ into the heart means revival for the individual who does
it.

If "revival is the reception by the church of life abundant,"
revival is also reception by the individual of the life
abundant. Revival has always begun through the obedience of
individuals. Four young men, together with individuals scattered
throughout the Province, prayed down the Ulster Revival Of
1859. Evan Roberts and other individual servants of God prayed
down the Welsh Revival Of 1904. God lit little fires here and
there, in individual homes, and when they became numerous the
place went on fire. Andrew Gih, listening to a plea made by Paget
Wilkes, in Shanghai, did not wait until the rest of China was
moved. He opened his heart to revival, and God has been using him
as a revivalist ever since. Instances could be multiplied.

"If any man hear My voice, I will come in and sup with him, and
he with Me." Revival must begin somewhere. It must begin in some
heart. Who knows but it might start with You ? Many Christians
are waiting for a collective stirring...something which will be
labeled "revival" right away. God is waiting for individual
stirrings, and He is waiting for you. Get the perspective right.
"If any man..."

The Church will be moved when its members are moved. Who will be
one of Revival's advance guard? And so the fact remains, revival
is the greatest need of both individual and Church. We must not
regard revival as some supernatural occurrence which we cannot
understand. Revival for the individual is simply deeper
blessing. Revival in the Church is simply deeper blessing. And
deeper blessing is the reward for growth in grace. One finds that
certain groups of Christians and certain schools of thought put
forward their own formula for revival. It is our strong
conviction that God's truth is always simple--it has nothing
complicated about it. The Lord stirs up His people in many
mysterious ways, but the fact remains, He has promised revival to
those who ask, to those who will pay the price.

Thus we see the greatest tragedy of all--this paralysing, deadly
backsliding is wholly unnecessary, wholly uncalled for. At any
time, an individual or a church may receive "blessing that there
shall not be room enough to receive it."

Sin is very deceptive. The backslider or backsliding Church makes
all the excuses possible for the deplorable state of backsliding
and powerlessness. There may be a noticeable amount of
energy--that is all part of the pretence. Backsliders see so few
better than themselves that they begin to feel secure--they lull
themselves to sleep, and snore so loudly that they cannot hear
the call "Awake." But many individuals feel a sense of
disappointment and failure. Their hearts are hungry for deeper
blessing. Many more pretend that their lives are all right, when
they are not all right. They are more dangerous than conscious
backsliders, for they are always praying for blessing upon '
somebody else' , ignoring their own greater need.

Pretence and disappointment-disappointment and pretence. This is
the condition of multitudes of starved Christians. The author has
been privileged to witness God's power manifested in many genuine
revivals--and it has always been noticed that those who are
disappointed get a glimpse of new hope...those who pretend get
shown up. "Search me, 0 God, and know my heart : try me, and know
my thoughts ; see if there be any wicked way in me; and lead me
in the way everlasting."

The important thing to remember is repentance is the prelude to
revival. The Church must first Repent.

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--
Brian Masinick, mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: www.geocities.com/masinick/

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