John the Baptist’s began his ministry with an interruption to Israel’s complacency. He suddenly appeared on the scene, crying out his first word to them – “Repent!” (Matthew 3:2)
And then we see Jesus begin His public ministry, and the first word we hear Him say to the people is the same: “Repent!” (Matthew 4:17)
As I prayed about what to open this blog with, and as I sought the Lord for a thought to share, why am I surprised that the message He gave me is the same as how both John and Jesus opened their ministry? God is consistent, and His heart for the world hasn’t changed. If there is only one message I ever share, only one devotional thought I ever post, then the message of God’s call to repentance has to be it.
The theme of the entire Bible
It’s been His call from the time of the Fall in Genesis 3. It is the theme of the entire Old Testament, the foundation for all that is in the New Testament. We have lost our way, wandering with our own desires as our guide map. As we do this, we have forgotten the goodness and holiness of God. We have rejected Him, and either explicitly or implicitly decided that we are god and He is not. His call to us is a call of love – repent! Remember who He is, remember His love, His mercy, His authority.
Seek the LORD while he may be found;
call upon him while he is near;
let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. (Isaiah 55:6-7)
God’s Authority is Not in Question
I’m reading the Bible issuing Robert Murrey M’cheyne’s Bible plan, and this morning was a challenging reading, a reminder that our submission to God’s authority is not optional. He is God. And as God, He is our creator, and He is our sustainer. Even more, He is the One who holds the universe in His hands, with ultimate power. He is the source of all wisdom, all right living, all truth. And He has the absolute right to require our obedience to Him.
An Old Testament Example
Take a moment to look at Deuteronomy 28:1-14, the passage I read this morning. Look at all the blessings in these verses, and pay attention to the word “if.” What is the condition for these blessings? Notice how they are sandwiched in between God’s call for obedience.
Deuteronomy 28:1 says “If you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all His commandments that I command you today.” And this section closes with Deuteronomy 28:13-14 which echoes these words, adding “if you do not turn aside from any of the words that I command you today, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.” It is a conditional blessing.
And if they do turn aside from obedience to God? Well, it’s too long to quote and you can read it for yourself, but verse after verse talks about all that God will do to get their attention. He reminds them that He is God and there is no other. They have gone in the wrong direction and need to turn back. Notice God’s “why” in verse 20 – “because you have forsaken me.”
God’s heart for obedience
God is serious about obedience. He is serious about us living in recognition of His authority. He ALONE is God, and there is no other. In fact, that is a phrase you can highlight in your Bible from Deuteronomy all the way through Acts.
Turn to me and be saved,
all the ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other. (Isaiah 45:22)Echoed in the New Testament
Before you come at me saying “But that’s the law! We’re not under the law! That doesn’t apply to us!” Hold up for just a moment. Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 5, as He began to teach His followers what His Kingdom looks like.
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished." (Matthew 5:17-18)
God’s standards don’t change. He is still God – the only God. He still is worthy of our ultimate allegiance, He still blesses those who humbly submit to Him, and He still works to get the attention of those who refuse, who live as if they themselves are gods. Yes, we live in the grace of the gospel. But grace does not allow us to live as though God does not exist. He is still God.
What about us?
It got me thinking about the last few years. Think about our nation. Do you see a people who delight in God’s truth? Are we a people praising Him for His wisdom, His goodness, His mercy, His love? Do we recognize that all our prosperity has come from Him (Deuteronomy 8:17-18)? What do you see?
Look at our nation from God’s perspective, our world from His perspective. Is it any wonder that we are dealing with such struggles? Or that we are facing persistent diseases, economic struggles, famines, injustices, you name it? Why is this? Is God being vindictive? Is He being mean, ugly, or selfish?
Our struggles – an interruption by His mercy?
To quote Paul – By No Means! Have you ever considered that all the struggles we are facing right now are in reality the MERCY of God? That they are a way to wake us up from our prosperity-induced coma and remind us that He alone is our source, that He is God, and that He is to be feared, reverenced, and honored. The very fact that we question God’s goodness in times of struggle is evidence that we have placed ourselves in the seat of the Almighty and determined that God submits to us, rather than the other way around.
Do we want His blessing without submitting to His Lordship?
God has His ways of getting our attention. Now, I’m not saying that every struggle is because of our disobedience. Some things we bring on ourselves, some are the consequences of other’s decisions, and others are just a result of the sinful nature of a creation that eagerly waits for redemption. There are many reasons for our struggles.
But we cannot ignore the fact that God does go to extreme lengths to interrupt us as we foolishly race in the wrong direction. If we can look as see that we ARE headed in that wrong direction, then we need to take notice of His Holy interruption in our lives.
He knows where our path leads, He knows the destruction that we are heading toward – the eternal destruction that makes the sufferings of this life seem insignificant in comparison, as difficult as they are. Read Amos 4:6-1, and see why God brought trouble on Israel. Because God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, look at Revelation 9:20-21, and see why God will bring terrible destruction before the end.
What can we do with His interruption?
We love to quote 2 Chronicles 7:14 as we pray for our nation, it is a promise that we take to heart. Look at it closely –
“If my people who are called by my name 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”
2 Chronicles 7:14
Let’s ask the questions:
- WHO is this talking to? (My People who are called by my name – who is that speaking of today?)
- WHAT should they do?
- humble themselves
- pray
- seek my face
- TURN FROM THEIR WICKED WAYS
- HOW will God respond?
- hear from heaven
- forgive their sin
- heal their land
Responding to the call
We can debate if this verse even applies to us in modern America. In context, this promise belongs to God’s chosen nation, Israel. But believers, if we pray in line with this verse, we must be willing to submit to its requirements. Church, before we shake our heads at the rest of the nation, wagging fingers and sighing over the rampant sin that we see around us, have we taken a good look at ourselves? Are we passionately pursuing the Lord that we claim to follow, the Christ who gave us His name?
Have we submitted to the work of the Spirit, who is growing us in holiness and righteousness, in love, in mercy, in justice, in self-control? Do we recognize that what God calls sin is sin, no matter what the culture around us wants to claim? How are we loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, loving what He loves and hating what He hates?
A personal call to repentence
Before we are ready to reach the world around us, we need to look inside ourselves, asking the Lord to remove the log from our own eye so that we can see clearly to remove the speck from others (Matthew 7:5). Remember that it’s not about striving in our own strength, it’s about submitting to the Spirit that empowers us to live lives that are pleasing to God, its about confessing our shortcomings and allowing the Lord to cleanse us, choosing not to intentionally practice sin but rather practicing the righteousness that we are called and empowered to live in. It’s about responding to the Spirit’s conviction when we are drifting, and allowing Him to redirect our way.
Hope from the interruption
What about if you’ve stumbled across this and for the first time you are realizing that you HAVE been walking in your own way? That up until now you have been “following your heart”, allowing your own desires to lead you? What if you recognize that God has been working to get your attention? That He has been challenging you that the way that you have been living is not right?
It’s all about Jesus. At that moment you recognize that you are walking the wrong way, He has the answer for you. Cry out to Jesus. You can’t “pay God back” for the wrong you’ve done. You can’t fix yourself. It’s not about YOU at all. It’s all about HIM. He died, taking the punishment you deserve for rejecting God.
What’s more, He rose from the dead! He proved once and for all that every one of His claims about Himself was absolutely true. Even more, his resurrection showed that His death was sufficient in God’s eyes to wipe away your sin. He did it because of His great love for you, and because of the Father’s great love for you. What He asks of you is faith. Faith that His death is sufficient to cover your sin, faith that He is Who He says He is. Faith is evidence of a repentant heart, a heart that has turned from seeking its own to seeking Him.
What about our nation?
Sometimes I wonder if we are too far gone. Has our cultural tide turned so far away from God that there is no turning back?
But God is a God of hope. His arm is not too short to save, His strength is not too weak to turn a nation on its head. And I firmly believe that He is calling out to us, to remind us that He is God, that He is the one who had blessed us abundantly in spite of our shortcomings, and that He is the source of all the goodness that we enjoy.
Nations are made up of individuals. You and me. And your family. Your neighbor. Your coworker. The Bible is full of stories of individuals that God has used to make a difference in the world, and history has shown that He has not stopped using “little” people in mighty ways.
It begins with me, and it begins with you, and it will spread from there. Seek to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. And love others the way Christ has loved you. Turn from seeking your own way, and yield to the work that the Spirit is doing in and through you. Watch what the Lord will do as He gets your attention through His Holy Interruptions.
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