Wisdom calls, she lifts up her voice like a trumpet - can we hear her: "The last shall be first, and the first last." She is to be preferred over pure gold - have we sought her: "Everyone that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted." By her presidents rule and judges administer justice - have we found her: "He must increase, but I must decrease." Ponder wisdom:
It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting and sorrow is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure. Eccl 7:2-4
Wisdom? The heart is made better by the sadness of the countenance? The house of mourning is better than the house of feasting? I thought Christian salvation was about God having a wonderful, happy plan for my life. Why all this talk of sadness and mourning? Surely the writer doesn't understand the ways of God. Surely he doesn't understand salvation - or does he? Is it possible that it is us moderns who don't understand the ways of God?
Solomon understood the often overlooked and misunderstood truth that "unless a seed falls to the ground and dies it abides alone, but if it dies it bears much fruit." He knew that "weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning" (John 12:24). Solomon understood that without crucifixion there can be no resurrection. Friend, is the modern Christian church greater than its Master?
Consider a baker meticulously mixing water, sugar, salt, yeast and flour. He mixes and punches; he rolls and kneads until the dough is perfect. His guests are screaming for the bread, but he knows he must be patient - the rising cannot be rushed. "Leave out the yeast!" cries a famished guest. "After all, the other ingredients are there." But the wise baker knows that even though such a yeast-free concoction might taste similar to bread it would not really be bread at all.
From powdered milk to microwave popcorn, if you want easy and fast - you've got it. Drive-through restaurants; drive-through dry cleaners; drive-through church, it's alright - forget the yeast! We want weight loss without strain and Christian conversion without contrition - the rising just takes too long! Contrition? Indeed, contrition is the yeast in the bread of genuine conversion. Contrition is the house of mourning and the sadness of the countenance. It is the death of the seed and the weeping at midnight. Contrition means crucifixion to self-sufficiency and arrogance. Contrition is the sackcloth and ashes of the soul!
Without contrition true conversion and revival are impossible. Please, don't hear me wrong. We can have big churches without contrition. We can have thousands at altar calls without contrition. We can get people to close their eyes and repeat rote prayers without contrition, but we cannot get one selfish, sin-laden soul to abandon his preoccupation with himself and be genuinely converted without contrition.
Your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God...and because you humbled yourself before Me, tore your clothes, and wept before Me, I truly have heard you," declares the LORD (2 Chron 34:27-28).
The sacrifice of a torn garment is fruitless without the sacrifice of a contrite and broken heart. In the same way the sacrifices of church attendance, giving, and other spiritual endeavors are useless apart from a contrite heart. We may shred every garment we own and even assent to all the right doctrinal stuff, but without a tender and humble heart God does not hear and revival will not come. Remove godly sorrow from the bread of conversion and our converts just won't rise.
Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death (2 Cor 7:9-10). - 14915
It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting and sorrow is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure. Eccl 7:2-4
Wisdom? The heart is made better by the sadness of the countenance? The house of mourning is better than the house of feasting? I thought Christian salvation was about God having a wonderful, happy plan for my life. Why all this talk of sadness and mourning? Surely the writer doesn't understand the ways of God. Surely he doesn't understand salvation - or does he? Is it possible that it is us moderns who don't understand the ways of God?
Solomon understood the often overlooked and misunderstood truth that "unless a seed falls to the ground and dies it abides alone, but if it dies it bears much fruit." He knew that "weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning" (John 12:24). Solomon understood that without crucifixion there can be no resurrection. Friend, is the modern Christian church greater than its Master?
Consider a baker meticulously mixing water, sugar, salt, yeast and flour. He mixes and punches; he rolls and kneads until the dough is perfect. His guests are screaming for the bread, but he knows he must be patient - the rising cannot be rushed. "Leave out the yeast!" cries a famished guest. "After all, the other ingredients are there." But the wise baker knows that even though such a yeast-free concoction might taste similar to bread it would not really be bread at all.
From powdered milk to microwave popcorn, if you want easy and fast - you've got it. Drive-through restaurants; drive-through dry cleaners; drive-through church, it's alright - forget the yeast! We want weight loss without strain and Christian conversion without contrition - the rising just takes too long! Contrition? Indeed, contrition is the yeast in the bread of genuine conversion. Contrition is the house of mourning and the sadness of the countenance. It is the death of the seed and the weeping at midnight. Contrition means crucifixion to self-sufficiency and arrogance. Contrition is the sackcloth and ashes of the soul!
Without contrition true conversion and revival are impossible. Please, don't hear me wrong. We can have big churches without contrition. We can have thousands at altar calls without contrition. We can get people to close their eyes and repeat rote prayers without contrition, but we cannot get one selfish, sin-laden soul to abandon his preoccupation with himself and be genuinely converted without contrition.
Your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God...and because you humbled yourself before Me, tore your clothes, and wept before Me, I truly have heard you," declares the LORD (2 Chron 34:27-28).
The sacrifice of a torn garment is fruitless without the sacrifice of a contrite and broken heart. In the same way the sacrifices of church attendance, giving, and other spiritual endeavors are useless apart from a contrite heart. We may shred every garment we own and even assent to all the right doctrinal stuff, but without a tender and humble heart God does not hear and revival will not come. Remove godly sorrow from the bread of conversion and our converts just won't rise.
Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death (2 Cor 7:9-10). - 14915
About the Author:
LaLond's book, The Lying Promise, examines pivotal differences between popular "lifestyle evangelism" and the approach of men like Wesley and Finney who were prominent in God-breathed revival.
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