“Thank You, Lord Jesus, that You are calling us as Your church to repent, turn and acknowledge You. We need to be those who are in tune with Your heart and Your burden, to see nations coming into Your habitat. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.”
Acts 2:15-16 For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. (16) But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
Peter is connecting this audience of devout Jews to the prophecy of Joel. We have seen that this prophecy of Joel was of the pain of God’s heart. God’s pain was that His people must repent and return to Him. The Lord was then assuring complete flourishing.
The disciples were speaking of the wonderful works of God, in different languages, so that nations will know the heart of God to reconcile people to His habitat.
God’s people needed to know that they are the instruments God is using to reconcile nations to Himself. This role is now upon His church.
II Chronicles 7:14-15 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (15) Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place.
The Lord longs for us to humble ourselves, pray, seek His face, and turn from our wicked ways. What are our wicked ways? There are a couple of matters that we must consider.
One area that is God’s deep concern for His church is that though we ought to be people of faith in Him, we live based on sight. The pressures of our circumstances drive us to make decisions and choices in life. It is not God’s will for us that guides us.
This is the first place in which we must repent before God. We must be people of faith in order to carry the pain of God’s heart to the nations. If we are living by sight, we have no message to give to the nations for the nations too are living by sight.
Repentance requires that we turn around from all the sight-based choices that we have made in life. Just like the prodigal, we must get up and return. It will be costly but that is true repentance.
It is when the church repents that the Lord will hear our prayer, He will forgive our sin and heal our land.
Malachi 3:1-5 “Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,” Says the LORD of hosts. (2) “But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire And like launderers’ soap. (3) He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, And purge them as gold and silver, That they may offer to the LORD An offering in righteousness. (4) “Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem Will be pleasant to the LORD, As in the days of old, As in former years. (5) And I will come near you for judgment; I will be a swift witness Against sorcerers, Against adulterers, Against perjurers, Against those who exploit wage earners and widows and orphans, And against those who turn away an alien—Because they do not fear Me,” Says the LORD of hosts.
What is the second important matter before God in which the church must repent?
The Lord sees in us, His church, a terrible lack of concern for those who are hurting, who are all around us. We have become self-obsessed. This self-obsession in the church has driven us to such an extent that our entire relationship with God is limited to God being good to us.
Whereas, the ethos of His church is to be living for those who are broken. There are troubled people at our doorsteps. Unfortunately, because of our self-obsession, we have insulated ourselves from the pain of those who are hurting, around us. We have not realised that the capacity of responding to the hurting is given to us when we surrender to Christ. It is His character that operates through us. We are His hands and His feet.
We must repent before God for our self-obsession.
Titus 2:11-15 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, (12) teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, (13) looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, (14) who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. (15) Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you.
God is purifying for Himself, His own special people, who will carry His message of reconciliation to the nations.