A Call to Repentance: WEEK THIRTY-SIX
A Call to Repentance: WEEK THIRTY-SIX
September 14, 2008
" . . . if my people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. . . " (2 Chronicles 7:14)
| INTRODUCTION TO WEEK THIRTY-SIX |
INTRODUCTION TO WEEK THIRTY-SIX
This week, we continue to press in during WEEK THIRTY-SIX 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: THE ERROR OF REPLACEMENT THEOLOGY
2. SIN IN THE NATION: PRAYER FOR THE MEDIA
3. PRAYERS FOR ISRAEL: A TIME OF REPENTANCE
REPENTANCE FOR SIN IN THE CHURCH:
THE ERROR OF REPLACEMENT THEOLOGY
[The following comments are taken from an article by the same name, authored by Clarence H. Wagner, Jr. We encourage our readers to explore this article in its entirety by going here.]
INTRODUCTION
Perhaps you have heard of the term Replacement Theology. However, if you look it up in a dictionary of Church history, you will not find it listed as a systematic study. Rather, it is a doctrinal teaching that originated in the early Church. It became the fertile soil from which Christian anti-Semitism grew and has infected the Church for nearly 1,900 years.
WHAT IS REPLACEMENT THEOLOGY?
Replacement Theology was introduced to the Church shortly after Gentile leadership took over from Jewish leadership. What are its premises?
1. Israel (the Jewish people and the land) has been replaced by the Christian Church in the purposes of God, or, more precisely, the Church is the historic continuation of Israel to the exclusion of the former.
2. The Jewish people are now no longer a "chosen people." In fact, they are no different from any other group, such as the English, Spanish, or Africans.
3. Apart from repentance, the new birth, and incorporation into the Church, the Jewish people have no future, no hope, and no calling in the plan of God. The same is true for every other nation and group.
4. Since Pentecost of Acts 2, the term "Israel," as found in the Bible, now refers to the Church.
5. The promises, covenants and blessings ascribed to Israel in the Bible have been taken away from the Jews and given to the Church, which has superseded them. However, the Jews are subject to the curses found in the Bible, as a result of their rejection of Christ.
NOTE: Full text includes these topics:
-- How Do Replacement Theologians Argue Their Case?
-- How Did The Position Of The Early Church Fathers Affect The Church?
-- Is the New Testament anti-Semitic? Was it Intended That the Church Treat the Jewish People with Contempt? (Answer: ABSOLUTELY NOT!)
-- Are Jews, "Jews," and is Israel, "Israel" in the New Testament? Do They Still Have a Covenant with God? ( Answer: ABSOLUTELY. THE BIBLE IS CLEAR ON THIS.)
-- What is the Role of the Church?
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE CHURCH REPLACES ISRAEL?
1. The Church becomes arrogant and self- centred.
2. It boasts against the Jews and Israel.
3. It devalues the role of Israel or has no role for Israel at all.
4. These attitudes result in anti-Semitism in word and deed.
5. Without a place for Israel and the Jewish people today, you cannot explain the Bible prophecies, especially the very specific ones being fulfilled in Israel today.
6. Many New Testament passages do not make sense when the Jewish people are replaced by the Church.
7. You can lose the significance of the Hebrew Scriptures, the Old Testament, for today. Many Christians boast of being a New Testament (NT) Christian or a NT Church as in the Book of Acts. However, the Bible of the early Church was not the New Testament, which did not get codified until the 4th century, but rather the Hebrew Scriptures.
8. You can lose the Hebraic/Judaic contextualization of the New Testament, which teaches us more about Yeshua and how to become better disciples.
9. The Church loses out on the opportunity to participate in God's plan and prophecy for the Church, Israel and the world today.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE CHURCH RELATES TO ISRAEL?
1. The Church takes its proper role in God's redemptive plan for the world, appreciating God's ongoing covenant relationship and love for Israel and the Jewish people.
2. We can see the consistency of God's redemptive plan from Genesis to Revelation as an ongoing complementary process, not as disconnected snapshots.
3. We show love and honour for God's covenant people, not contempt.
4. We value the Old and New Testaments as equally inspired and significant for the Church today.
5. Bible prophecy makes sense for today and offers opportunities for involvement in God's plan for Israel.
6. We become better disciples of Yeshua as we are able to appreciate the Hebraic/Judaic roots that fill in the definitions, concepts, words and events in the New Testament that are otherwise obscured. Why? Many were not explained by the Jewish writers of the New Testament, because they did not feel the need to fill in all the details that were already explained in the Old Testament.
Had the Church understood this very clear message from the beginning, then the sad legacy of anti-Semitic hatred from the Church may have been avoided. The error of Replacement Theology is like a cancer in the Church that has not only caused it to violate God's Word concerning the Jewish people and Israel, but it made us into instruments of hate, not love in God's Name. Yet, it is not too late to change our ways and rightly relate to the Jewish people and Israel today. Through Bridges for Peace you can read, study and learn more, and also give to demonstrate God's exhortation to us to bless His Covenant People, whom He still loves. Not only do we need to learn and do for ourselves, but we need to teach others so as to counteract the historical error that has been fostered in the Church for nearly 2,000 years.
Thank God, He is a God of mercy, redemption and second chances.
· "Holy God, Father in Heaven, as we begin to understand the depths of the errors of our ways towards the Jewish people, we ask You to forgive us, to heal us, and to teach us Your ways and Your truth. We ask for Your mercy, Lord, in Your Name, amen."
A CLOSING NOTE FROM CAPITOL HILL PRAYER PARTNERS:
Please refer to the Letter of Repentance, below, for an opportunity to make amends directly to our dear Jewish friends for the errors of this theology.
REPENTANCE FOR THE SINS OF THE NATION:
PRAYERS FOR THE MEDIA
"You can fool all of the people some of the time; and you can fool some of the people all of the time, BUT YOU CAN'T FOOL ALL OF THE PEOPLE ALL OF THE TIME."
-- President Abraham Lincoln
Let's face it: the media in our nation needs our prayers!
Whenever we view the "talk shows" or the many interviews that are aired day after day after day, there seems to be an increasing amount of anger expressed by the hosts/interviewers on these programs; and there seems to often be an agenda in which a guest is fooled or "baited" into giving a slanted answer or opinion. Indeed, just this past week, it has come to light that segments of an interview with a major political candidate by an anchor on a major news network, when aired to the public, were actually taken way out of context, when compared to the written transcript of the same interview, released later by the same network!
Where did all of this rancor start . . . and where/how can it end??
When we look at the Word of God, we see that all behavior begins in the hidden place of the heart, where only our Lord can see. And He looks down in love.
It is written: The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9)
So, if THIS is where the problem starts, then how do we fix it??
The answer is that only God can fix a man's heart, and only then when he comes to Him in repentance for his evil and wicked deeds.
But, as believers in our Lord, and as those called to intercession for our nation, we, too, play a role: WE CAN STAND IN THE GAP FOR THE "TALK SHOW HOSTS" WHO MAKE OUR "SKIN CRAWL" AND WE CAN PRAY FOR THEM.
But, before we pray for THEM, should we not examine our own hearts? Take me, for example: how many times have I harbored hate-filled and vicious thoughts when I have seen a man or a woman on TV who, themselves, are acting in anger or hatred? Hello?? Uh-oh! Have I not fallen prey to a very convenient "snare" of the devil?? Do I not become immediately defensive -- mocking their statements and ready to defend my own?
And what does our Lord say about acting in "self- defense?" TURN THE OTHER CHEEK!
Of course, we may really be acting in righteous anger - - and yet, even so, it is our job to let that anger go to God, knowing that He will settle the account, for is it not written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord?" (Romans 12:19) But we need to get out the way so that He CAN do this!!
A Prayer Strategy for Individual Members of the Media
In closing, as I have been in prayer over the issue of the anger in talk shows these days, and to find a way to break this vicious cycle, our Lord began to reveal a seven-step program to pray for the individual names of the media "superstars" in America.
Step One: Ask our Lord to give me the name of ONE man or woman in the news media and agree to PRAY FOR THAT ONE DAILY.
Step Two: Examine my own heart, asking God to cleanse me of all impurities towards that one, that I may instead be used as a vessel of grace and blessing in his or her life.
Step Three: Ask the Lord to forgive that one, "for he knows not what he does." (Luke 23:34)
Step Four: Thank the Lord that He has already paid the price for that one's salvation on the Cross, because it is written, "while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)
Step Five: Ask the Lord to draw him or her unto Himself for salvation.
Step Six: Thank the Lord that it is written that He came to set the captives free. (Isaiah 61:1)
Step Seven: Finish by thanking Him that He has heard my prayer, and remember to leave the results in His hands.
Let's join together to drop the stones we throw at our TV sets, pick up our Crosses, "die to self," and prepare to "enter in,' in vigorous warfare, for the souls of these for whom Christ gave His life. AMEN!
· Father God, we pray tonight, asking You to forgive all of us for the vengeance and the hatred we have felt when we have viewed others on TV who express views contrary to our own. We confess our anger as sin, and we ask You to cleanse us now, in Jesus' Name.
Help us to learn and to remember to "pray for those who despitefully use us," according to Your word, and we ask for Your Grace to transform us, that we would reflect Your love and Your glory in all matters that are set before us.
Thank You, Lord, for hearing our prayer. Amen.
Sara Ballenger
Capitol Hill Prayer Partners
[Regarding developing a passion for the lost, please see the article posted tonight on the life of Charles Moody. Praise God!]
| PRAYERS FOR ISRAEL: A TIME OF REPENTANCE | |
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PRAYERS FOR ISRAEL:
A TIME OF REPENTANCE
Tshuvah - Repentance and Return to G-D
· "For the L-RD thy G-D walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee; therefore shall thy camp be holy; that He see no unseemly thing in thee, and turn away from thee." (Deuteronomy 23:14)
We prayed that during these weeks of repentance and seeking of the heart by Jews the World over, that we as a people and all followers of Yeshua would take this opportunity to repent from the areas in particular in our own lives that are not in line with His purposes. The areas that we individually bring defilement on the Land and need to remove from our lives. We prayed that we would not sit with a passive belief of salvation and allow a feeling of weakness to justify us living lives of mediocrity.
We prayed blessing and health for one of our faithful Jewish attendees on Friday morning who is struggling with cancer. We also prayed for (other friends) as they minister overseas. May He who makes peace in the heavenlies, make it upon us, upon all Israel and from Israel to the Nations.
· "A perfect and just weight shalt thou have; a perfect and just measure shalt thou have; that thy days may be long upon the land which the L-RD thy G-D giveth thee." (Deuteronomy 25:15)
(Source: Intercessors for Israel)
| A LETTER OF REPENTANCE | |
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A LETTER OF REPENTANCE
Introduction:
There are times when our Lord moves in wonderful and mysterious ways to bring forth His will, and to allow opportunities for healing and for reconciliation to go forth between different groups of men.
In a similar move of the Grace of the Holy Spirit of the Most High God, Capitol Hill Prayer Partners initiated a Letter of Repentance to the Jewish people, on behalf of Christian believers, for the crimes we have committed against them over the centuries.
Four other ministries then joined us in signing this letter, which was eventually presented to Israeli leaders at a moving ceremony inside the Knesset in March, 2007.
The text of that letter reads as follows:
To the people of Israel,
On behalf of millions of Christians who love Israel and pray for her, we would like to repent before you for crimes committed against the Jewish people throughout history in the name of "Christianity."
We have sinned against G-d and against you. We have not lived according to the mandate given to us by the scriptures; to love G-d with all of our hearts, and to love our fellow man as we love ourselves.
May G-d grant you the ability to forgive us and may we be brothers and sisters again.
For to you we owe much. Through you G-d gave us the Holy Scriptures of the Law and the Prophets and the revelation of the one true G- d of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
It is because of the truth of the Holy Scriptures that we have a heritage, a destiny, a hope and a compass for living.
Please know that there will always be a strong number of Christians who love Israel and will stand with her and "seek the peace of Jerusalem."
What a treasure you are in the sight of our G-d! You are His chosen - the "apple of His eye."
"The L-rd bless you and keep you;
The L-rd make His face shine upon you, and be gracious unto you.
The L-rd lift up His countenance upon you, and give you PEACE."
(Numbers 6:24-26)
We welcome all other ministries, organizations or churches to join us in endorsing this Letter of Repentance. You may do so by visiting our website at: www.letterofrepentance.com, and following the instructions provided on the bottom of the page.
Thank you all and God bless you.
| Studies in Repentance: D.L.Moody (6) | |
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"WHY GOD USED D. L. MOODY"
A Semon by R. A. Torrey -- 1923
(6) HIS CONSUMING PASSION FOR THE SALVATION OF THE LOST
The sixth reason why God used D. L. Moody was because of his consuming passion for the salvation of the lost. Mr. Moody made the resolution, shortly after he himself was saved, that he would never let twenty- four hours pass over his head without speaking to at least one person about his soul. His was a very busy life, and sometimes he would forget his resolution until the last hour, and sometimes he would get out of bed, dress, go out and talk to someone about his soul in order that he might not let one day pass without having definitely told at least one of his fellow-mortals about his need and the Savior who could meet it. . .
One day in Chicago -- the day after Mayor Carter Harrison was shot, when his body was lying in state in the City Hall -- Mr. Moody and I were riding up Randolph Street together in a streetcar right alongside of the City Hall. The car could scarcely get through because of the enormous crowds waiting to get in and view the body of Mayor Harrison. As the car tried to push its way through the crowd, Mr. Moody turned to me and said: "Torrey, what does this mean?" "Why," I said, "Carter Harrison's body lies there in the City Hall and these crowds are waiting to see it."
Then he said: "This will never do, to let these crowds get away from us without preaching to them; we must talk to them. You go and hire Hooley's Opera House (which was just opposite the City Hall) for the whole day." I did so. The meetings began at nine o'clock in the morning, and we had one continuous service from that hour until six in the evening, to reach those crowds. . .
D. L. Moody's consuming passion for souls was not for the souls of those who would be helpful to him in building up his work here or elsewhere; his love for souls knew no class limitations. He was no respecter of persons; it might be an earl or a duke or it might be an ignorant colored boy on the street; it was all the same to him; there was a soul to save and he did what lay in his power to save that soul.
A friend once told me that the first time he ever heard of Mr. Moody was when Mr. Reynolds of Peoria told him that he once found Mr. Moody sitting in one of the squatters' shanties that used to be in that part of the city toward the lake, which was then called, "The Sands," with a colored boy on his knee, a tallow candle in one hand and a Bible in the other, and Mr. Moody was spelling out the words (for at that time the boy could not read very well) of certain verses of Scripture, in an attempt to lead that young boy to Christ.
Oh, young men and women and all Christian workers, if you and I were on fire for souls like that, how long would it be before we had a revival? Suppose that tonight the fire of God falls and fills our hearts, a burning fire that will send us out all over the country, and across the water to China, Japan, India and Africa, to tell lost souls the way of salvation!
To obtain a copy of this booklet, write to:
Sword of the Lord Publishers
P.O. Box 1099
Murfreesboro, TN 37133
| Hymn of the Week | |
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ZION'S KING SHALL REIGN VICTORIOUS
Words: Thomas Kelly (1806)
Music: Franz J. Haydn (1797)
"To whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?" (Isaiah 53:1)
Zion's King shall reign victorious,
All the earth shall own His sway;
He will make His kingdom glorious,
He will reign through endless day.
Refrain Mighty King, Thine arm revealing,
Now Thy glorious cause maintain,
Bring the nations help and healing,
Make them subject to Thy reign.
Nations now from God estrangèd,
Then shall see a glorious light,
Night to day shall then be changèd,
Heaven shall triumph in the sight.
(Refrain)
Then shall Israel, long dispersèd,
Mourning seek the Lord their God,
Look on Him Whom once they piercèd,
Own and kiss the chastening rod.
(Refrain)
(To hear the music for this wonderful, old hymn, go here.)
| Who We Are | |
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Capitol Hill Prayer Partners (CHPP) is a ministry dedicated to encouraging prayer for our leaders, and for issues involving our national security. We are a 501 (c) 3, tax-exempt nonprofit ministry, relying solely upon the gifts of our friends to maintain this work.
Permission is granted to distribute this bulletin at will. HOWEVER, WE ASK THAT YOU NOT POST ANY OF OUR PUBLICATIONS ON ANY WEBSITE WITHOUT PERMISSION. Please cite Capitol Hill Prayer Partners as the source for this information. Thank you for praying with us for our leaders and our nation.
We greatly appreciate your help in supporting this publication. Offerings may be sent to:
Capitol Hill Prayer Partners
P.O. Box 5152
Herndon, VA 20172-1970.
Please make checks payable to: CHPP. THANK YOU!
| Past Issues are Archived on our Blog | |
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All of the past issues of the Call to Repentance are now available on a special blog, developed by Capitol Hill Prayer Partners.
You can visit our blog by going here.
Or, if you prefer, you can copy this site into your browser and visit the blog here:
http://acalltorepentance1.blogspot.com/
Thank you all for your own prayers of agreement as we continue to work through 40 WEEKS of Prayer and Fasting, before our Lord, for our sin as a church and as a nation. Amen.
posted by A Call to Repentance @ 11:37 PM
..A Call to Repentance!
