Coming Under The True Shepherd
A Biblical View of Revival - Part 6
by James Pool, OneCry National Prayer Director
Consecrate a fast, proclaim 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 (Joel 1:14 NASB).
I have met a number of precious pastors in my lifetime who really struggle emotionally and mentally when their church attendance numbers begin to decline and they realize that the powerful, manifest presence of God is no longer being experienced by their congregations.
If you are one of these pastors, you may have had some of the following questions go through your mind: “Is it time to get rid of some staff members or try another revitalization program? Is it time for me to begin looking for another church? Do I need to quit the pastorate altogether and get into some form of secular work?”
Asking the Right Questions
Pastor, you and I both know that these are probably not the right questions to ask. Instead, pressures within our churches should push us to first examine our own hearts. “Am I right with God? Am I walking in freedom over sin? Am I truly spending the time God wants me to have with Him in His Word? Has my relationship with God become healthy enough for me to hear His voice and show Him my love by obeying His directional commands? Am I being courageous in declaring the whole counsel of God’s Word and leading my congregation to corporately obey God?”
When this type of personal examination has taken place first, and you know that your relationship with God is right, then it is time to focus on your congregation. At this point, God often calls His under-shepherds to lead the people under their authority in examining their corporate ways and deeds and repenting of anything that is displeasing to Him. How is this accomplished? The steps below may help you if this is a path God is leading you and your church family to take.
Leading the Sheep Back to the Shepherd
1. Spend time equipping the people under your authority with a biblical understanding of how God holds both churches and individuals accountable for their sinful ways and deeds, and how your church family can actually repent of its corporate sins (Ezekiel 36:16-19). One way to do this is by preaching through the revivals found in Scripture (Moses: Exodus 32:1-35; 33:1-23; Samuel: 1 Samuel 7:1-17; Elijah: 1 Kings 18:1-46; Jonah: The Book of Jonah; Asa: 2 Chronicles 15:1-19; Hezekiah: 2 Chronicles 29:1-36; 30:1-27; 31:1-21; Josiah: 2 Chronicles 34:1-33; 35:19; Ezra and Nehemiah: Ezra 9:1-15, 10:1-5; Nehemiah 9:1-3; John the Baptist: Luke 3:2-18; Pentecost: Acts 2:1-47; Philip: Acts 8:4-40; Peter and Cornelius: Acts 10:1-48; Paul in Ephesus: Acts 19:1-2).
2. Ask God to reveal specifically to you and all those who are in positions of authority how your church family has departed from loving Him, keeping His principles and commands, and obeying specific directions for ministry He may have given your congregation. If your entire church family is involved in this process, it is important to remind them not to focus on individuals but on sins that are committed by many in the congregation or by the congregation as a whole. Some examples of corporate sin may be the church’s failure to witness or to make disciples or to genuinely love each other (Daniel 9:3-23).
3. Upon hearing from God, ask Him to show you the changes He would have you make in order to honor Him and see His reputation restored through the life of your church family (Acts 26:20).
4. Lead your church or group to confess their sinful ways and deeds before God, submit anew to God’s authority, restore God’s biblical standards over the group, and then begin taking specific steps to complete your repentance. In Scripture this often involved a solemn assembly where everyone in the group was encouraged to attend and repent of the group’s sinful ways (Joel 2:12-17).
5. Complete your church or group repentance by faithfully and consistently acknowledging to God that you are trusting His Spirit to give you the desire and the power to accomplish the changes He longs for you to make (Philippians 2:12-13).
6. Lead your church or group to always praise and worship God as the One who gets the glory for that which you begin seeing Him accomplish among you (John 4:24).
May we all see Jesus exalted as we continue praying for
revival and spiritual awakening!