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A Call To True Repentance

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The world is desperately seeking a reason to believe. Unfortunately, they will also accept any reason to not believe. A loveless church, where one member is backstabbing another does not serve the purposes of God and it certainly robs Him of His glory. Just as Jesus loved us! That is how we are supposed to love each other. Jesus loved us while we were still sinners! He loved us unconditionally. He was faithful when we were faithless. He overlooked our failings. Yet how do we treat each other? What level of mercy do we show to each other? When someone fails or falls are we showing the love of Christ or do we assume the self-righteousness we did not earn? Do we extend the same grace that we had been given? This applies on the individual level as well as the church as a whole.

A church can also get lost sometimes. We can get self absorbed, have our pride blind us and start to undo the work God is trying to do. God help us if we actually allow ourselves to be used by the enemy to the point that we start getting in the way of something God is trying to do. Motives do not matter to God, obedience does. We can convince ourselves that anything we do, any cause we undertake, is somehow given by God but He will not be fooled. We need to truly examine our hearts and ask if what we are doing glorifies God or does it serve something in our flesh. Either way, the call Jesus was making to the Church at Ephesus in our key verses is the same call He is making to us today repent!

The repentance Jesus is speaking about here is clearly defined. First, we must see "how far we have fallen." Repentance always begins within ourselves . It is always easier to look at other people and say they need to repent. It is always easier to feel better about ourselves than to examine ourselves. It is easier to pretend we are helping by praying for people instead of asking for prayer ourselves. If you are going to lead a cry for corporate repentance, you need to be the first one at the altar.

Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor. James 4: 8-10 (NLT)

Let there be tears for what YOU have done. Not someone else beloved. Not for the person(s) you deem as being in the wrong. We all play a part in the falling away. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. None are righteous. Yet too often, we can stand and point the finger at the person the enemy has accused in our hearts. They become the representation of all that is wrong within the church when God is trying to get us to look in a mirror.

Repentance next involves a turning away. Jesus says turn back! Stop going in the direction you are currently heading in because it is leading you away from God. Turn back to me, Jesus says. The implication is obvious. The direction we are currently in is leading away from Jesus if He is imploring us to turn back to Him. It is leading away from glorifying God the purpose for which we have been called individually and corporately. Turn around because God is still in the room waiting for you to listen to Him.

Part of the process of turning back is to do the works we did at first. When we were first saved we were on fire for God. Now we may be on fire for serving God and there is a stark difference. Christianity is a religion but Christ is Lord of our lives. God does not want religion He wants relationship.

And what union can there be between God's temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said: "I will live in them and walk among them.  I will be their God, and they will be my people 2Corinthians 6: 16 (NLT)

We are the temple of the living God but sometimes we can err. We can start to defile that temple individually and corporately. We can go through the Martha motions of the good little church or the good little believer. We can work hard, endure patiently, and refuse evil yet still grow farther apart from God. Where is the love in the beloved? Do we love God as we first did? Do we tear down the body of Christ instead of loving them as Christ first loved us? Do we extend the same grace and mercy God has lavishly poured on us? Are we fulfilling the very purpose God has saved us for to glorify the name of the Lord? Or are we glorifying the works of the enemy? Repentance is the message for us today as believers and as the church. True repentance however begins within each of us. It is inward searching, not seeking whom to blame. Turn back and do the works we first did, when we first fell in love with Jesus. Only His glory matters. Only His will be done. Let us not lose our calling and purpose. Let us not lose our standing as a star in the hand of Jesus Christ.

Reverend Anthony Wade August 19, 2010

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Credentialed Minister of the Gospel for the Assemblies of God. Owner and founder of 828 ministries. Vice President for Goodwill Industries. Always remember that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to (more...)
 
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