Pastor Edgar Mayer;
For more sermons and other writings check out pastors homepage: http://www.geocities.com/mayeredgar
Rise
Up In Repentance
A leader of a Christian community went
on a personal prayer retreat and she was looking forward to a time of
undisturbed prayer. Previously in past
prayer times God had drawn so near to
her with so much love hours
spent in loving intimacy with God but not
so this time this time to
her surprise the encounter with God was
to be different. I quote from her book: [I was once more] expecting to
be greeted by Gods loving presence. But the first instant I stepped into my
room, I was aware of a completely different atmosphere. This time Gods
presence made me tremble with fear. I scarcely dared to breathe. The very air
seemed to be charged with the wrath of God. A new feature of Gods nature was
revealed to me
(Basilea Schlink: A Foretaste
Of Heaven. My Personal Story,
When this woman went on her prayer
retreat, she came to experience fear and felt something new the wrath of God.
And in her case judging by her
autobiography this seemed to make no
sense. She was living the life of a saint in poverty and chastity and
service. Why would she of all
people have to experience the wrath of
God?
I wonder whether any one of us has come
here this morning expecting to be surprised with the wrath of God? Can we ever imagine God to be like this?
the first instant I
stepped into my room, I was aware of a completely different atmosphere. This
time Gods presence made me tremble with fear. I scarcely dared to breathe. The
very air seemed to be charged with the wrath of God
How does God draw near to you and me?
What do we expect? What do you expect from God this morning? This is not an
easy question to answer. Many a time
to be truthful we lack the faith for
any kind of intense encounter with God in our worship services. Many a time
for us God seems to be more of a
remote person. For instance, we may turn up at this chapel feeling neither hot
nor cold towards God busy with other things and therefore lukewarm
towards him which tempts us to think
that he is the same lukewarm towards us loving us without any passion.
Then, we may struggle to love ourselves we are disappointed with ourselves and therefore we dont expect God to show
much enthusiasm either. There may be a general expectation of some general good news an acceptance of the formula: Jesus died for
you on the cross but there is no
readiness to meet God there is no readiness to face anything no tuning
in to his passionate embrace of love or wrath.
Furthermore, at this present time any
reflection on the wrath of God does not seem to fit into the life of this
congregation where we are going. Over the last few weeks, months and years
we have been seeking a closer walk with God seeking his manifest presence
seeking to hear how he speaks the word hephzibah over us, meaning: I, God,
delight in you we have been seeking intimacy with God we have been seeking
his power for mission seeking spiritual gifts and favour from God healings
we want to be released in praise and worship seeking a glimpse of his glory
and giving glory to him we want to join in with what he is doing
We have been intense in getting deeper into
the things of God wanting all of God and therefore we dont expect now to be rebuffed by any notions of
unfriendly wrath. Should we go on a prayer retreat and we have the
Fathers Heart weekend coming up in April we dont expect to be surprised by the wrath of God. We expect the
grace of God the Fathers heart of love.
Yet, this is where we need to relearn an
old lesson. The gateway to renewal
the key to further intimacy with God the doorway into all the promises of God
more of Christ, infillings of the Holy Spirit, expanding the kingdom of God,
healings, love and joy the doorway
into all of this is a fresh revelation of Gods wrath against sin because
without a revelation of Gods wrath, there is no repentance and without
repentance, there is no new life in God.
This aspect of Gods truth may be
unpleasant but it is basic and also practical crucial for going deeper into God. The Bible teaches that Romans 1:18:
the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness
and wickedness of people
and
also Romans 2:5:
because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant
heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of Gods wrath
The Bible explains further that Ephesians
2:3:
we were by nature objects of [Gods] wrath
By nature by our sinful human nature
we were and we are in trouble: every
one of us. Every man, woman and child living apart from God every man,
woman and child living apart from faith in Jesus Christ is by nature an object of Gods wrath. There is sin bubbling forth from
our fallen human nature that attracts the fierce judgement of God and dooms us
to eternal death in hell.
We may want to object. We may want to say
that this is unfair and we may want to live in denial but then what good would
that do? The truth is the truth regardless of our opinion and even right now we have to say that the world is in a mess seemingly
suffering from some kind of judgement already now.
The truth is that our sin attracts the
wrath of God and therefore Jesus came preaching this central message Mark
1:15: The time has come. The
kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news. Jesus preached what Christians still preach
today: Repent. Turn away from sin. Turn away from what attracts the
wrath of God. Have faith in Jesus Christ.
The Bible puts the matter in plain words
Ephesians 2:3-5:
we were by nature objects of Gods wrath. But because of his great
love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive in Christ even when we
were dead in transgressions it is by grace you have been saved. So also Romans 5:9:
. we have now been justified by his
blood
saved from Gods wrath
This is not really new to us. Most of us
have learned that Gods wrath is real but then when a sinner turns away from
his old life of sin and trusts Jesus with his future, then the innocent blood of
Jesus which he shed on the cross as an atoning sacrifice cleanses the sinner
and makes him holy. In this way repentance and forgiveness are the gateway to a
life with God. This is not really new to us but what may be new or what may need to be relearned in practice is that this dynamic of repentance remains
ongoing in the life of a Christian. Dealing with sin in the face of Gods wrath
is not something that only belongs to the past it is not something that
only belongs to the time when we became Christians dealing with sin in the face of Gods wrath has much relevance right now.
Listen again to the basic message Revelations 14:6-7 I read from the Bible:
the eternal
gospel . proclaim to those who live on the earth to
every nation, tribe, language and people. He said in a loud voice: Fear God
and give him glory, because the hour of his judgement has come. Worship him who
made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water. This is the basic call on all of us: Fear
God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgement has come. And we are to heed this call with diligence
always in our life of faith. The
Bible says 2 Corinthians 13:5: Examine yourselves
test yourselves
1 Corinthians 10:12: . if you think
you are standing firm, be careful that you dont fall
Vigilance is required because the bar is
set high Ephesians 5:3-7: But among you there must not be even a hint
of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these
are improper for Gods holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk
or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this
you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person such a man is an
idolater has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one
deceive you with empty words, for because of such things Gods wrath comes on
those who are disobedient
Disobedience is costly. God is not soft
on sin. We better realize and relearn the lesson that sin is a serious matter
and remains an ongoing challenge in the Christian life. As much as God loves us
and as much as disciplining us grieves him, sin attracts his wrath because according to the Bible Ephesians 2:4 God chose us
before the creation
of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight
and according to Hebrews 12:14
we can be certain that:
without
holiness no one will see the Lord.
How are we to respond now? Are we shying
away from this truth? No we want to see God and we want him to be holy. We
want the fullness of God. We dont want to retreat from what is possible in God: beholding the glory of Christ, love and joy and
peace, healings, infillings with the Holy Spirit,
eternal life in heaven
There is no way that we want to miss out on
any of that. Therefore, what is required?
We need to rise up. We need to rise up
and therefore at this point can I make another appeal especially to the men (I was preaching on this only two weeks ago): There is much about our faith and worship
and Jesus Christ that is manly. Sometimes church may come across as being too
much lovy-dovy and too much talking (and we all know that often the women
are the better talkers while some of us men prefer our sheds and fixing
things). Men, change your ideas about
church. Change your ideas about faith. We need to rise up and wage war against
sin, death and the devil.
We are confronted with sin and the
pollution with sin the inroads sin
makes into our families and into our communities we are confronted with an enemy that seeks to rob us the Bible
says 1 Peter 5:8:
your enemy the devil prowls
around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour
Therefore, men of God and women of
God we need to concentrate, exercise discipline, steel ourselves with
determination, lift our game and dont give an inch.
In this light consider the apostle Paul
who said 1 Corinthians 9:27: But
I buffet my body and bring it into bondage lest by any means after I have
preached to others I myself should become rejected.
The apostle Paul knew that he was in a
fight to the end and he steeled himself accordingly buffeting his body
bringing it into bondage disciplining his spiritual muscles and appetites
committing to holiness.
One way of doing this and this again points to a kind of faith that is
more than just fluffy religion one
strategy of waging war against sin and the devil is to commit to fasting. A new
Christian began to work at a hospital for children with disabilities. One day
he met a 16-year-old boy Stevie who was a victim of Downs syndrome. He was a self-mutilator who was
driven to cry out and beat himself in the face constantly. The staff
psychologist at the school had secured permission from state officials to
administer electric shock therapy to Stevie for a six-month period. But he just
got worse and worse instead of better. His face began to feel like dry
alligator skin because he beat himself continuously. Finally, the attendants
tied Stevies hands in splints so that he couldnt bend his arms to reach his
face. The only problem was that the other children in his dormitory ward
developed a new game once they figured out that Stevies hands were bound at
his sides.They liked to run up behind him and push him so hard that he would
lose his balance and fall down. Since Stevie could no longer instinctively
shield his face with his arms because of the splints, every time the kids on
the ward played their game and pushed him, Stevie would land facedown on the
floor without any way to protect himself or soften the landing.
What was the answer for Stevie? Most of the time the nurses would find him with blood streaming from
his nose, lips, and mouth. Whenever the new Christian would come, Stevie
could sense Gods love coming from him and he
would put his
head on his shoulder and just weep. Finally the new Christian said: Lord, You told me that You
sent me here to love these children. What
is the answer for Stevie? Very clearly he
heard the voice of the Holy Spirit saying, This kind goes not out but
by prayer and fasting. This was
from the Bible Matthew 17:21. So the new Christian didnt eat and didnt
drink. On the fourth day the Lord spoke to him and said, You can drink,
and so he started drinking water. But he
did not break the fast until the fourteenth day and the Lord said, Now
pray for Stevie.
When he arrived for his shift at the
school that day, he took Stevie into his little office cubicle and said, Stevie, I know your mind may not understand what
Im saying, but your spirit is eternal. I want to tell you that I am a servant of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Ive come to preach good news to you. I want you to know
that Jesus Christ came to set the captives free. Then he said, In the name of Jesus, you evil spirit of
mutilation, you let him go now in the name of Jesus. Suddenly Stevies body was flung about eight feet away from him and hit
the other wall of the cubicle! When Stevie hit the wall, his body was elevated
about three feet above the floor, and then he slid down to the floor and let
out a long sigh. Immediately the new Christian smelled an incredibly foul smell
of rotten eggs and burning sulfur in the room, which gradually faded away. He
quickly went to Stevie, cradled him in his arms, and removed his splints while
he watched with wide eyes. Then Stevie began to bend his arms and gently feel
his face. He watched him softly touch his eyes, his nose, and his ears; then he
started sobbing. He had realized that for the first time he was not being
driven to beat himself. He was gently touching his face. He had been delivered (Mahesh
Chavda: The Hidden Power Of Prayer & Fasting, Shippensburg: Destiny Image
1998, p9-14).
Fasting is not an easy exercise (you do get hungry) fasting is not for people who
want an easy religion fasting is for warriors
and in the hands of warriors is a powerful weapon of war against sin and the
powers of darkness. Fasting charged the prayer for Stevie with power for
deliverance flinging him through the air for healing. Why? Why was this the
case? Fasting attracted and still attracts the power of God because in the
exercise of fasting we repent we turn away we forsake we deny ourselves sinful distractions from
God. In the radical measure of fasting we stop the pursuit of other priorities
such as food or comfort or entertainment etc. We commit to God alone and
holiness without reserve and God is willing to work through that a
purified vessel.
When a whole city was confronted with
the judgement of God, the king and his nobles issued a decree: Do not let any person or beast
taste anything;
do not let them eat or drink. But let them be covered with sackcloth. Let
everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways. Who knows? God
may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will
not perish. Then the Bible records
Jonah 3:10: When God saw what they did [how they fasted] and how they
turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the
destruction he had threatened.
God is like that. Sin attracts his wrath
your sin attracts his wrath and the time comes when he is ready to
execute judgement but in his love he warns people about their sins, calls them
to repentance and then is more than willing to forgive them as they turn away
from wickedness and disobedience (as they become serious about that in
fasting). Thus, you and I do not be
too surprised when in one worship service God draws near to you with notions of
wrath confronting you with your sin. To
him your disobedience is no small matter.
Repentance is to be our daily practice
and even more so in this time of the church year. Traditionally the 40 days
leading up to Good Friday and Easter were a time of repentance remembering and
meditating on the suffering and death of Jesus and then his resurrection. Why
was all of that necessary? Traditionally the church spends 40 days soaking up
the core truth of our faith letting
it dawn on us that if God the Father
had to give up his only begotten Son Jesus Christ for the sake of our sin, then
our sin must have been and must be a serious matter. If Jesus Christ had to
suffer so much beatings and betrayals, rejection and torture then our salvation is not a cheap gift but
an incredible bestowment of undeserved love asking for a response.
This year as a congregation we will use
the devotion book Reliving
The Passion by Walter
Wangerin precicely to examine our deep need of Jesus grace in the face of his
wrath on our sins. What Jesus did for us defies comprehension.
Before I close I want to safeguard
against one possible misconception. When Gods wrath confronts your sin, do not
think that God requires you first
of all to shape up that God
requires you first of all to perform and fix what you have done wrong before he will accept you. What he wants
you to do what he wants me to do is
that we repent as the first course of action, that is: that we make a
commitment to turn away from sin (that we fast and abstain from wrong
priorities and only turn to Jesus). Later
God may lead us into making restitution but first of all we are not meant to
fix our old life but die to our old life and then by the power of God new life comes through him in the form of
forgiveness and a new spirit. As Christians we do not live by our own efforts
but by his power.
Now have we become open to experience
what the leader of a Christian community experienced in our opening story? She
wrote:
the
first instant I stepped into my room, I was aware of a completely different
atmosphere. This time Gods presence made me tremble with fear. I scarcely
dared to breathe. The very air seemed to be charged with the wrath of God. A
new feature of Gods nature was revealed to me
God give that we are no longer surprised when sin attracts the wrath of
God but instead rise up in repentance making a warrior-like stand against
sin fasting for holiness all the while trusting the mercy and grace of our
God. The Bible activates us with these
words 1 Thessalonians 5:6-9:
let us not
be like the others
but let us be alert and self-controlled
putting on faith
and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did
not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus
Christ
You and I rise up in repentance the
gateway to everything from God. Amen.