Identificational Repentance

1. Identificational Repentance The Priestly Ministry of Intercession in Missions

2. Biblical Roots of Identificational Repentance • Arises from the priestly ministry of intercession • Involves prayer but is a development from prayer

3. Intercession • To intercede is to stand in the shoes of someone else • To stand in the gap on behalf of an issue or situation • The activity of the Godhead • Jesus and the Holy Spirit intercede with us and through us (Romans 8:26,34) to the Father in heaven • Includes the interaction of God with humans

4. Intercession • When Jesus prayed, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears (Heb. 5:7) • OT Prophets often wept and acted in a way which reflected extreme emotion • Prayer may be in silence or may reflect the depth of anguish felt by the one interceding

5. OT Models • Daniel learned (prob. From Jer. 25:12) the period of banishment of the people of God from their land had a time limit and he began to plead on behalf of his people • He confessed the sins of his forefathers had committed more than 70 years beforehand as if they were his own sins (see Daniel 9)

6. OT Models • Ezra about the same time learned about mixed marriage by many Jews and began to repent (Ezra 9:5-10:1) • He tore his robe, fell on his knees before God and wept in prayer.

7. OT Models • Nehemiah, a servant of the Babylonian king, heard about the physical state of Jerusalem, and began to weep, fast and pray (Neh. 1) • Then, he did something about it by gaining permission from the king to go and rebuild the ruined walls despite persistent opposition by enemies.

8. OT Models • King David faced a period of 3 years of drought soon after becoming king. • 2 Sam. 21:1 “The Lord said, ‘It is on account of Saul and his blood-stained house; it is because he put the Gibeonites to death.’” • This breaking of Saul’s covenant, and the shedding of innocent blood, required David’s repentance, although it was not David’s sin but the sin of his predecessor.

9. OT Models • The prophet Amos, in speaking of God’s judgments against cities and peoples, pinpointedthe reality of corporate sin (Amos 1 and 2) • God judges nations for past sin as well as present sin. He calls their leaders to account.

10. OT Models • Hosea (Hosea 5:15-6:2) recognized that corporate repentance preceded God’s forgiveness and healing—even after the third day—so looking forward to the cross and all that God would do through it for the whole of humanity.

11. Summary of OT Models • Leaders involved in prayer, the priesthood and politics shared the same understanding of the need to acknowledge and repent of the sins of their forebears.

12. NT Examples • Matthew 23:35 Jesus accuses the Jewish leaders of corporate sin—sin that had occurred centuries before and would be repeated at their own hands in the very near future. • See also 2 Chron. 24:21

13. Modern day examples • Plight of the Jews who met premature death in Europe • Aboriginals in Australia whose present plight is the result of the invasion of their land and the slaughter of their people in needless and repetitive acts of murder and injustice

14. Effects of Sin on Victims • Aware of the pain and isolation, of the injustice and division, which those past acts have created. • Theology for them is not the issue—justice is. Blood cries from the land. • Corporate memory of past injustices becomes part of the painful history that subsequent generations learn about and continue to live through. • Memories breed resentment, fear and hatred and result in recriminations, when unresolved.

15. Conclusions • God takes sin seriously—both the original acts and the subsequent effects. • God holds His covenant people accountable for their sin, and can visit them in judgment when He wishes. • Corporate sin as well as individual sin requires repentance and forgiveness. • The effects of sin can be inherited by subsequent generations. • Repentance and God’s forgiveness and cleansing can break the repetitive cycle of historical sin. • Intercessors, through ‘standing in the gap’, can take responsibility for and identify with the sin of the people to which they belong, even centuries after the original act(s).

16. Requirements • We need God’s revelation and anguish in order to intercede adequately. • We need to know the right time, the right place and before the right people in order for that repentance to be effective. • We need to have face-to-face contact with those who are the victims of past sin. • We are called to prove our repentance by our deeds (acts 26:20)

17. Difference between Confession and Repentance • Confession merely acknowledges the sin. • Repentance requires that I change my ways and no longer act as I did before. • In repentance, I deal with both the original root and the fruit of sin.

18. Hoped for Results • We look for permanently changed attitudes which result in: • the healing of human relationships • the removal of guilt • the changing of patterns of behavior, and, • in some situations, restitution.

19. Hoped for Results • Acts of repentance: • Frequently accompanied with tears • Remove blockages • Bring healing in mind and body • Change attitudes, and, • Begin to create the climate for ongoing partnership and co-operation, out of mutual acceptance, affirmation and love.

20. Hoped for Results • We also effectively remove the basis on which Satan is able to build strongholds of evil around the original sin. • We break the curses which negative perceptions and spoken hatred have helped to create.

21. Forgiveness is an Essential Element in the Process • Forgiveness • Removes the pain • Deals with the repercussions of others’ sins • Depends fully on the redemptive work of Christ on the cross (Acts 2:38-39) • Unforgiveness • A recipe for ongoing pain and hatred • Opens the way for continuing antagonism • Nurtures tribal feuds & natn’l conflicts

22. God committed to us to ministry of reconciliation • Through Jesus’ act of sacrifice, He made it possible for us to be reconciled with the Father in heaven, from whom our sin would have eternally separated us. • He committed to us this same ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5) • This ministry is not merely through the preached word, but also through deeds of love and acts of mercy.

23. Reconciliation • Those from whom my group or I were previously separated are separated no more—whether God or others. • Repentance must occur in horizontal corporate relationships as well as in vertical relationship with our Father in heaven.

24. How many times must we repent? • Jesus replied to His disciples ‘seventy-seven times’ (Matt. 18:22) they should forgive their brother • If forgiveness is required that often, so is repentance. • If I confess the sin of my group, this may have to be done many times before different groups of people who have been affected by it. • It needs to be done as often as necessary until the effects have been dealt with and change has taken place. • Before God, one act of repentance is sufficient for His forgiveness to flow, but many acts may be needed before our fellow human beings.

25. One act of repentance can be multiplied many times • In God’s providence we have found that on many occasions acts of repentance at strategic times and before a nation’s leaders have been filmed by television and broadcast to a nation. • In this way, the one act becomes multiplied to millions of people.

26. Why is all this important to you today? • For believers participating in God’s redemptive purposes in earth and on mission with Him, identificational repentance is an essential tool for removing hindrances to the advance of the gospel among unbelievers. • Across the globe, believers are sensing God’s urgency in dealing with corporate sins of peoples.