by David Orton

Rev 18:2

A Warning To The Church

Part 4 of 6

This series sounds a warning to the contemporary church. It will show that spiritual Jerusalem, the church of Jesus Christ – the city of God, has been invaded by Babylon, the city of man. We will show how this conflict plays out in the contemporary scene and how Babylon will ultimately fall in this glorious climax of the ages.

The Divine Prescription

As we have just seen in Part 3, Paul prescribes the antidote to Babylon by exhorting us to “cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God”. The fear of the Lord is the hatred of evil.[1] It is the spring from which holiness flows.[2]  And provides the inner motivation to cleanse ourselves from the sins of the flesh and of the spirit.
 
In that sense, therefore, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.[3] And we know that “the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy” (Jas 3:17 NRSV, emphasis mine). So, “the wisdom from above” in a very real sense brings heaven to earth. As heaven’s wisdom, the fear of the Lord, will teach us his ways, causing: renewal of heart, restoration of relationships, and the rebuilding of the house of prayer.

Renewal of Heart

The forerunner ministry of John the Baptist was designed to “prepare the way of the Lord”.[4]  Before every historic visitation of God, the Holy Spirit has prepared the way by significant dealings with the human heart.  Every human attempt to rebuild Eden (religious and political) lacks the one ingredient that only God can give – a renewed heart.  And this only comes through the regenerating and sanctifying power of the Spirit.
 
Therefore, every true visitation of God, in some measure, is preceded by the call to a deeper identification with the cross and to a fuller experience of the Spirit.[5]  And through these to a closer conformity to the image of Christ.
 
This usually comes through the dealings of God.[6] God allows things in his wisdom which he could stop by his power – “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Rom 8:28 NIV). As Forrest Gump observed, “Life is like a box of choclolates – you never know what your’re going to get”. God works “in all things”, including pain. But why? The very next verse tells us – that we might be “conformed to the likeness of his Son” (v 29). The vicissitudes of life – its unpredictable and often painful experiences, are allowed by God for one purpose: to press us into a deeper identification with the cross of Christ, and the life of the Spirit, through which we are more closely conformed to his image and glory.
 
A few verses earlier Paul clearly shows that sharing in Christ’s suffering qualifies us to share in his glory – “Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory” (v 17). In fact, our experience of suffering works into us a glory “beyond all measure” (2 Cor 4:17 NRSV). Paul connects our present “light” and “momentary” suffering with the “eternal weight of glory”. The good news, though, is that the measure of glory always outweighs the measure of suffering. But the fact remains: no suffering, no glory.
 
And so, the weight of the coming visitation will be measured by our suffering. But how does this work? If we cooperate with him the Holy Spirit, in times of suffering, will create within us three conditions of heart: purity, brokenness, and humility.

Purity of Heart

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Mtt 5: 8 NIV).
 
“Who may ascend the hill of the Lord?  Who may stand in his holy place?  He who has clean hands and a pure heart… Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.  Who is this King of glory?  The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle…” (Psa 24: 3,4,7,8 NIV).
 
When confronted by the enemy, in second Chronicles chapter 16, Asa faced the choice of relying on human strength – on the army of the King of Aram, or on the Lord.  Despite previously leading the people in revival, in the moment of crisis, he tragically chose human ability – to trust in the King of Aram.  The window of victory over the enemy closed. And because he did not look to the Lord the prophet declared, “For the eyes of the Lord flash back and forth over the whole earth to display His strength on behalf of those whose heart is full of integrity toward Him.” (2 Chron.16: 9, Berkeley, emphasis mine). Asa’s heart was not pure, causing him to walk by sight, trusting in human contrivance rather than the Lord.
 
The Western church likewise faces overwhelming odds.  But what will we do?  Are our hearts pure toward the Lord? Will we pridefully continue to bow to the gods of rationalism and intellectualism, doubting and refusing to believe? Will we continue to turn to what we know and trust – to the Baals of productivity and power, to the work of our own hands – to better techniques and methods? Or, will we turn to the Lord?

Brokenness of Heart

“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, you will not despise”  (Psa 51: 17 NIV).
 
“For this is what the high and lofty One says - he who lives forever, whose name is holy: ‘I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite’” (Isa 57: 15 NIV).
 
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Mtt 5: 3 NIV).
 
Our hearts in their natural state are proud.  Apart from the renewing work of the Spirit we are unbroken and resistant to the searching light of truth.  Before David’s prophetic confrontation with Nathan, he had for twelve months concealed the reality of his true condition – of his sin with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah.  When confronted, though, he didn’t blame-shift – there was no self-justification.  He didn’t rationalise but broke, receiving truth against himself.[7]
 
It is not possible to experience true revival without brokenness.  Brokenness on earth will always create openness in heaven.

Humility of Heart

“God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble” (Jas 4: 6 NIV).
 
“He has showed you, O man, what is good.  And what does the Lord require of you?  To act justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God” (Mic 6: 8 NIV).
 
This kind of humility is “not with eyeservice, as menpleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing God” (Col 3: 22 NIV). We are learning how to play to an audience of one. Even so, humility is not only devotional but also relational. It is done in the fear of God, but is expressed toward men. Do I unconsciously feel better about myself by finding fault in others? Do I humorously or otherwise put others down? Do I find it difficult to admit I was wrong, or ask somebody for their forgiveness? Do I justify myself and rationalise my behaviour? Do I compete for position or recognition? Do I suffer from feelings of envy or jealousy and find it difficult to praise another person? Do I experience an inner resistance when being counselled, corrected, or instructed? Do I have difficulty in receiving from others? Just a few of the symptoms of pride.
 
I recall vividly the inner struggle I experienced when starting out in ministry and my closest friend was promoted and favoured over me. Every Sunday, when he led the worship or preached, was an exercise in holiness, of humbling my heart, as I struggled with feelings of jealousy until I was free.
 
The spirit of pride is the root cause of spiritual decline:  “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling” (Prov 16:18 NASB). It was historically the cause of the church’s fall – causing it to stumble from the ways of God into politics and power. Therefore, her recovery will be in the opposite spirit – in the spirit of humility – “A man’s pride will bring him low, but a humble spirit will obtain honor” (Prov 29:23 NASB).
 
The wisdom-writer understood the source of all life’s problems – our heart. He exhorts us to “Watch over our hearts with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life” (Prov 4:23). Church, let us learn the lesson and bow our hearts before “the Father of spirits”, who through his moulding touch disciplines us so that we might share his holiness.[8] Our dealings with the Father are to one end – that he might so mould our spirit – our motives, attitudes, and affections – that we might commune with his heart and nature. Father come, breathe upon us and break our hearts.
 
John Bunyan said that, “When we pray it is better to let our heart be without words, than for our words to be without heart”. And so, let’s camp here a moment.  Let this be a selah time as we dwell on these words penned by John Donne five centuries ago.
 
Let us feel the pathos of this cry as we pray,
 
“Batter my heart, three-person’d God; for, you
As yet but knock, breath, shine, and seek to mend;
That I may rise, and stand, o’erthrow me, and bend
Your force, to break, blow, burn and make me new.
I, like an usurp’d town, to another due,
Labour to admit you, but Oh, to no end,
Reason your viceroy in me, me should defend,
But is captiv’d, and proves weak or untrue.
Yet dearly I love you, and would be loved fain,
But am betroth’d unto your enemy:
Divorce me, untie, or break that knot again,
Take me to you, imprison me, for I
Except you enthral me, never shall be free,
Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me.”

 
An excerpt from David Orton’s book, “Snakes in the Temple: Unmasking Idolatry in Today’s Church” .

——————————————————————————–

[1] Psa 19:9; 34:11-14; Prov 8:13
[2] Isa 11:2; Prov 14:27
[3] Prov 9:10
[4] Lk 3:4-6
[5] For a foundational teaching on the power of the cross over sin and self refer to Paul & Bunty Collins, Back to the Gospel, Fountain Gate Christian Foundation, Newcastle, Australia, 1994. www.churchlink.com.au
[6] Heb 12:4-11
[7] Psa 51 is the poignant response of David’s broken heart when he was confronted by Nathan.
[8] Heb 12:5-12

——————————————————————————–
 

REPRINT AGREEMENT: Duplication and re-transmission of this writing is permitted provided that complete source and website information for Lifemessenger is included. Thank you.

www.lifemessenger.org

Copyright © David Orton 2006
 

This entry was posted on Friday, July 21st, 2006 at 11:49 am and is filed under Reformation/ Revival, Prayer / Worship, Church Structure, Biblical Leadership, Living Christianity. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.