Mea Culpa. Lo siento. Je suis desole. Entschuldigung. I'm sorry.
Yes, I did have to look those phrases up! While I won't apologize for the content of the message on Sunday, I do feel badly about the nearly 43 minute mark I hit on the podcast length for this week. I typically try to keep myself to 35 minutes or less, believing the old adage that the mind can only absorb what the seat can endure, but this week I probably pushed the envelope of what your seats can endure just a little bit. Thanks for sticking around long enough to let me finish, though. I appreciate your willingness to track with me through the whole message.
I say that because, in many ways, I felt like it was one of the more important messages for our church to hear that I've delivered in quite some time. As we closed out our 7:14 series on prayer and fasting we focused in on the last phrase of 2 Chronicles 7:14 which promises that if God's people would humble themselves, pray, seek his face, and turn from their wicked ways, then God would hear from heaven and heal our land.
We began the series by reminding ourselves that we live in a great mission field. New England is one of the least "religious" areas of the country by just about any measure you could use, and is a land desperately in need of God's healing to move towards us. Many times, however, we pray about that healing or revival in ways that tends to eliminate our responsibility as the people of God to act in cooperation with God in the healing process. I'm convinced, however, that God's people being awakened by him to their purpose in the world are actually part of the healing for our land that we pray for.
Isaiah 58 opens with a rebuke of Israel for the way that they have fasted and prayed. They have done so out of ritual and obligation, but without really engaging their hearts in the process. As a result, God is not really impressed with the way they have gone about their religious business. He essentially tells them that their prayer and fasting is useless, because when they pray and fast they do their best to endure it and when they have finished, they go back to living their life the way they had before.
But the kind of prayer and fasting God desires doesn't allow his people to remain unchanged. As we pray, God opens up our eyes to the things that concern him, and then he invites us to move with him to meet those concerns. He doesn't eliminate our responsibility to act, he just promises that he will act along with us and will put forth his healing power through us.
When Isaiah talks about God's people being those who rebuild ancient ruins and raise up age-old foundations, I couldn't help but think that his words are applicable to our church. We live in a world where the ancient paths of faith and spiritual vitality are lying in ruins, where the age-old foundations of passion and love for God are crumbling. We live in a community where brokenness and hopelessness dwell even in the midst of great prosperity and apparent health. And the church needs to be part of the answer to our prayers for God to bring healing to our land. We need to run to the mess rather than away from it.
Over the next few weeks, I will be sharing more about why our church approaches church a bit differently. As we do, I hope you will hear us circling back around to these same themes. We believe that God wants to awaken a new revival in our area - it will be a revival that is good for the whole community, not just the church. I believe that as that happens our community will start to see a different version of "the church" than what they're used to and find it incredibly attractive!
Recent Comments