Silas
Beloved of All
Your prayer for revival and for being washed by the water of the Word reflects the very heart of what God desires for His people. The Scripture pictures the church as the bride of Christ, loved by her bridegroom and being made ready for Him. That preparation is described in Ephesians 5 as a washing by the Word, so that He might present to Himself a glorious church without spot or wrinkle, holy and without blemish. This is a great mystery of Christ and His church, and it is a work He delights to do.
That work is a sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. We are called to participate with Him, putting to death the deeds of the flesh by the Spirit as Romans 8 teaches, not by our own strength or resolve, but by the Spirit of God. As Zechariah declares, it is not by might nor by power but by His Spirit. He enables us to walk in the good works He has prepared for us and to be made ready as a bride adorned for her husband, as Revelation 19 shows. The fine linen, pure and bright, is the righteousness of the saints, first the righteousness given to us through faith in Jesus Christ, and then the righteous living that flows from it.
Scripture is clear that we are to pursue holiness, without which no one will see the Lord, and Jesus said blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God. True holiness is not an outward appearance or a set of rules about dress or behavior. Many have reduced it to that and caused others to turn away from the very word. Yet we should not neglect the true holiness God calls us to. Holiness is a matter of the heart. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks, and what defiles a person comes from within. God wants a rightness of character within us, and from that right character comes right conduct. Holiness is the root and righteousness is the fruit. Without a pure heart at the core, any attempt to live rightly will fail. With a heart made pure by Christ, right living can be sustained.
None of us is pure or holy or perfect as Christ is. He is our standard, and that righteousness cannot be attained by works or regulations. It is received through faith in Him, and then the hope of His coming becomes a purifying hope in us. Everyone who has this hope purifies himself even as He is pure. We live between His first coming to redeem us and His coming again for His bride. As the bride waits, she delights to sit under His shadow and taste His fruit, and His banner over her is love. He sees His bride as beautiful. Like a garden enclosed, a spring shut up, a fountain sealed, she is set apart for Him alone. You are chosen and precious to Him, and the Holy Spirit has come to woo and draw and keep you for Christ.
Your desire for revival in your own life, your family, your church and among all peoples is pleasing to God, who desires all to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. Revival begins with the light of the knowledge of the glory of God shining in our hearts in the face of Jesus Christ and the eyes of our understanding being enlightened. It continues as we remain in His Word, for Jesus prayed sanctify them in Your truth, Your Word is truth, and as we continue in His Word we know the truth that sets us free.
And you have been given a part in His reconciling work. God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting our trespasses against us, and He has given to us the ministry of reconciliation. As you serve Him in the preaching of the gospel and do the work of an evangelist in whatever sphere He has placed you, you share in gathering others to the marriage supper of the Lamb and calling them to walk in that same holiness.
We join you in praying that the Lord would establish your heart unblameable in holiness before God, that you would be washed daily in the Word, kept pure in heart and life, and made ready for His coming. May He keep you walking in purity and honor, possessing your vessel in sanctification, abiding in Christ and bearing much fruit both in the character of the Spirit and in a harvest of souls, all through the single offering of Jesus Christ who has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. Even so, come Lord Jesus.
That work is a sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. We are called to participate with Him, putting to death the deeds of the flesh by the Spirit as Romans 8 teaches, not by our own strength or resolve, but by the Spirit of God. As Zechariah declares, it is not by might nor by power but by His Spirit. He enables us to walk in the good works He has prepared for us and to be made ready as a bride adorned for her husband, as Revelation 19 shows. The fine linen, pure and bright, is the righteousness of the saints, first the righteousness given to us through faith in Jesus Christ, and then the righteous living that flows from it.
Scripture is clear that we are to pursue holiness, without which no one will see the Lord, and Jesus said blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God. True holiness is not an outward appearance or a set of rules about dress or behavior. Many have reduced it to that and caused others to turn away from the very word. Yet we should not neglect the true holiness God calls us to. Holiness is a matter of the heart. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks, and what defiles a person comes from within. God wants a rightness of character within us, and from that right character comes right conduct. Holiness is the root and righteousness is the fruit. Without a pure heart at the core, any attempt to live rightly will fail. With a heart made pure by Christ, right living can be sustained.
None of us is pure or holy or perfect as Christ is. He is our standard, and that righteousness cannot be attained by works or regulations. It is received through faith in Him, and then the hope of His coming becomes a purifying hope in us. Everyone who has this hope purifies himself even as He is pure. We live between His first coming to redeem us and His coming again for His bride. As the bride waits, she delights to sit under His shadow and taste His fruit, and His banner over her is love. He sees His bride as beautiful. Like a garden enclosed, a spring shut up, a fountain sealed, she is set apart for Him alone. You are chosen and precious to Him, and the Holy Spirit has come to woo and draw and keep you for Christ.
Your desire for revival in your own life, your family, your church and among all peoples is pleasing to God, who desires all to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. Revival begins with the light of the knowledge of the glory of God shining in our hearts in the face of Jesus Christ and the eyes of our understanding being enlightened. It continues as we remain in His Word, for Jesus prayed sanctify them in Your truth, Your Word is truth, and as we continue in His Word we know the truth that sets us free.
And you have been given a part in His reconciling work. God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting our trespasses against us, and He has given to us the ministry of reconciliation. As you serve Him in the preaching of the gospel and do the work of an evangelist in whatever sphere He has placed you, you share in gathering others to the marriage supper of the Lamb and calling them to walk in that same holiness.
We join you in praying that the Lord would establish your heart unblameable in holiness before God, that you would be washed daily in the Word, kept pure in heart and life, and made ready for His coming. May He keep you walking in purity and honor, possessing your vessel in sanctification, abiding in Christ and bearing much fruit both in the character of the Spirit and in a harvest of souls, all through the single offering of Jesus Christ who has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. Even so, come Lord Jesus.
