Today is Day #36 in Counting the Omer.
36 is an interesting number in Jewish scripture study. The gematria or numbering of the Hebrew word "Chai," which means life, is 18. Thus, 18 x 2
(36) would signify "two lives."
As we continue to Count the Omer, let's remember that in our temporal earthly life, we are either bondservants of Christ or servants of the devil. Occupying middle ground is only an illusion. Those who think they serve only themselves are really serving the devil unaware. Even secularist lyricists such as Bob Dylan readily affirm this:
But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes you are
You're gonna have to serve somebody
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody
In the 1968 song written by the Rolling Stones, "Sympathy for the Devil," Mick Jagger's lyrics gave us a glimpse into the question "W
ho is really behind all the evil on the planet?"
In an interview, Jagger cluelessly failed to understand what his own lyrics confirmed:
"We have met the enemy and he is us."
~ Cartoonist Walt Kelly (Pogo comic strip)
It is famously said that when someone asked theologian G. K. Chesterton "What is wrong with the world?" He succinctly answered:
"I am."
Satan is miscalculated by most people. Many think he doesn't even exist and, among those who should know better, they falsely believe that he is easy to spot and clearly made manifest. Satan hides, as he always does, like a snake under a rock waiting to strike when the time is ripe. He further disguises himself as an angel of light. In particular, he likes to DESPOIL...to see something beautiful that God has created it, and pervert it.
As the world continues its downward slide into global chaos, Repentance is big on everyone's lips. It will get bigger as it gets darker...and make no mistake, we are headed into a time of deep darkness. Correspondingly, The Final Harvest, the great Repentance that occurs after this Judgment, will be, as the car salesman likes to say....HUUUUUGGGE.
Most people view an "Antichrist" message as one which will be the total opposite of a Christ message. That is not, however, how the devil works. He sidles up as CLOSE as possible to the original, and then makes a carnival fun house mirror image in order to confuse people. He is the author of confusion.
Therefore, as repentance has begun to take root in the hearts of many, Satan is right there with a counterfeit deception attempting to snatch it away in the hopes that he will destroy it before it begins to flourish.
Let's understand what true repentance IS and what it IS NOT.
In many so-called "orthodox" Christian churches today, baptism occurs first as a baby, then "Salvation" through the church, then believing publicly acknowledged through "Confirmation," and finally Repentance as "Confession." This is exactly BACKWARDS, which is a hallmark of an Antichrist message. It is akin to walking up a moving escalator the wrong way. You may feel like you are making great progress. With much wasted energy and effort, and by the grace of God, you might eventually get to your destination...but BOY, are you going to be exhausted!
The Bible tells us the very first step into the Kingdom is Repentance.
"REPENT...for the Kingdom of God is at hand" were the very first words of both John the Baptist and our Lord Jesus Christ when they began their ministries.
Repent in the Hebrew and Greek means: "To take mental note, to turn around." It's as if someone tapped you on the shoulder:
"Hey you"...Are you talking to ME? "Yes YOU...do you see anyone else in that mirror?"
Then...comes BELIEF. Most people think "believing" comes first. However, the Bible tells us that this is the correct order:
And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand; REPENT, and BELIEVE the gospel. ~ Mark 1:15
Think of repentance as the softening up of the soil (your heart) before planting the seed of belief. In fact, the "tap" of the Holy Spirit must occur first by Jesus knocking on the door of our hearts:
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my Voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and I will sup with him, and he with me.
~ Revelation 3:20
Repentance is answering that door knock. Jesus taught us to keep asking, keep seeking, to be persistent. Would He do any less in saving our souls?
Jesus initiates the process by knocking. We love Him because He first loved us. The Salvation process is already there through the finished work of Jesus Christ on the Cross. We agree to consummate this covenant relationship when we respond to the knock, turn around (REPENT), accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior (BELIEVE), Acknowledge that we have sinned (CONFESS), and then be saved as we walk out and work out our Salvation (WALK/WITNESS) with fear and trembling. We must not quit and we must overcome to the end. Scripture tells us we must not faint.
Baptism by water is a physical act of our wills announcing to the world we have died to our old self. Baptism of the Holy Spirit is a transformative fire purging of our souls to enable us to overcome and endure to the final end so that we might hear the Lord say:
"Well done thou good and faithful servant."
Yet today we see Repentance ministries encouraging the church to "repent" for the supposed sins of Captain Cook and Christopher Columbus. They are asking us to Repent for the sins of others....such as the evils of colonialism, slavery, racism, etc. What these leaders fail to understand is that we, as individuals, cannot repent for others. We must call out and list the sins of our nations, as Daniel and Nehemiah did, but true repentance still requires a personal act between man and God. Political and religious leaders of nations should continue to call for a National Day of Repentance but this would still require individual acknowledgement of our own participation and apathy in these sins.
If we are going to repent for sins that occurred in 1492, when Columbus sailed the ocean blue, we might as well repent for Adam and Eve. Man's inhumanity to man has always existed since Cain killed Abel.
Once we understand WHERE God's Kingdom comes, then we will have a better understanding of where repentance springs from. Jesus Christ said:
"My Kingdom is not of this World."
The devil is desperately trying to sidetrack an integral component of Repentance which is individual confession. It is easy "confessing" for the sins of others while ignoring the sins of ourselves!
This is why daily personal repentance is so powerful. It creates the necessary mindset for humility to occur. Humility is a profound understanding of your own sin...how BIG it is, how WIDE it is, how LONG, it is, how DEEP it is. The chasm of your sin creates an impassable gap that can only be bridged by Jesus Christ.
Then, and only then, will we appreciate the meaning of this scripture.
That Christ may dwell in your hearts by Faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in Love, May be able to comprehend with all Saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the Love of Christ which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.
~ Ephesians 3:17-21
We cannot be filled with the "fullness of God" until we empty ourselves with the comprehension of our own individual sin and our inability to overcome it without God's intervention. Too many people think of daily Repentance as a form of self-flagellation. It is not like that at all. We cannot walk in power until we acknowledge the LOG in our own eye. THEN...God says we have the ability and power to help remove the mote in another's eye.
The Log/Mote analogy is one of perspective. Did you ever notice a mirror that states:
"Warning, objects are closer than they appear."?
This is how we should feel every day when we REPENT. Then, as we speak to others, we have a keen awareness of how close we are to committing the same exact sins (a deep consciousness of our own fallen nature). Thus the "log" is actually the same size as the "mote" except when you hold it close up to your eyeball to scrutinize it, it is HUUUUGE. Your brother's own log should appear as a mote when you become aware of your own propensity to sin. We must stop looking at his sin until we address the sin in our own lives thoroughly.
Now, much of the modern Apostasy-driven church takes this to an illogical and faulty conclusion. The popular "Judge Not" drivel is also incorrect. AFTER we address the log in our own eye, the scripture tells us we are then able to ASSIST (not ignore, not tolerate, not dismiss) in removing the sin from the lives of others. This is similar to the warnings issued on a plane flight:
Please put on your own oxygen mask first, THEN you will be in a better position to assist those around you! Thus, the devil is seeking to short-circuit this growing repentance process. First, by removing personal confession, then by creating a false piety of "tolerating" sins of others.
Instead of a true repentance corresponding with the man beating his breast at the altar and saying:
"God, have Mercy on me, a sinner," it becomes the Pharisaical mentality of "thank God I am not like those other sinners." (Luke 18:9-14). Our Messiah Yeshua has clearly stated that truly only one type of repentance results in our sins being forgiven.
Recently, during a discussion on repentance, someone remarked that repentance teaching "makes people feel bad about themselves." Praise God! That is the very first step in bringing someone to repentance! Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret. The scripture goes on to say:
but worldly sorrow brings DEATH. ~ 2 Corinthians 7:10
This concept has been almost entirely lost today in the "tickle our ears" contest going on in most modern churches. There are entire ministries encouraging followers to state positive affirmations daily such as "I am blessed," "I am talented," "I am strong."
No...we are a MESS. We are BEGGARS. We are SINNERS. We were born children of wrath. Given the right (or wrong) set of circumstances, we will murder our own kin. This has been the way of all mankind since the Fall.
God's Kingdom begins WITHIN and not WITHOUT. Until you and I each take a good, long, hard look at our ugly selves in the mirror, true repentance will not occur.
In summary: We are to confess daily. His Mercies are new each morning. We must see clearly in order to remove sin from our own lives. Then, in patience and humility, help others to REPENT of their own sins. (2 Timothy 2:24-26). That's when purifying FIRE comes out of our mouths. At that point, we will clearly see the schemes of the devil and be able to run around his end game.
The Rolling Stones lyrics try to distract us as to WHO WHO WHO is the perpetrator of evil since the dawn of time.
"Pleased to meet you...Hope you guessed my name."
Yes...by now I hope you truly have guessed it. Fill in the blank:
__________________________________________
(Your Name Here)
He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit said to the churches; To him that overcomes will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a NEW NAME written, which no man knows saving he that receives it.
~ Revelation 2:17
