A Call to Repentance: WEEK FOURTEEN

2008-06-02T23:16:00.000-07:00

April 13, 2008

"I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." (Luke 5:32)

	INTRODUCTION TO WEEK FOURTEEN

INTRODUCTION TO WEEK FOURTEEN

This week, we continue to press in during WEEK FOURTEEN of our 40 Weeks of Prayer and Fasting, to offer prayers of repentance for the sin in the church, the sin in the nation, and the blessing of Israel.

We now address these areas:

1. SIN IN THE CHURCH: GREED (Part Two)

2. SIN IN THE NATION: CHINESE ISSUES (Part Two) -- THE CHINESE EXCLUSION ACT

3. THE BLESSING OF ISRAEL: PASSOVER

	SIN IN THE CHURCH: GREED (Part Two)

REPENTANCE FOR SIN IN THE CHURCH:

GREED (Part Two)

Here's another area of concern: Are we soaking the sheep to build or buy a fancy multi-million dollar complex to be used for a church which is really not needed for the size of our flock? Or are we ministering to the flock according to Isaiah 61:1-3?

"The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor." (Isaiah 61:1-3 NIV)

I am not against big churches but when people are told to mortgage their homes for such a place and end up with huge debts, then it's getting out of hand. This has happened too many times.

"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation." (Mt. 23:14 KJV)

"He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." (Rev. 3:22 KJV)

(Source: Riding with the King in Unity, by Giles F. Mack, P.O. Box 1761, Branson, MO 65615, pp. 17-19)

· Father, we repent of the fact that, in the matter of the stewardship of our -- Your -- finances, we have too often listened to the voice of man and not to Your voice. We ask You to forgive those who have misled us, and to please teach us Your ways. In Jesus' Name, amen.

	SINS OF THE NATION: CHINESE ISSUES (Part Two)

REPENTANCE FOR THE SINS OF THE NATION:

CHINESE ISSUES (Part One)

THE CHINESE EXCLUSION ACT OF 1882

The Chinese came to America in large numbers during the 1849 California Gold Rush and in the 1860s when the Central Pacific Railroad recruited large labor gangs to build its portion of the Transcontinental Railroad. Large-scale immigration continued into the late 1800s, with 123,201 Chinese recorded as arriving between 1871 and 1880, and 61,711 arriving between 1881 and 1890.

At first, when surface gold was plentiful, the Chinese were well tolerated and well-received. As gold became scarcer and competition increased, animosity to the Chinese and other foreigners increased. Organized labor groups demanded that California's gold was only for Americans, and began to physically threaten foreigners' mines or gold diggings. Most, after being forcibly driven from the mines, settled in Chinese enclaves in cities, mainly San Francisco, and took up low end wage labor such as restaurant work and laundry. With the post Civil War economy in decline by the 1870s, anti-Chinese animosity became politicized by labor leader Dennis Kearney and his Workingman's Party as well as by Governor John Bigler, both of whom blamed Chinese "coolies" for depressed wage levels. Another significant anti-Chinese group organized in California during this same era was the Supreme Order of Caucasians with some 64 chapters statewide.

The Chinese Exclusion Act was the first significant restriction on free immigration in U.S. history. The Act excluded Chinese "skilled and unskilled laborers and Chinese employed in mining" from entering the country for ten years under penalty of imprisonment and deportation. The few Chinese non-laborers who wished to immigrate had to obtain certification from the Chinese government that they were qualified to immigrate, which tended to be difficult to prove. The Act also affected Chinese who were already in the United States. Any Chinese who left the United States had to obtain certifications for reentry, and the Act made Chinese immigrants permanent aliens by excluding them from U.S. citizenship. After the Act's passage, Chinese men in the U.S. had little chance of ever reuniting with their wives, or of starting families in their new home.

For all practical purposes, the Exclusion Act, along with the restrictions that followed it, froze the Chinese community in place in 1882, and prevented it from growing and assimilating into U.S. society as European immigrant groups did. One of the main critics of the Chinese Exclusion Act was Republican Senator George Frisbie Hoar of Massachusetts who described the Act as "nothing less than the legalization of racial discrimination."

The Chinese Exclusion Act was repealed in 1943.

(Source: Wikipedia)

· Father God, as we read about this Act, we can see that racism has been interwoven all through our nation's history, in sometimes obvious and sometimes subtle ways. We ask You to forgive us for the harshness we showed to the Chinese people who, after losing their lives to build our railroads, were then shunned from entering our country. Forgive us for the passage of this Act, and for its results: the forced separation of families and the treatment of the Chinese as "second- class citizens."

We lay axe to the root of bitterness created by this Act; and we ask Your wisdom in the creation of a just immigration policy in our day. In Your Name, amen.

· "Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not." (Proverbs 8:33)

THE BLESSING OF ISRAEL: PASSOVER

THE BLESSING OF ISRAEL:

PASSOVER

The feast of Passover will be celebrated Saturday evening, the 19th of April. It is a night when Jews remember the exodus from Egyptian slavery, being brought to Mount Sinai, God giving them His commandments and taking them to be His people. Messianic Jews also remember our redemption from the slavery of sin since just before this night, Yeshua the Lamb of God was slain for the sins of whomsoever will. What a wonderful time to pray for the salvation of the Jewish people.

- Lord, as You did with Your two disciples whose eyes were veiled to see You - open up the eyes of Your people at the breaking of the Matzah - the unleavened bread. - "Their eyes were opened, and they knew Him; and He vanished out of their sight. And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while He talked with us by the way, and while He opened to us the scriptures?" (Luke 24:31-32)

- May You cause Your peoples' hearts to "burn within" them whenever the scriptures are read in the Passover Haggadah [book of the seder ceremony that is held every Passover night.] - "For thus says LORD; Sing with gladness for Jacob, shout among the chief of the nations: publish, praise, and say, O LORD, save Your people, the remnant of Israel." (Jer. 31:7)

Specifically, God save all remaining Holocaust survivors.

- Father, families who gather around the seder table and have a loved one missing because of a terror attack or accident, please fill in the void with Your Son.

- Lord, when Jews finish the seder and say "Next year in Jerusalem" - cause them to mean it and not just say it because it is tradition.

- "Remember these, O Jacob and Israel; for you are My servant: I have formed you; you are My servant: O Israel, you shall not be forgotten of Me. I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, your transgressions, and, as a cloud, your sins: return unto Me; for I have redeemed thee. Sing, O you heavens; for LORD has done it: shout, you lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, you mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for LORD has redeemed Jacob, and glorified Himself in Israel." (Isaiah 44:21-23)

(Source: Intercessors for Israel)

	"A MIGHTY FORTRESS IS OUR GOD"

THE SONG OF THE WEEK

"A MIGHTY FORTRESS IS OUR GOD"

"God is our Refuge and Strength, a very present Help in trouble." (Psalm 46:1)

Words and Music by Martin Luther, 1529.

This hymn was sung at the funeral of American presi dent Dwight Eisenhower at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC, March 1969.

To read more about how this hymn was written, and to read or sing the words, go here

	A Closing Thought . . .

OUR LORD THE OBJECT OF FAITH FOR SALVATION

By A.W. Tozer

"The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (He is Lord of all:)" (Acts 10:36)

It is altogether doubtful whether any man can be saved who comes to Christ for His help, but with no intention of obeying Him; for Christ's saviourhood is forever united to His lordship.

Look at the apostle's instruction and admonition: "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. . . for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Romans 10:9-13)

There the Lord is the object of faith for salvation!

"And when the Philippian jailer asked the way to be saved, Paul replied, 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved'." (Acts 16:31)

Paul did not tell him to believe on the Saviour with the thought that he could later take up the matter of His lordship and settle it at his own convenience. To Paul there could be no division of offices. Christ must be Lord or He will not be Saviour!

There is no intention here to teach that our first saving contact with Christ brings perfect knowledge of all He is to us. The contrary is true. Ages upon ages will hardly be long enough to allow us to experience all the riches of His grace.

As we discover new meanings in His titles and make them ours we will grow in the knowledge of our Lord and the many forms of love He wears exalted on His throne!

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A Call to Repentance -14

A Call to Repentance: WEEK FOURTEEN