The Church Dressed In Sackcloth

Learning to Depend on God

the church is supposed to be powerful but appears so weak… makes wonder why?

The book of Revelation tells of an impending battle which it will take nothing short of our complete, and total surrender… not to the things of this world… but to the one who has made a way for us.

When we consider how the church fits into the narrative of the end days we now know it will be one of the final bastions of hope filled with power. As one of the two witnesses we now know it will operate in tremendous power.

Examining the condition of the church today it seems impossible for the church to reach that space. You look at the hurt, traumas, Preference for self over truth, and you have a recipe for a church that is too far from this...

In the state of

-I dont fit in...

-I dont belong...

- I am broken...

-No one has wanted me...

-Ive tried but was not able...

or even;

-you dont know what I have been through God cant use me

It is precisely these people who the Lord will use in the last days as their arrival comes with a complete confidence in the Lord…

Lord I am completely yours and am ready to do what ever you want.

This dependency on God is what I believe is the first characteristics of the two witness

The church dressed in sackcloth goes beyond repentance as it indicates our submission to the Lord.

The great and terrible day of the Lord when spoken about by Malachi is preceded by one who is preparing the way for the church.

JTB Came dressed in Sackcloth and Preparing the Way for the Lord (Matt 3)

Luke 1:15–17 ESV

for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

Dressed in Sackcloth

Full of the Spirit

He (according to scripture is Elijah)

Power of Elijah

Raised someone from the dead

Leveled 450 prophets of Baal

Rained down fire from Heaven

In total 8 wonders performed

It is JTBs clothing and Purpose that will help us Understand the church

Dressed in Sackcloth

Revelation 11:3 ESV

And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”

When they arrive they do so in Sackcloth

this must be important.

The type of authority the church will function is that of great proportions… What does it mean to dress in Sackcloth

Dressed for Repentance

Jonah 3:6–8 ESV

The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water, but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands.

Letting go of the wicked ways

Public declaration of the contrition for ones sin

The two witnesses have a repentant heart

Dressed for mourning

Genesis 37:34 ESV

Then Jacob tore his garments and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days.

This mourning is brought on by the loss of something

The two witnesses will be mourning the falling away of the people

Dressed for the distress of the nation

2 Kings 19:1–2 ESV

As soon as King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the Lord. And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and the senior priests, covered with sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz.

not for the self but for others

He took serious the warnings and called the nation to repent ousted idol worship and returned the people to proper worship of the Lord

The two witnesses will become a beacon for the lost and restorers of the breaches.

Dressed for impending judgement

Jeremiah 4:8 ESV

For this put on sackcloth, lament and wail, for the fierce anger of the Lord has not turned back from us.”

They will be speaking about what is going to happen

They two witnesses will warn all who will listen of the end that is upon them

Dressed to declare complete dependence on the Lord

Joel 1:13–15 ESV

Put on sackcloth and lament, O priests; wail, O ministers of the altar. Go in, pass the night in sackcloth, O ministers of my God! Because grain offering and drink offering are withheld from the house of your God. Consecrate a fast; call a solemn assembly. Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord. Alas for the day! For the day of the Lord is near, and as destruction from the Almighty it comes.

We can see each one of the purposes here

Everything is or has fallen apart to this point but the call is now to turn to God and depend on Him completely

The two witnesses are completely dependent on the Lord.

Dressed in Sackcloth Filled with Power

We marvel at the sound of great stories of signs and wonders done by Elijah, Jesus, and others....

The two witnesses arrive dressed n sackcloth they have learned to be wholly dependent of the Lord.

Anointed they were misfits… called and they had no home…they repented…they have mourned the fallen… they understand the hard work ahead… they have learned to depend on the Lord alone

They have become like King David in the cave of Adullam… he was on the run Imagine his posture...

1. Anointed to be king but on the run

2. Abandoned by everyone

3. Hunted by the world

4. Tired, hungry, thirsty

He pens two psalms and shows utter dependence on the Lord as one by one people arrive to tend to him in the cave… the distressed… the indebted… the bitter in soul… as he worships he is made commander

Psalm 142:1–7 ESV

With my voice I cry out to the Lord; with my voice I plead for mercy to the Lord. I pour out my complaint before him; I tell my trouble before him. When my spirit faints within me, you know my way! In the path where I walk they have hidden a trap for me. Look to the right and see: there is none who takes notice of me; no refuge remains to me; no one cares for my soul. I cry to you, O Lord; I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.” Attend to my cry, for I am brought very low! Deliver me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me! Bring me out of prison, that I may give thanks to your name! The righteous will surround me, for you will deal bountifully with me.

David restores order to the land but had to find himself broken surrendered and utterly dependent on the Lord

You and I church as the day arrives need to put on the sackcloth with a heart postured for the Lord ready to be His witnesses.

Now as we are found in the cave lift up our song not from bitterness but a heart rendered to the Lord