We Need the Revival [2]

We Need the Revival [2]
June 17th, 2014, Kichijouji Bible Study
Gotthold Beck

Lamentation
3:40 Let us examine our lifestyles, putting them to the test, and turn back to the Lord.
3:41 Let us lift up our hearts and our hands to God in heaven.
3:42 As for us, we have sinned and rebelled; but you have not pardoned us.
[International Standard Version]

Luke
18:9 Jesus also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves, thinking they were righteous, but who looked down on everyone else:
18:10 “Two men went up to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector.
18:11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed, ‘O God, I thank you that I’m not like other people―thieves, dishonest people, adulterers, or even this tax collector.
18:12 I fast twice a week, and I give a tenth of my entire income.’
18:13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance and would not even look up to heaven. Instead, he continued to beat his chest and said, ‘O God, be merciful to me, the sinner that I am!’
18:14 I tell you, this man, rather than the other one, went down to his home justified, because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the person who humbles himself will be exalted.”

What the whole Bible wants to tell us is summarized in this verse 14—“everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the person who humbles himself will be exalted.”


Let's look at how this Pharisee prayed. He stood and exclaimed 'O God!' This was the attitude of a blinded man. 'O God!' The miserable tax collector was different. He said, “be merciful to me.” Jesus' parables are truly wonderful.

Three persons appear in these verses. Firstly, Jesus. Secondly, the Pharisee and thirdly, the tax collector. Today, the Lord Jesus is still present at the center of everything to bless us with his generosity and his true words. We will be truly blessed if we can hear the voice of the Lord Jesus.

Some of us in here might deeply regret their sins just like the tax collector who prayed in the temple. “I committed terrible sins. I have to hang my head down.” I hear confessions like this very often. However, many of us are still acting like the arrogant Pharisee.

I would like to discuss with you two points. Firstly, we possess an attitude like the Pharisee in our hearts. And secondly, how to be released from such an attitude.

The human heart is either the temple of the Holy Spirit or the instrument of the devil. Which one is ours? The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed, “O God, I thank you that I’m not like other people―thieves, dishonest people, adulterers, or even this tax collector.” Through this prayer, we see the sin of this Pharisee.

His prayer carries arrogance, self-justification, a spirit of judgment and hypocrisy. Have we ever admitted that these evil thoughts dwelt in our hearts too? We should perhaps confess that we are arrogant, hypocritical and have an attitude of judging others.

However, at the same time, aren't we saying, just like the Pharisee, that “we are not like other people―thieves, dishonest people, adulterers.” How many of us would have our conscience deeply shaken, have our hearts penetrated and speak in front of the Lord, “I am so greedy, dishonest and adulterous. Please forgive me, a sinner,” just like the tax collector did.

I have a little book called 'Heart of Your Own”, which was written for children. This book describes the natures of some different kinds of animals. It is like a mirror that illuminates our hearts. When the Lord examines with the light of the Holy Spirit the depth of our hearts, bottom of our minds and the deepest recesses of our conscience, we will be shocked to see how horribly stained our hearts are.

Many people believe that they no longer have the nature of animals, which used to dwell within them until they repented, and now only Jesus lives in the hearts of the saved believers. This is absolutely wrong.

It is not until we abandon such thinking that we begin to understand the Lord better. The revival we are anticipating will not occur until then. As far as we believe wrongly that nobody but the Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit dwell in our hearts, while the devil and demons can only live in the hearts of non-believers, we will never understand the Lord Jesus better and the revival will never occur.

Believers often consider that they are saved and have become the children of God, while only non-believers are slaves of their sins. However, once the Lord searches their hearts deeply, they would understand that such a belief is awfully wrong. You may want to say “I am a believer who has already obtained the forgiveness for sins. Of course, I still commit some sins but they are not as bad as those of non-believers. I am better than most other people.” However, the only thing that matters is how Jesus sees us.

The Lord's judgment of us can be found in the chapter 7 of Mark;

Mark
7:20 He continued, “It’s what comes out of a person that makes a person unclean,
7:21 because it’s from within, from the human heart, that evil thoughts come, as well as sexual immorality, stealing, murder,
7:22 adultery, greed, wickedness, cheating, shameless lust, envy, slander, arrogance, and foolishness.
7:23 All these things come from inside and make a person unclean.”

According to Jesus, evil thoughts reside within not only the hearts of non-believers, but also those of believers, sinners of adultery, and of those who proclaim the Gospel. As we know, all letters in the New Testament are written for the believers—the saved ones. These verses tell us that the innate animal nature is still hidden within all believers.

Why don't we look at the letter of Paul the disciple now? Paul lived in the town of Corinth and he wrote to brothers and sisters who were saved by the grace of the Lord;

1 Corinthians
5:1 It is actually reported that sexual immorality exists among you, and of a kind that is not found even among the gentiles. A man is actually living with his father’s wife!

6:7 The very fact that you have lawsuits among yourselves is already a defeat for you. Why not rather just accept the wrong? Why not rather be cheated?
6:8 Instead, you yourselves practice doing wrong and cheating others, and brothers at that!
6:9 You know that wicked people will not inherit the kingdom of God, don’t you? Stop deceiving yourselves! Sexually immoral people, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, homosexuals,
6:10 thieves, greedy people, drunks, slanderers, and robbers will not inherit the kingdom of God.

10:8 Let’s stop sinning sexually, as some of them were doing, and on a single day 23,000 fell dead.

Jesus looks into the depth of our hearts with eyes like burning flame. The Lord Jesus says that he can search and see even to the bottom of our insides. We will be truly blessed if we surrender ourselves into the hands of the Lord and have him search our inner selves. After this, Paul wrote to brothers and sisters in Galatia;

Galatians
5:19 Now the actions of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, promiscuity,
5:20 idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, rivalry, jealously, outbursts of anger, quarrels, conflicts, factions,
5:21 envy, murder, drunkenness, wild partying, and things like that. I am telling you now, as I have told you in the past, that people who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

It was written to believers, not to non-believers. According to the Bible, these evil natures of the flesh will continue to haunt all believers as long as they live. All believers always hold the possibility of committing these sins. Subsequently, Paul wrote to brothers and sisters in Ephesus;

Ephesians
5:3 Do not let sexual sin, impurity of any kind, or greed even be mentioned among you, as is proper for saints.
5:4 Obscene, flippant, or vulgar talk is totally inappropriate. Instead, let there be thanksgiving.
5:5 For you know very well that no immoral or impure person, or anyone who is greedy (that is, an idolater), has an inheritance in the kingdom of the Messiah and of God.

If Paul saw no possibility of committing these sins in brothers and sisters in Ephesus, he did not need to write these words in his letter. Such guidance was necessary even for the believers in Ephesus who were considered spiritually excellent. To the brothers and sisters in Colossae, he wrote;

Colossians
3:5 So put to death your worldly impulses: sexual sin, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry).

This verse tells us that even though the believers in Colossae were known for the highest spiritual maturity, deep in their hearts were hidden sexual sin, impurity and greed. Regardless of whether we admit it or not, the same sins are hidden in the hearts of us believers. The only exception is the graceful and flawless son of God, Jesus himself.

Although believers are children of God, the only thing good about them is that they have Jesus dwelling inside them. If we understand it profoundly, we will come to rely on the Lord more and more, and the long-anticipated revival will occur for us. Some people compare their appearance with others and despair because they are not attractive at all, which makes them feel gloomy all the time.

However, when Jesus illuminates the depth of our hearts, we will see that even our faces look far better than our hearts. If the deepest recesses of our hearts are exposed so that they can be seen by anyone, we will all be so embarrassed and feel like running away from this room. Jesus shows us the truth of our hearts in Mark, chapter 7;

Mark
7:20 It’s what comes out of a person that makes a person unclean,
7:21 because it’s from within, from the human heart, that evil thoughts come, as well as sexual immorality, stealing, murder,
7:22 adultery, greed, wickedness, cheating, shameless lust, envy, slander, arrogance, and foolishness.
7:23 All these things come from inside and make a person unclean.

Not from outside but from inside. When we think of these words, the outward appearance of people and their benign aspects will cease to matter at all to us. You might think that “because this brother is so enthusiastic and serves seriously, there must be no impurity or greed in his heart” or, “that sister is always quiet and modest, so there must be no selfishness in her heart unlike in mine.”

However, Jesus tells us that no matter whether people look enthusiastic or quiet, in their hearts, they are no different from what is depicted in these verses of Mark, chapter 7;

Mark
7:20 It’s what comes out of a person that makes a person unclean,
7:21 because it’s from within, from the human heart, that evil thoughts come, as well as sexual immorality, stealing, murder,
7:22 adultery, greed, wickedness, cheating, shameless lust, envy, slander, arrogance, and foolishness.
7:23 All these things come from inside and make a person unclean.

If you see that someone is humble, you are looking at the humbleness of Jesus dwelling inside that person. If someone is pure, it is actually Jesus living inside him who is pure. The human heart always holds the nature of sinners, which is described in Mark, chapter 7;

Mark
7:20 It’s what comes out of a person that makes a person unclean,
7:21 because it’s from within, from the human heart, that evil thoughts come, as well as sexual immorality, stealing, murder,
7:22 adultery, greed, wickedness, cheating, shameless lust, envy, slander, arrogance, and foolishness.
7:23 All these things come from inside and make a person unclean.

The innate natures of our hearts are very much like those of animals to be hunted. The peacock was one such game animal. The peacock is depicted as the most conceited and arrogant among all animals. We are a lot alike in that we are so proud and conceited in our hearts. Arrogance is what the Lord hates most. Not only does the Lord hate arrogance more than anything, he can't bless people wherever he sees arrogance.

The goat appears next. It is described as the most strong-smelling and immoral animal. It symbolizes lust and impurity. What kind of pictures and books do we prefer to read? What kind of things do we imagine, think and dream? Have our thoughts been purified?

Next comes the pig. Pigs are filled with filth and sloppiness, which symbolize indecency. It is what pigs exemplify.

Next appears the toad. Toads live mostly on mud. They embody the meanness of men, who are preoccupied with worldly things and refuse to share anything with others. Do we seek the things above or do we only seek worldly things like the toads?

Next comes the snake. As you know, the snake deceived Adam and Eve. In our hearts lurk hypocrisy, cheating and lies, which are like swarming snakes.

The tiger appears at the end. Tigers are the scariest of all animals. The tiger embodies a heart filled with wrath and vengefulness.

What I indicated above is a medical report written by the Lord, who diagnosed all aspects of human hearts. This medical certificate is common between non-believers and believers, proclaimers of the Gospel and criminals. In very simple terms, it describes the heart of the Pharisee. Let us go back to chapter 18 of Luke;

Luke
18:11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed, ‘O God, I thank you that I’m not like other people―thieves, dishonest people, adulterers, or even this tax collector.
18:12 I fast twice a week, and I give a tenth of my entire income.’

When the Pharisee prayed this way, he declared God as a liar. He refused to admit that his state of mind was what was described in Mark, chapter 7. The Pharisee must have believed deep in his heart that, “Such impurity may be true for other people but not for me. I am Pharisee, the priest, who prays, fasts and reads the Bible every day. I serve God, which makes me different from criminals and sinners.”

When we think in this way, just like this Pharisee, we are declaring the Lord God a liar. The Pharisee must have prayed sincerely in front of the Lord. He believed that his heart was free from adultery and greed. In actuality, the eyes of his heart were totally blind, which was absolutely tragic.

When such people pray for the salvation of people around them, fast or donate a tenth of their entire income, they might feel they are experiencing something meaningful. However, they do not obtain any true experience. When the disciple Paul, who was not like ordinary believers, realized the true state of his mind, he was compelled to say. “What a wretched man I am! There is nothing good within me. Now, I know that there is nothing good that lives in me.”

After all, blessed are those who have the conviction that the Lord has mercy on them and that he would never forsake them.