WIC Weekly March 19th 2023
Warsaw International Church
Mobile +48 601 331 032
Worship every Sunday at ul. Miodowa 21 (near Old Town) at 11:00 AM
Entrance from Schillera Street
Email: pastor@wic.org.pl
Website: http://www.wic.org.pl
WIC WEEKLY 19 MARCH 2023 FROM PASTOR HARRY
Spiritual Nourishment
Humility, Repentance And The Nearness Of God by Richard Owen Roberts
The subject of revival is an incredibly important subject, and at the very heart of the subject is the manifest presence of God. One of the words of Scripture that I have delighted in and been immensely encouraged by is found at the end of the seventy-third Psalm, when the psalmist declares, "But as for me, the nearness of God is my good" (NASB). When we are speaking about revival, that is exactly what we are talking about – the nearness of God. This is truly our greatest source of good on earth and, of course, in glory His nearness will be our greatest good also. So we often in describing revival say that earth never comes closer to heaven than in a season of revival when God draws near.
There is a great deal of vibrant instruction on the subject of revival in Scripture, but I want to read a small portion of Psalm 80 at this time: "Oh, give ear, Shepherd of Israel, Thou who dost lead Joseph like a flock; Thou who art enthroned above the cherubim, shine forth! Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up and come to save us! Oh God, restore us, and cause Thy face to shine upon us, and we will be saved" (vv. 1-3).
In the first two verses, three terribly tragic matters are brought to the fore. First, it becomes necessary for those who are interceding to plead with God to listen. Second, the One who filled the Holy of Holies with such incredible, glorious presence that it was necessary to put in an incense pot in order to obscure the glory, is being pled with in this psalm to shine forth. And indeed, the God of all power is being urged to stir up His power and come and save His people.
Now you obviously do not ask someone to listen when you know that they are. You do not ask that the glory shine forth when indeed the glory is so great that it is blinding. You do not ask for a stirring up of power when all power is functioning, at work warming the hearts of the people of God and indeed subduing the wrathful hearts of the impenitent bringing them to faith in Jesus Christ.
When we are talking about need for revival we are talking about a season such as the psalmist has described – a season when it appears God is not listening, when indeed the glory of God is obscured, when also the power of God is not working as it can and is so desperately needed. And of course, the reason why there is this withdrawal of the manifest presence of God and of these graces is because sin has occurred that has not been repented of. There is a very clear and real way in which sin erects a barrier between the people of God and Himself. So when we are speaking about revival, we are speaking about repentance at the very heart. We are speaking about repentance not merely of those fruits of sin that appear in the life, but repentance at the very root of sin. And of course, the Scriptures do specify certain root sins including pride and stubbornness, rebellion and unbelief.
Isaiah expressed the matter in the most powerful fashion in saying, "Thus says the high and exalted One who lives forever, whose name is Holy, ‘I dwell on a high and holy place, and also with the contrite and lowly of spirit in order to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite’" (Isa. 57:15). So clearly when the Chronicles deal with the subject of revival and in that section where Solomon is at the forefront and he is dealing with God after the dedication of the temple, the Lord declares, "If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves…" (2 Chr. 7:14).
You know there is a sense when we almost need to stop right there. Prayer does not come first, as vitally important as it is, but humbling ourselves. The problem in Psalm 80 from which I have read but three verses, is that the arrogance of the people and the sin that followed their arrogance has grown to that point where it has created a barrier between God and themselves. So much so in fact, that we read in verses 4-5, "O Lord God of hosts, how long wilt Thou be angry with the prayer of Thy people? Thou hast fed them with the bread of tears, and Thou hast made them to drink tears in large measure."
So prayer is not first. It is of great consequence as already stated, it is indeed of such considerable consequence that speaking of revival without the earnest birthing kind of prayer that has already been described is just simply foolish. But, the people of God must first humble themselves and set aside anything and everything that has grieved our Father in heaven and then indeed we can pour out our hearts in prayer. What an awesome thing to remember that prayers can so offend God that He sends tears to drink in great measure rather than the desired answers.
But brothers and sisters, at the very heart of revival is the nearness of God. All of the little ones in our world, the ones just born and all the crawling ones, and all the walking children, and all the young people – indeed everyone in the world needs the Lord. Let us turn to prayer now with a spirit of urgency that is appropriate at an hour like this.
Our News
Last Sunday we were pleased to welcome, among others, Roman from Ukraine, Anna from Belarus, Calvin from Zambia, Chelsea from Zimbabwe, and Ivy and Silvia from Kenya. It was also great to see Nelia from Ukraine again, who had been studying in Italy.
Christian Films
Watch wonderful free Christian films of hope and encouragement! They include films about the life of Jesus, testimonies of Christians who have suffered persecution, and excellent cartoon films for both children and adults on Christian spiritual reformers and missionaries. The link is: https://www.vm1.tv/
Prayer Requests
Terror is being waged in Ukraine by Russia, as well as in Russia itself. But in Belarus too, the hated regime which continues to cling to power, despite being voted out by an overwhelming majority two years ago, is terrorizing its own people. Thousands of innocent people languish in prison, and the Belarus dictator is also closing churches. Please pray for the son and daughter-in-law of a pastor’s wife – Anna who attended our service last Sunday. This young couple was imprisoned just for posing against the background of the opposition Belarus flag. Pray for them to be released, for Anna to be safe when she returns to Belarus, and for the Belarus and Russian dictatorships to fall as soon as possible. These two regimes jointly have tens of thousands of deaths and millions of people suffering on their consciences.
We continue to pray for a great spiritual awakening in our own countries and in Poland, and particularly among English-speaking foreigners in Warsaw. Not only are more people attending our services, but also some were born again recently and are being led by the Spirit like never before. This is proof that a spiritual awakening is slowly taking hold among us. I expect there to be several baptisms as a result.
My next-door neighbour, whom the doctors gave little or no chance of recovering from a stroke, slipped disc and cancer several months ago, has now been told that her cancer is in remission! To tell the truth, I somehow knew this would be the case when Ania and I started to pray for her six months ago. We just felt strongly that the Lord would bring her healing – and He has.
Last Sunday’s sermon was preached by Pastor Harry on repentance (Isaiah 59:1-3, 12-13 and 20-21; Mark 10:50-52)
We read at the beginning of today’s service those wonderful words from the Book of Acts, chapter 3, verses 19 and 20 – our verses of the week: “Repent and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that He may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you – even Jesus”. You know, the Book of Acts is a handbook of revival; and therefore we should read and re-read Acts, because it applies to us right now, because there is a spirit of revival in America and it’s spreading to other parts of the globe. I hope the Lord will favour us with His powerful presence, right here in WIC. We must pray for it.
But do you know the context of those verses I quoted? It was just after Pentecost, when the Spirit of Jesus was first poured out on a multitude of people. Peter and John, the disciples, are on their way to the Temple to pray – in Jerusalem. Every day, a crippled man was carried to one of the Temple gates, to beg for money. Peter and John probably knew him, as they would have gone to the Temple regularly as well. But this time, instead of giving him money, they command him to get up and walk, in the name of Jesus Christ. They’re filled with the Holy Spirit in a powerful way just at that moment. The man’s feet immediately become strong, and he jumps up and walks, and starts praising God – and all the people are amazed!
So Peter, who has become the leader of the disciples, speaks to the astonished crowd. He blames them for killing Jesus. He says: “You killed the author of life; but God raised Him from the dead! And by faith in the name of Jesus, this man has been healed!” And in that context, Peter says to the crowd: “Repent and turn to God, that your sins may be wiped out – that times of refreshing may come from the Lord”.
There you have it – our blueprint for revival! Keep your eye on what’s happening in America – but keep one eye on the Scriptures, because God’s word tells us what we need to do. Yes, we too have killed Jesus the author of life, by our sins and unbelief. We drive nails into Him every time we sin. But if we repent and turn to God, our sins will be wiped out – and revival will come to us. Confess your sins to the Lord, and to one another if necessary. Do it sincerely, with genuine repentance – and Jesus will have a pure vessel into which He can pour His presence.
I also shared with you a fragment in Mark chapter 10, from the story about how blind Bartimaeus receives his sight, as Jesus walks by. Bartimaeus too is a beggar – and he shouts at Jesus to have mercy on him: “Rabbi, I want to see”. Jesus tells him exactly the same thing that Peter told the crowd in Jerusalem about the crippled man: “Your faith has healed you!”. Faith in Jesus heals those who need healing! And immediately, Bartimaeus received his sight – and what else?: “He followed Jesus along the road”. He followed Jesus – but only after he could see! In the same way, we too need to ask the Lord for sight – to see whatever is displeasing to Him, so we can cut it out of our lives.
Brothers and Sisters, those two men were disabled. But I’ll tell you something: we are all disabled. We are all disabled by our sins! If anyone here thinks they have no sin in them, they are deluding themselves. The only perfect person around is Jesus Christ. Maybe you’re in a situation where you feel that someone else has sinned, but you haven’t. Don’t be so sure. Your sins might not be the same as the other person’s, but you still have them. Don’t look at the other person – look at your own self.
The point I’m making is that our sins stand in the way of the revival we so desperately want. Jesus wants to give us revival: “What do you want Me to do for you?”, He asks. We want to see. We want to walk. We want to hear. We want to follow Him. “Very well”, says Jesus. “Have faith in Me – and you will receive those things”. And as born-again Christians, we have that faith in Jesus! It might not be very strong. It might be still full of our own self. But we already have a faith. If you don’t have faith in Jesus, you’d better ask Him to give you faith – because you are really in trouble.
And Friends, the crowd in Jerusalem would also have believed in the miracle they saw, when the crippled man jumped to his feet. And so would the crowd who saw Bartimaeus regain his sight – so would they have believed in the power of Jesus to work miracles. They saw it with their own eyes! In both cases, the crowds believed in the power of God!
And so do we believe, when we see the power of God at work among all those people in Asbury and the other places. We do believe in the power of God. But we’re still only a crowd. There’s one thing missing: we need to repent and turn to God ourselves, so that we too can be refreshed. There’s a big difference between believing in a miracle that you see happening in someone else, and witnessing that miracle in your own life.
In today’s Old Testament reading, Isaiah says: “It’s your sins that have cut you off from God. Because of your sins, He has turned away from you”. He won’t listen to our pleadings for revival if there’s sin in our life. Isaiah says: “We have denied the Lord. We have turned our backs on Him”. You might say that’s not true. But every sin we commit is a denial of our Lord. Every sin is a nail in the Body of Christ.
How do you repent? Simply by asking God to shine a light on all the rubbish that’s still within you. And He will – sometimes in painful ways. He will reveal to us the anger we sometimes feel; the doubts we have; the worrying about our work and studies, our health and our relationships; those harsh words we spoke; that secret pride we feel when we think we’re better than others; and so on. But Isaiah says: “The Redeemer will come to buy back those in Israel who have turned from their sins”. We are the Israel of God! – and so we have a great promise from Him: “When we turn from our sins and repent, He will come to us”. Jesus has already redeemed us – He did that on the cross, when we became His own personal property. And now He’s waiting to come to us in power!
Yes indeed: we are Christ’s personal property! We belong to Him, not to ourselves. We’ve been wholly consecrated. We are not our own – we were bought at a price: the costly blood of Jesus. May that thought give you and me a sense of urgency, and motivate us to be rid of what is still displeasing to God – that we may see revival, right here, in this church. May God have mercy on us all, Amen.
Readings and Hymns for the 19 March service
Verses for the week: “God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 1:5).
Theme: Reassurance from God for His people
Psalm: 53
Reading: Ephesians 1:3-14
Offering verse: Psalm 54:6: “I will sacrifice a voluntary offering to You; I will praise Your name, O Lord, for it is good”.
Hymns:
(At the start) Bigger Than Any Mountain
[ Bigger than all my problems, bigger than all my fears,
God is bigger than any mountain that I can or cannot see,
Bigger than all my questions, bigger than anything,
God is bigger than any mountain that I can or cannot see.
Bigger than all the shadows that fall across my path,
God is bigger than any mountain that I can or cannot see,
Bigger than all the confusion, bigger than anything,
God is bigger than any mountain that I can or cannot see.
[chorus]
Bigger than all the giants of fear and unbelief,
God is bigger than any mountain that I can or cannot see,
Bigger than all my hang-ups, bigger than anything,
God is bigger than any mountain that I can or cannot see.
[chorus] x 2
King Of Kings
King of kings, majesty,
God of heaven living in me,
Gentle Saviour, closest Friend,
Strong deliv’rer, beginning and end.
All within me falls at Your throne.
[chorus] Your majesty, I can but bow,
I lay my all before You now,
In royal robes I don’t deserve,
I live to serve Your majesty!
Earth and heaven worship You,
Love eternal, faithful and true,
Who bought the nations, ransomed souls,
Brought this sinner near to Your throne.
All within me cries out in praise.
The Air I Breathe
[:This is the air I breathe
This is the air I breathe
Your holy presence living in me
This is my daily bread
This is my daily bread
Your very word spoken to me
And I, I’m desperate for You
And I, I’m lost without You:]
And I, I’m desperate for You
And I, I’m lost without You
[:I’m desperate for You
I’m lost without You:]
Goodness Of God
I love You, Lord For Your mercy never fails me And all my days, I've been held in Your hands From the moment that I wake up Until I lay my head Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God
And all my life You have been faithful And all my life You have been so, so good, With every breath that I am able Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God
I love Your voice You have led me through the fire In the darkest night You are close like no other I've known You as a Father I've known You as a Friend And I have lived in the goodness of God
[:And all my life You have been faithful And all my life You have been so, so good With every breath that I am able Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God:]
'Cause Your goodness is running after It's running after me Your goodness is running after It's running after me With my life laid down I'm surrendered now I give You everything 'Cause Your goodness is running after It's running after me
[:And all my life You have been faithful And all my life You have been so, so good With every breath that I am able Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God:]
I will sing of the goodness of God!
(After sermon) Tell Me The Old Old Story
Tell me the old, old story of unseen things above,
Of Jesus and His glory, of Jesus and His love.
Tell me the story simply, as to a little child,
For I am weak and weary, and helpless and defiled.
[chorus] [:Tell me the old, old story:]
Tell me the old, old story of Jesus and His love.
Tell me the story slowly, that I may take it in;
That wonderful redemption, God’s remedy for sin.
Tell me the story often, for I forget so soon:
The early dew of morning has passed away at noon.
Tell me the story softly, with earnest tones and grave;
Remember! I’m the sinner whom Jesus came to save.
Tell me the story always, if you would really be,
In any time of trouble, a comforter to me.
Tell me the same old story, when you have cause to fear
That this world’s empty glory is costing me too dear.
Yes, and when that world’s glory is dawning on my soul,
Tell me the old, old story: ‘Christ Jesus makes you whole’.
(At end) O How I Love Jesus
There is a name I love to hear,
I love to sing its worth;
It sounds like music in my ear,
The sweetest name on earth.
[chorus] [:O how I love Jesus:] x 3
Because He first loved me.
It tells me of a Saviour’s love,
Who died to set me free;
It tells me of His precious blood,
The sinner’s perfect plea.
It tells me what my Father has
In store for every day,
And though I tread a darksome path,
Yields sunshine all the way.
It tells of One whose loving heart
Can feel my deepest woe,
Who in each sorrow bears a part,
That none can bear below.
Services and Contributions
WIC is entirely self-supporting. Should you wish to make a contribution to WIC, our church's bank details are as follows:
Warsaw International Church
Santander Bank Polska S.A.
IV/Oddział w Warszawie
ul. Jana Pawła II 17
00-854 Warszawa
Polish złoty (PLN) account: PL 63 1090 1056 0000 0000 0600 9128
SWIFT CODE: WBKPPLPP
Contributions can now also be sent by PayPal. Just open the PayPal application and search for “Warsaw International Church”. You can also use this link for your PayPal payment: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=558F2VK2AJYPC
Our services are also livestreamed on YouTube (11 am CET). The link is: Warsaw International Church - Sunday Service
Recordings of our Sunday services are available on our wic.org.pl website or by googling "Warsaw International Church YouTube".