HEALTHY CHURCH: Say Yes to Jesus
Titus 2:11-14 is very clear that the grace of God, which leads you to say “yes” to Jesus, also demands that you say no to “ungodliness and worldly lusts.” The calling from God is to live “soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world.” Church, the Bible must have the last say on what is right for your body of believers and what brings glory to Him. Saying “yes” to Jesus brings the realization that your church does not belong to you but to Jesus Christ. Quite often, the problem is not being unaware of what God’s Word says but acting upon it in obedience (Luke 6:46-49). Saying “yes” to Jesus means obeying His truth you say you believe.
One often overlooked need in the church is not just individual repentance but also corporate repentance. In a recent article, Kevin DeYoung stated, “The solution is not to remove forsaking of sin from the gospel equation but to labor for a church community where lifelong repentance is the normal experience of Christian discipleship.” He stated that regret is common enough, but repentance is rare. Jesus is looking for followers who will hear His words and practice them. Keith Miller reminded us, “The very thing we are afraid of, our brokenness, is the door to the Father’s heart.” Psalm 32:3 says, “When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long.”
Your church must challenge every member to closely examine whether their public faith (what everyone sees on Sunday) and private practice (seven days a week) are in harmony. That is the importance of living under the authority of the Word of God because many live according to their “feelings” (what is true for me) while God calls you to live by absolute truth, which is His divine standard true for all. In Asleep in the Land of Nod, David Buttsstated, “There is a divine, holy anger over sin and rebellion that cannot be ignored.” Revival is needed, but for revival to come, repentance must occur first.
Are souls being saved? Is God’s manifest presence apparent in your worship services? Is your church vibrant and alive, with God moving regularly and mightily? Or is it the opposite? Are you and your church experiencing a spiritual drought and dryness right now? Are you still striving to be faithful but honestly, the joy of serving the Lord is no longer present? Do you feel like you are just going through the motions? Let me state this clearly — without repentance, there can be no expectation of revival. Yet, how do we commonly respond to personal sin or corporate sin? The temptation is to deny it, ignore it or just hope it goes away.
In Rev. 2:5, Jesus told the church at Ephesus, “Remember therefore from whence thou are fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.” Revelation 2 outlines a simple three-step process — Remember, Repent and Return. However, this process is neither simplistic nor easy, as it demands humility, contrition, confession and commitment. Maybe a great step in the right direction would be purchasing Bill Elliff’s new book, The Presence Centered Life. He provides an excellent worksheet for the repentance process in the appendix.
Interpretation of Scripture is one thing, but applying it is significantly more important. Knowledge is having a comprehensive grasp of a subject, and it’s essential to know what the Bible teaches about repentance. Wisdom finds a way to apply knowledge in practical ways. You can possess knowledge without wisdom, but you cannot attain wisdom without knowledge, as knowledge serves as the foundation of wisdom. Wisdom is the skill of applying God’s Word in our everyday situations to achieve God’s purposes. That is why repentance is to be practiced, not just discussed, and God promises to hear us when we follow His instructions.
II Chronicles 7:14 reminds us that revival is conditional, “If, my people…” God has a people which He calls the church, His body, and He expects us to be a people for Himself that are zealous of good works. Here is a huge barrier to revival, “Shall humble themselves…” The flesh is proud, and we are often unwilling to admit our deficiencies but admonished to be humble. James even tells us that God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Humility is a church admitting how hopeless and helpless you are without Him. There is a picture of confession in the Scriptures that is corporate, humbling yourselves together.
The verse continues, “And pray…” Many, many times, we are admonished to pray (Eph. 6:18; Phil. 4:6; Col. 4:2; I Thess. 5:17; I Tim. 2:1-2). Jesus told His disciples to watch and pray, and yet how much time, as a church, do you actually spend in prayer? Prayer is communicating with God, and He wants to hear from you. Communicating is a dialogue, not a monologue. Is your church listening by seeking His face and His Kingdom first? Repentance is seen in the statement, “and turn from their wicked ways…” These are the conditions given if you desire God to hear and forgive you.
God has a great deal to say about repentance. “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent” (Rev. 3:19). Repentance is for you and your church. Unfortunately, you will never naturally drift toward holiness. Instead, you will drift away. I Peter 4:17 reminds each church, “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of the Lord…” What does that look like? Maybe you are asking, where do I begin? Two free resources are Personal Revival Checklist and My Spiritual Journey Evaluation. Email us, and we would love to send them to you. Let the journey toward revival begin!
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Larry Barker
Director of Church Planting and Church Health Larry Barker submits a weekly column titled, Healthy Church Solutions, designed to strengthen and encourage the local church.
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