The Solemn Assembly - Baptist Convention of New England

Transcription

Foreword by Richard Owen Roberts
BLOW THE
TRUMPET IN ZION!
Calling God’s People Back To Him
Through Solemn Assembly
Keeney Dickenson
Has the membership of your local church become:
• disoriented to the ways of God?
• plagued by disunity, strife and division?
• powerless due to chronic prayerlessness?
• tarnished by worldliness, sinfulness and carnality?
• poisoned by murmuring, grumbling and complaining?
Blow the trumpet in Zion consecrate
a fast, call a solemn assembly...
Biblically and historically, the Father has used the solemn assembly as a vehicle by which He has called His people
back to Him. This sourcebook is filled with Biblical instruction and practical guidelines for conducting a solemn
assembly in the local church. It is a roadmap designed to assist the pastor in blazing the trail back to the heart of
God and His holy ways. “Let us search out and examine our ways, and turn back to the Lord” (Lamentations 3:40).
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT BLOW THE TRUMPET IN ZION
For the purpose of personal spiritual revival, every pastor, serious about his own relationship with the Lord and genuinely concerned about leading
his church, should read this manual on Solemn Assembly. What Keeney Dickenson hits on in this excellent work is of vital necessity to pastors and
churches. The fact that most of our people, and pastors as well, know nothing of Solemn Assembly speaks of our spiritual state.
MAC BRUNSON, Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, FL
Keeney Dickenson has written a thorough, biblical, challenging work on an important but little known subject. I encourage you to read it humbly
and carefully. - RICHARD BLACKABY, Co-Author of Fresh Encounter: God’s Pattern for Spiritual Awakening
Though the concept of a solemn assembly is often overlooked today, the need for corporate repentance in the family, the local church, community,
and our nation is key to our survival at every level. Oh how we need solemn assemblies in order to regain the manifest presence of God! Keeney
Dickenson has done a remarkable job of resurfacing and bringing to the forefront this critical process for this most urgent hour. Is there anything
else that could turn the heart of God and move the hand of God more than a solemn assembly? This is the guide to show us how to engage biblically
in the process. - BYRON PAULUS, Executive Director, Life Action Revival Ministries
After reading this book, I can understand why Keeney Dickenson wanted Richard Owen Roberts to write the foreword. The spirit of Roberts’
ministry permeates this book. I know of no more thorough work on the subject of Solemn Assemblies than this one.
DON WHITNEY, Associate Professor of Biblical Spirituality, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, KY
Every pastor and prayer leader knows, the key to success is often succinct and well-researched materials. There are manuals – and then there are
manuals! ‘Blow the Trumpet in Zion!’ is a model for manuals. It is by far, the most thorough resource for solemn and sacred assemblies available in
the world. Take that commendation from the author of a solemn assembly manual. Keeney Dickenson has pulled together invaluable resources for
the prayer leader. This is not a ‘one time’ manual... A must for the praying church and the praying pastor.
DOUG SMALL, Cry Out America Field Director
Very few resources exist on solemn assembly, even less practical material for leadership to guide their church through the process of returning to
God. Keeney Dickenson has written an excellent resource to clarify key Biblical teaching on the subject. I highly commend his superb work for
anyone seeking solid teaching, leadership tips, and clear direction concerning the key considerations involved.
JOHN FRANKLIN, John Franklin Ministries
History confirms many times over that societies have been saved from spiritual demise when God's people have turned back to Him. This is where
it begins. If, in God's mercy, He chooses to turn our nation around He will begin with the reviving of His people and if ever the church needed to
hear the sound of the Solemn Assembly trumpet, it is today. Through the heart and pen of Keeney Dickenson, God has given the church a tool as
thorough and biblically sound as can be found. Bathed in prayer and faith, Blow the Trumpet in Zion has the potential of resetting the sails of any
church to catch the winds of revival. I whole-heartedly recommend this Spirit-inspired work. - RON OWENS, Author of Return to Worship
Blow the Trumpet in Zion is an excellent and valuable resource for churches that long for the presence and power of God among His people. There
is so little understanding of Solemn Assemblies today, yet the need is so urgent for God’s people to return to Him in true godly sorrow that leads to
true repentance. This resource is able to instruct and to inspire God’s shepherds to call God’s people back to Him in a way that is biblical.
DON PIERSON, Prayer Strategies Specialist, Tennessee Baptist Convention
...an excellent and thorough resource, on biblical solemn assembly for the local church today. I pray that Blow the Trumpet in Zion will receive the
attention from pastors that God desires, and be a catalyst for revival in churches across North America.
ELAINE HELMS, Prayer and Spiritual Awakening Coordinator, North American Mission Board, SBC
In these days in which ominous storm clouds of judgment continue to gather, Keeney Dickenson, issues a powerful call to the church and her
leaders to come together in true repentance so that they may be renewed in holiness. May God be pleased to use this urgent call to the glory of His
name, the furtherance of His gospel and the blessing of His people. - ROGER ELLSWORTH, Author of Come Down Lord!
KEENEY DICKENSON is a pastor, author, consultant, and conference speaker with a passion for Christlike prayer
and genuine biblical revival. He has served as senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Crockett, Texas since 2003.
He is married to his best friend and treasured prayer partner, D’Ann. They have two sons: Jarryn and Koby.
$16.95
Blow the Trumpet in Zion!
The Local Church Solemn Assembly
Keeney Dickenson
Blow the Trumpet in Zion
Keeney Dickenson
Copyright © 2009, 2011 Prayeridigm Publishing
All rights reserved. However, you have permission from the author to copy and/or adapt material in this
manual for use limited to the local church setting.
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version, Copyright
© 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible,® Copyright © 1999,
2000, 2002, 2003, by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible,®
Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.
Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible,® Copyright © 1995 by
the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version,® NIV,® Copyright
© 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from the The Amplified Bible. Copyright © 1965, 1987 by the
Zondervan Corporation. The Amplified New Testament, Copyright © 1958, 1987 by the Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from the The Holy Bible, English Standard Version,® ESV,®
Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights
reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
The solemn assembly is not just another program. It is a biblical process. The
local church solemn assembly introduces the congregation to biblical
corporate repentance, and initiates the journey of whole-heartedly returning to
God. It is in the solemn assembly that the people of God experience the
rhythm of revival in a renewed intimate walk with God. Therefore, if you are
looking for a quick-fix-easily-implemented-denominational-franchise-cookiecutter program, you should definitely look elsewhere. However, if you desire
to lead your congregation to explore the depths of brokenness and repentance
which will enable them to embark on the adventure of pursuing the heart of
God, it is our prayer that this manual is a key that helps unlock that door.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreword i
Preface iii
Solemn Assembly and Satanic Assault
v
Section One: Biblical Foundations for the Solemn Assembly
Old Testament Solemn Assemblies 2
What is a Solemn Assembly? 3
Is There a Place for the Solemn Assembly in the New Testament Church?
When the Glory Departs From the House of Prayer 12
Why Does God Call His People Into Solemn Assembly? 13
Revival or Ruin: When God Withholds His Blessing 15
7
Section Two: Spiritual Leadership of the Solemn Assembly
Are You Standing in the Gap? 24
Why Conduct a Solemn Assembly? 25
The Trail of Travail: Between the Porch and the Altar 27
Rebuild the Altar 29
Pastoral Leadership in the Local Church Solemn Assembly
Praying Pastor Plumbline 33
Profiles of Biblical Revival Leaders 35
31
Section Three: Corporate Repentance in the Solemn Assembly
Corporate Confession and Cleansing for Revival 41
Catalog of Corporate Sins 34
Characteristics of Biblical Corporate Confession 36
Biblical Calls to Revival 46
Biblical Heart-Cries for Revival 47
Section Four: Practical Steps Toward a Local Church Solemn Assembly
Appendix A: What You Need to Know to Facilitate a Day of Repentance 51
Appendix B: Sample Solemn Assembly Calendar 54
Appendix C: Practical Guidelines for Conducting a Local Church Solemn Assembly 55
Appendix D: Sample Solemn Assembly Service 56
Appendix E: Corporate Confession Card 60
Appendix F: Local Church Corporate Sins and Definitions 61
Appendix G: Commemorative Acts of Covenant Loyalty 62
Appendix H: Solemn Assembly Covenants 63
Appendix I: Catalog of Corporate Sin Worksheet 65
Appendix J: Local Church Corporate Sins Tally Sheet 66
Appendix K: Solemn Assembly Follow-Through: An Atmosphere of Accountability 67
Appendix L: House of Prayer Assessment 69
Appendix M: Divine Approval Ratings 70
Appendix N: 40 Days of Scripture Readings to Prepare for a Solemn Assembly 73
Appendix O: Index of Songs of Repentance and Revival 74
Appendix P: Sins of the Shepherd 75
Appendix Q: Characteristics of False Prophets and Teachers 85
Appendix R: Praying Pastor Annotated Bibliography 87
Foreword
For most people in the American Church, the concept of the Solemn Assembly is both new and strange. They
do not know what it is, why some folks are so urgent about it or what Solemn Assemblies are supposed to
accomplish. Although the Scriptures contain a great deal of information on Solemn Assemblies - as this book
will demonstrate - they have been so long neglected by most churches that they appear to be more a novelty
than a well established Biblical practice.
Underlying the whole issue of the Solemn Assembly is a fundamental question that must be asked, “How
many gods are there?” Are there two? The God of the Old Testament who is harsh and eager to punish, and
the God of the New Testament who is all patience and kindness? Can New Testament Christians get away
with violations of God and His commandments that were not tolerated in Old Testament days? Or is there just
one God who has changed? A God who used to bring wrath suddenly upon His chosen people, but is now
much more tolerant of unbelief and wickedness than He was in the past. The absolute truth is that there is One
unchanging God! As God was, so God is. What God once hated, He still hates. What He punished in the past,
He still punishes. When the issue is clear then the Solemn Assembly is understandable.
Among the most distressing and yet extremely instructive passages in the entire Bible is Deuteronomy
twenty-eight. In this chapter, God proclaims both the marvelous benefits of earnestly listening to His law and
of faithful obedience to it, and the truly awful results of careless disregard of what He says. This chapter has
eighty-six verses. Fourteen of these verses are devoted to the blessings of obedience, which popular
Christianity is quick to claim. Fifty-four verses describe the curses that God brings upon the careless and
disobedient which seem to have escaped the attention of the modern church. A thoughtful perusal of the
chapter provides not only an immensely accurate picture of the decline and fall of Israel and Judah, but also a
startling apt portrayal of the rise and potential fall of America. Verses one to fourteen portray the blessings
America once enjoyed. Verses fifteen to sixty-eight depict the God-arranged curses America is rushing to
bring itself under.
Consider as sample the blessings of verse thirteen, “And the LORD shall make you the head and not the tail,
and you only shall be above, and you shall not be underneath, if you will listen to the commandments of the
LORD your God, which I charge you today to observe them carefully.” Contrast this with the curses of verses
forty-three to forty-five, “The alien who is among you shall rise above you higher and higher, but you shall go
down lower and lower. He shall lend to you, but you shall not lend to him; he shall be the head, and you shall
be the tail. So all these curses shall come upon you and pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed,
because you would not obey the LORD your God by keeping His commandments and His statutes which He
commanded you.”
Whenever God’s people become careless in their total obedience to the Lord, He brings them under
righteous judgment as Deuteronomy 28 makes clear. Thus, corporate repentance is mandatory. The Solemn
Assembly is the means that God has provided for this mandatory repentance.
Foreword i
Regarding Israel and Judah there can be no question. Over the years, their sins became increasing atrocious
and their repentance less and less adequate. Indeed, their disobedience mounted higher and higher until
they were carried off into Babylonian captivity. When, at last, their Messiah came, most of their leaders
did not even recognize Him. Jesus Himself depicted the tragedy of their blindness in the awful words of
Luke 13:34-35, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How
often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you
would not have it. Behold, your house is left to you desolate...” If these words were spoken sometime around
33-34 A.D., this means that God had abandoned them, their temple, their worship, their sacrifices, their
religious rituals, for some thirty-six to thirty-seven years before the actual destruction of Jerusalem and its
temple in the year 70 A.D.
The early Pilgrims who first settled in the Massachusetts Bay Colony were sure that under God they were
planting the New Israel, a nation in covenant-relationship with God. They carefully laid the foundation for
what eventually became the United States of America, one nation under God. Clearly, America became great
because the hand of God’s blessing was upon us. Through all the early centuries, since the first Pilgrims
landed, the kindness of the Lord has been wonderfully visible throughout our land. But not now! As a visiting
French writer said in the 1800’s, “America is great because America is good.” But that is past history! We are
no longer good, and therefore, we are no longer great. We were on top but we are fast headed toward the
bottom. We did honor God as a nation, but now as a nation we refuse to honor Him, therefore we are
becoming a disgrace to His holy name.
At the forefront of everything that is wrong in the land are the thousands of careless, casual churches that
are no longer stirred by the fear of the Lord. We have refused to make the Church a house of prayer for all the
nations. We have abandoned the holiness of God for the passing pleasures of sin. Preaching has given way to
teaching. Doctrine has been dissolved in religious platitudes. Godly seriousness is made to look vain in
comparison with warm cuddly emotionalism. Just as when King David sinned grievously (2 Samuel 6) in
taking advice from the Philistines in moving the Ark of the Covenant on a new cart, we have let the opinions
of the pagans shape us more thoroughly than the Word of God. We have given God more cause to be weary of
us than did backslidden Israel and Judah.
In the light of all God’s clearly revealed truth, we have only one course open to us. We must repent and
return to God. The Solemn Assembly is still God’s appointed avenue of corporate repentance. The time is
now! The need is urgent! Pastor Dickenson’s handbook will help. Get busy and do what you must! Do so in
the hope that the blessings Israel and Judah spurned will once again be ours. Do so also for the sake of
wayward Israel. The Apostle Paul described the time in Romans eleven when Israel will be provoked to
jealousy by the godly Gentile church. Pray and hope that America will return to God so thoroughly, and that
God’s blessings upon us will be so abundant, that they will provoke His own chosen people to come running
to Jesus Christ the Lord in great numbers.
Richard Owen Roberts
International Awakening Ministries
May 9, 2009
ii Blow the Trumpet In Zion
Preface
Blow the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the
land tremble; for the day of the LORD is coming, for it is at hand... For the day of the LORD is great
and very terrible; who can endure it? “Now, therefore,” says the LORD, “Turn to Me with all your
heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” So rend your heart, and not your garments;
return to the LORD your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness;
and He relents from doing harm. Who knows if He will turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind
Him... Blow the trumpet in Zion, consecrate a fast, call a sacred assembly... (Joel 2:1, 11-15 NKJV).
In the biblical world, the image of the watchman was very familiar. He was a man strategically placed on the
wall of the city with two objectives: (1) to be perceptive, and (2) to be protective of the city. It was imperative
that the watchman remain awake, alert, and attentive. He was to keep his eye on the enemy, and his lips on the
shofar. It would be tragic for the watchman’s slumber to result in shattered walls and a city under siege.
The Old Testament refers to spiritual watchmen, strategically placed among the people of God to watch, and
to warn them of approaching spiritual danger and assault: “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the
house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me” (Ezekiel 3:17 NKJV).
The spiritual watchman was to be an intercessor (Isaiah 62:6-7) and a messenger (Ezekiel 33:7). In prayer, he
was to hear the divine warning, and in preaching, he was to herald that divine warning to God’s people. In
order to fulfill his responsibilities the watchman had to live in the constant awareness of the need for divine
assistance and intervention on behalf of His people: “... Unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman stays
awake in vain” (Psalm 127:1 NKJV).
Today, the walls are crumbling while the watchmen are slumbering! “His watchmen are blind, they are
ignorant; they are dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yes, they are greedy
dogs which never have enough. And they are shepherds who cannot understand; they all look to their own
way, every one for his own gain, from his own territory” (Isaiah 56:10-11 NKJV). These verses tragically
describe the ministerial landscape of the church today. The very ones whom God has called to protect His
people are patronizing the enemy by welcoming the world to shape the church. The church is suffering at the
hands of men who are better acquainted with the ways of the world than with the ways of God. However, God
and His Word are unchanging (Mal. 3:6; Is. 40:8). The severe warnings of our holy God remain in place:
“Woe to the rebellious children,” says the LORD, “who take counsel, but not of Me, and who devise
plans, but not of My Spirit, that they may add sin to sin; who walk to go down to Egypt, and have not
asked My advice, to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of
Egypt! Therefore the strength of Pharaoh shall be your shame, and trust in the shadow of Egypt shall be
your humiliation... Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, and rely on horses, who trust in
chariots because they are many, and in horsemen because they are very strong, but who do not look to
the Holy One of Israel, nor seek the LORD!” (Isaiah 30:1-3; 31:1 NKJV).
It is my prayer that this resource will be a reverberating echo of the sound of the trumpet of heaven. May it
awaken the watchmen and assist them in sounding the alarm and calling God’s people back to Him! Brethren,
“Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it...” (Colossians 4:2 NKJV). Blow the trumpet in Zion!
Preface iii
Simon, Simon (Peter), listen! Satan has asked excessively that [all of] you
be given up to him [out of the power and keeping of God], that he might
sift [all of] you like grain, but I have prayed especially for you [Peter],
that your [own] faith may not fail; and when you yourself have turned
again, strengthen and establish your brethren (Luke 22:31-32 AMP).
iv Blow the Trumpet In Zion
SOLEMN ASSEMBLY
AND SATANIC ASSAULT
One of the breath-taking mountain peaks of the Old Testament is the solemn assembly during the reign of
King Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 29-31). “In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of
the house of the LORD and repaired them” (2 Chronicles 29:1). This was the initial step in the long journey
toward repentance and revival. The solemn assembly was the climactic process through which the people
rediscovered and revived the genuine worship of a holy God (2 Chronicles 29:27-30).
Hezekiah’s role in the revival that followed the solemn assembly is recorded in 2 Chronicles 31:20-21,
“Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, and he did what was good and right and true before the LORD his
God. And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, in the law and the commandment, to
seek his God, he did it will all his heart. So he prospered.” However, you then find these chilling words:
“After these deeds of faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and entered Judah; he encamped against
the fortified cities, thinking to win them over to himself” (2 Chronicles 32:1 NKJV). Satan strategically strikes
when we least expect it. Divine victory always elicits demonic viciousness. Satan never takes a day off. He is
always planning his sinister schemes.
The enemy’s initial scheme was to distort Hezekiah’s vision, by tempting him to think horizontally and to
feel outnumbered. In spiritual conflict, it is important to remember that the objecting opposition, though small
in number, is always louder than the silent supporters. Hezekiah courageously responded by encouraging his
troops to maintain a vertical, God-shaped perspective: “Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid nor
dismayed before the king of Assyria, nor before all the multitude that is with him; for there are more with us
than with him. With him is an arm of the flesh, but with us is the LORD our God, to help us and to fight our
battles” (2 Chronicles 32:7-8 NKJV).
It is no surprise that the enemy then proceeded to challenge Hezekiah’s faith with seven demonic,
demoralizing, doubt-breeding questions (2 Chronicles 32:10-15). Ultimately, Satan seeks to deflate our faith.
However, Hezekiah wisely joined the prophet Isaiah in crying out to the Lord, who then responded, and
intervened victoriously (2 Chronicles 32:20-22). It is possible for Satan to do his most evil work, and still
accomplish the Father’s goal. Satan attempts to bring us to our knees, and to cause us to fall on our face.
Hezekiah dropped to his knees in prayer, and fell on his face before the Father! Hezekiah’s experience is a
vivid reminder that because Satan never ceases to prey, we must never cease to pray!
When a biblical solemn assembly is conducted, satanic assault is certain. Confession of sin prompts the
coiling of the serpent! Satan longs to destroy the work of God. If Satan cannot destroy, he will seek to disrupt,
distract, discourage, detour, defeat and devastate the people of God. Your local congregation is on Satan’s hit
list, and he has his fiery darts aimed at the pastor’s heart and mind! The more visible you are, the more
vulnerable you are. Satanic assault will precede and proceed the solemn assembly in your local church.
Solemn Assembly and Satanic Assault v
When a soldier is killed by his own troops in military combat, it is referred to as friendly fire. There is
nothing more tragic than taking the life of one of your fellow soldiers. However, one of the most deceptive
and subtle weapons in Satan’s arsenal is his ability to shift our focus off of him, and onto fellow believers.
This leads us to engage in friendly fire. When we are in the heat of spiritual warfare, we quickly forget that
“we are not wrestling with flesh and blood” (Ephesians 6:12).
Yet, there are times when Satan does his most damaging work through unsuspecting church members. That
is why the Apostle Paul commanded Timothy:
Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce
quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach,
not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them
repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and
escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will (2 Timothy 2:23-26 NIV).
Only by looking at the spiritual battlefield through the lens of Scripture can you avoid Satan’s deception in the
blur of battle. As a shepherd, called by God to protect the sheep, it is imperative that the pastor maintain a
tenacious grip on the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God.
When under satanic siege, we tend to diligently search the Scriptures, and are daily driven to our knees in
desperate prayer. However, when the enemy is silent we tend to loosen our grip on the sword of the Spirit.
Our passionate pursuit of God’s voice in the pages of Scripture subsides. All the while, Satan is silently
maneuvering his troops in preparation for his next covert attack. We must never forget: Satan’s silence does
not imply his absence.
Be well balanced (temperate, sober of mind), be vigilant and cautious at all times; for that enemy of
yours, the devil, roams around like a lion roaring [in fierce hunger], seeking someone to seize upon
and devour. Withstand him; be firm in faith [against his onset--rooted, established, immovable, and
determined], knowing that the same (identical) sufferings are appointed to your brotherhood (the
whole body of Christians) throughout the world (1 Peter 5:8-9 AMP).
With Satan, there is never a cease fire! This is a spiritual battle that requires spiritual weapons. Hence, we are
commanded to grip tightly the Sword of the Spirit, so that the Holy Spirit Himself may wield it in victory on
our behalf. Therefore, tighten your grip on the sword!
• Ephesians 6:13-18 - Therefore put on God’s complete armor, that you may be able to resist and stand your
ground on the evil day [of danger], and having done all [the crisis demands], to stand [firmly in your place].
Stand therefore [hold your ground], having tightened the belt of truth around your loins and having put on
the breastplate of integrity and of moral rectitude and right standing with God, And having shod your feet
in preparation [to face the enemy with the firm-footed stability, the promptness, and the readiness produced
by the good news] the Gospel of peace. Lift up over all the [covering] shield of saving faith, upon which
you can quench all the flaming missiles of the wicked [one]. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword
that the Spirit wields, which is the Word of God. Pray at all times (on every occasion, in every season) in
the Spirit, with all [manner of] prayer and entreaty. To that end keep alert and watch with strong purpose
and perseverance, interceding in behalf of all the saints (God’s consecrated people) (AMP).
• 2 Timothy 3:16-17 - All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof,
for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped
for every good work (NKJV).
• Hebrews 4:12 - For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword,
piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts
and intents of the heart (NKJV).
vi Blow the Trumpet in Zion
• Exodus 6:1-2 - Then the LORD said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh. For with a
strong hand he will let them go, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.” And God spoke
to Moses and said, “I am the LORD” (NKJV).
• Exodus 14:13-14 - And Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the
LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again
no more forever. The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace” (NIV).
• Deuteronomy 3:22 - You must not fear them, for the LORD your God Himself fights for you (NIV).
• Joshua 1:8 - This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and
night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way
prosperous, and then you will have good success (NKJV).
• 2 Chronicles 20:6, 12, 15, 17 - "O LORD, God of our fathers, are you not the God who is in heaven? You
rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand
you...O our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us.
We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you."...This is what the LORD says to you: “Do not be
afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's...Do not be afraid; do
not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you” (NIV).
• Isaiah 26:3 - You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You (NIV).
• Isaiah 30:21 - Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying,
"This is the way; walk in it” (NIV).
• Isaiah 41:10, 13 - So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will
strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand... For I am the LORD, your
God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you (NIV).
• Isaiah 49:25b - For I will contend with him who contends with you, And I will save your children (NIV).
• Isaiah 55:8-9 - "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways," says the LORD. "For
as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your
thoughts. For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the
earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My
word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I
please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it” (NKJV).
• Jeremiah 1:5-10 - "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I
ordained you a prophet to the nations." Then said I: "Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a
youth." But the LORD said to me: "Do not say, 'I am a youth,' For you shall go to all to whom I send you,
And whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of their faces, for I am with you to deliver
you," says the LORD. Then the LORD put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me:
"Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the
kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant" (NKJV).
• Jeremiah 1:17-19 - “Therefore prepare yourself and arise, and speak to them all that I command you. Do
not be dismayed before their faces, lest I dismay you before them. For behold, I have made you this day a
fortified city and an iron pillar, and bronze wall against the whole land... They will fight against you, but
they shall not prevail against you. For I am with you,” says the LORD, “to deliver you” (NKJV).
• Jeremiah 5:14 - Therefore thus says the LORD God of hosts: "Because you speak this word, Behold, I will
make My words in your mouth fire, And this people wood, And it shall devour them” (NIV).
• Jeremiah 15:20-21 - “And I will make you to this people a fortified bronze wall; and they will fight
against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you to save you and deliver you,” says the
LORD. I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem you from the grip of the terrible.”
Solemn Assembly and Satanic Assault vii
• Ezekiel 2:6-8 - "And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them nor be afraid of their words, though briers
and thorns are with you and you dwell among scorpions; do not be afraid of their words or dismayed by
their looks, though they are a rebellious house. You shall speak My words to them, whether they hear or
whether they refuse, for they are rebellious. But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Do not be
rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you" (NKJV).
• Ezekiel 3:8-10 - “Behold, I have made your face strong against their faces, and your forehead strong
against their foreheads. Like adamant stone, harder than flint, I have made your forehead; do not be afraid
of them, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house.” Moreover He said to me: “Son
of man, receive into your heart all My words that I speak to you, and hear with your ears” (NKJV).
• Ezekiel 3:17 - Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from
My mouth, and give them warning from Me (NKJV).
• Romans 6:12-13 - Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, so that you obey its desires. And do
not offer any parts of it to sin as weapons of unrighteousness. But as those who are alive from the dead,
offer yourselves to God, and all the parts of yourselves to God as weapons of righteousness (HCSB).
• Romans 8:37-39 - Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am
persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things
to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God
which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (NKJV).
• 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 - For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the
weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down
arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of Christ, bringing every thought
into captivity to the obedience of Christ (NKJV).
• Ephesians 4:26-27 - When angry, do not sin; do not ever let your wrath (your exasperation, your fury or
indignation) last until the sun goes down. Leave no [such] room or foothold for the devil [give no
opportunity to him] (AMP).
• Ephesians 6:10-11 - In conclusion, be strong in the Lord [be empowered through your union with Him];
draw your strength from Him [that strength which His boundless might provides]. Put on God’s whole
armor [the armor of a heavy-armed soldier which God supplies], that you may be able to stand up against
[all] the strategies and deceits of the devil (AMP).
• Colossians 3:2 - And set your minds and keep them set on what is above (the higher things), not on the
things that are on the earth (AMP).
• Colossians 4:2 - Be earnest and unwearied and steadfast in your prayer [life], being [both] alert and intent
in [your praying] with thanksgiving (AMP).
• 1 Thessalonians 5:17 - Be unceasing in prayer [praying perseveringly] (AMP).
• 2 Timothy 1:7 - For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and
fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and
discipline and self-control (AMP).
• 2 Timothy 2:3-4 - Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier
gets involved in civilian affairs--he wants to please his commanding officer (NIV).
• James 4:7 - Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you (NKJV).
• 1 Peter 4:6-7 - Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due
time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you (NKJV).
• 1 John 4:4 - You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is with you is
greater than he who is in the world (NKJV).
viii Blow the Trumpet in Zion
SECTION ONE
Biblical Foundations
for the
Solemn Assembly
Biblical Foundations for the Solemn Assembly 1
Old Testament Solemn Assemblies
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Exodus 33:7-11
Deut. 29:10-29
Judges 10:10-19
1 Samuel 7:5-6
1 Samuel 10:17-27
1 Kings 8:1-66
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1 Kings 18:21-40
2 Kings 11:17
2 Kings 23:3
1 Chronicles 13-18
1 Chronicles 28:1-10
2 Chronicles 5-7
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2 Chronicles 23:16
Ezra 6:6-12
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Ezra 8:21-23
Ezra 9:5-15
Nehemiah 8
Esther 4:5-17
Joel 1:13; 2:12-17
The Solemn Assembly, Richard Owen Roberts, International Awakening Press, 1989.
2 Blow the Trumpet In Zion
WHAT IS A SOLEMN ASSEMBLY?
The biblical solemn assembly was the acceptable and desired response
to divine discipline and/or judgment; it was a withdrawal from worldly
pursuits and endeavors in order to pursue corporate consecration.
The Solemn Assembly: Its Nature and Necessity
The solemn assembly was a prominent feature in the revivals of the Old Testament. Also, throughout the
history of the church, gatherings of solemnity have been a vital part of revival, although, at times, not
necessarily termed a solemn assembly. The nature of the solemn assembly is expressly stated in those two
words: (1) Solemn: this gathering is unique in that a spirit of solemnity prevails as opposed to the levity with
which many gather routinely for worship; (2) Assembly: this was a time when all the people of a community
of faith regardless of age, or secular distraction, were to gather with the purpose of seeking the face of God.
There is a great need today for local churches to suspend routine activities, and bring their ecclesiastical
programs to a halt with the express purpose of coming clean and pure before a Holy God, and returning to
Him with wholehearted repentance. Until we repent of corporate sin, all other religious activity can become
very repulsive to the God we claim to worship (Isaiah 1:11-15; 1 Samuel 15:22).
Sins that we tend to justify and minimize must be seen from God’s perspective as hideous through the lens
of His holiness (Isaiah 64:5-6). The depth of our repentance must equal and exceed the depth of our rebellion
(2 Samuel 12:13; Psalm 51:1-19). In the solemn assembly, the people of God are reoriented to the ways of
God as they are drawn by the Spirit of God to return to the Word of God, the worship of God, and the work of
God to the praise and glory of the Son of God.
In the Old Testament, the absence of the Solemn Assembly fostered a
spiritual, moral and ethical vacuum within society. Thus, the absence of
the solemn assembly escalated the practice of idolatry and ungodliness.
What Is a Solemn Assembly? 3
In the Old Testament the Solemn Assembly:
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was the rediscovery of identity and the redirection of destiny;
resulted in the resurgence of the divine empowerment of God’s people;
was a divine examination of worldly contamination;
involved the reinstating of godly values and standards;
resulted in the effusion of holiness where there has been an invasion of sin;
was the disarming of the flesh in full surrender to the Father;
was a response to the ultimatum of God: “Repent or else!”;
was an exercise in setting aside the temporal in order to embrace the eternal;
nurtured the seeds of repentance in the hearts of the people of God;
was commenced and concluded in the timing of God;
was an embracing of the agenda of heaven;
prompted a willingness to stay before God until His will was obvious and obeyed;
was a call to give God undivided attention and indivisible loyalty;
brought the things of God center stage;
connected the need for national survival with the necessity of spiritual revival.
was a gathering that centered on collective guilt and corporate repentance;
resulted in a heightened atmospheric awareness of God and His holy standards;
was the acceptable and desired response to divine discipline and/or judgment;
was accompanied by desperate cries for the manifest presence of God among His people;
provided no exemptions or excused absences, all were to be present;
was marked by a depth of solemnity that reflected the depth of conviction and repentance.
The Local Church Solemn Assembly Should Emphasize:
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the holiness of God and the hideousness of sin;
the perfection of God and the perversions of sin;
the righteousness of God and the repulsiveness of sin.
A Genuine Scriptural Solemn Assembly:
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is birthed in prayer and bathed in repentance;
is a reinstitution of divine perspective;
is a shift from superficial healing to radical spiritual surgery;
is a crucifixion of self at the coronation of Christ in the believer and church;
is a time when the local church openly confesses sin, and repents corporately;
has two primary focuses: the awesomeness of God and the awfulness of sin;
is a time when no sin is withheld from the scrutiny of Scripture;
requires that the solemnity of our repentance must equal and exceed the severity of our
rebellion;
is the disclosure of sin in light of the displeasure of the Savior;
is a relentless pursuit of the Father’s heart;
is a laying aside of horizontal obligations for the specific purpose of regaining a vertical
perspective;
is designed to perpetuate lifestyles of repentance and reverence.
Objectives of the Solemn Assembly
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Reconnect the people of God with the Word of God;
Reorient the people of God to the ways of God;
Redirect the people of God toward the will of God;
Reawaken the people of God to the worship of God;
Rejuvenate the people of God in the work of God.
Adapted from Prayer Meeting First Aid Kit, Prayeridigm Publishing, 2006
What Is a Solemn Assembly? 5
SOLEMN
Atmosphere
ASSEMBLY
Activity
IS THERE A PLACE FOR
THE SOLEMN ASSEMBLY IN THE
NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH?
Is the solemn assembly an Old Testament observance that has no place in the New Testament Church? We
must never forget that the Church was born in solemn assembly. The first two chapters of the Acts of the
Apostles record a ten-day prayer meeting, which culminated in the observance of a solemn assembly known
as the Day of Pentecost or the Feast of Weeks (Leviticus 23:15-21; Numbers 28:26-31; Acts 2:1). This feast
day, fifty days after Passover, is referred to as a sacred assembly (NIV, HCSB), holy assembly (AMPLIFIED) or
holy convocation (NKJV, NASB, ESV). The Feast of Pentecost was one of three pilgrim feasts during which all
adult Jewish males, if possible, were required to be at the temple in Jerusalem. It is of great significance that
this was the very place which Jesus declared and decreed to be a house of prayer (Luke 19:45-46).
It is also interesting that this feast required four of the five offerings prescribed in the first six chapters of
Leviticus: burnt offering, grain offering, sin offering, and fellowship offering. Through these required
offerings, they had solemnly gathered with a focus on: worship, confession of sin, atonement for sin,
devotion, surrender, cleansing from defilement, thanksgiving and fellowship. The arrival of the person of the
Holy Spirit empowered and personalized these focuses by magnifying the ultimate sacrifice and victory over
sin and death through the death and resurrection of Christ. If the church of the twenty-first century longs to
experience the outpouring of power birthed at Pentecost in the first century, there must be a renewed depth of
solemn prayer and serious purification within the Body of Christ.
However, there is a common misperception that there is a drastic difference in God’s view of sin between
the Old Testament and the New Testament. Many have come to believe that grace completely discounts the
law and its demands for obedience. Jesus made it clear that He had come to raise the standard and perception
of sin:
For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and
Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. You have heard that it was said to those
of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to
you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And
whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’
shall be in danger of hell fire. Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that
your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First
be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. (Matthew 5:20-24 NKJV).
In Hebrews, it is made clear that the precious blood of Jesus raises the bar of our accountability before God:
Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the
Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing,
and insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says
the Lord. And again, “The LORD will judge His people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of
the living God. (Hebrews 10:29-31 NKJV).
Is There A Place the Solemn Assembly in the New Testament Church? 7
We must also remember that in the Acts of the Apostles, it is recorded that a couple who were deceptive and
hypocritical in their giving were struck dead by God within the congregation, sending a strong message of
God’s desire for congregational purity in motive and lifestyle! (Acts 5:1-11).
There is also a common myth that God’s dealings with corporate sin changed in the New Testament. One
reason for this confusion is the inability to distinguish between the singular and the plural use of the term you
in our English texts of Scripture. Consider the following statements of Jesus in which you is plural:
•
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly
appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly
appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness (Matt. 23:27-28 NKJV).
•
But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from
where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove
your lampstand from its place, unless you repent (Revelation 2:4-5 ESV).
•
Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam,
who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual
immorality. Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Repent therefore!
Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth (Rev. 2:14-16
NKJV).
•
And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, “These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God
and the seven stars: ‘I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. Be
watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works
perfect before God. Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent.
Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will
come upon you (Revelation 3:1-3 NKJV).
•
I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because
you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, “I am
rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched,
miserable, poor, blind, and naked—I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be
rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed;
and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore
be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the
door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me (Revelation 3:15-20 NKJV).
These statements are examples of the way in which Jesus addressed corporate sin. Especially in these letters
to the churches in Asia Minor, the challenge was given to the pastor to deal with the corporate sin through
corporate repentance. A failure to do so would result in divine discipline and devastation. It appears that this
would require more than the forming of a repentance review committee or the preaching of a sermon series. It
mandated a congregational exercise of desperate corporate repentance together. This would be nothing short
of what is seen in the Old Testament as the solemn assembly.
Also, consider the following statements in the New Testament concerning the matter of corporate sin in
which the terms we, us and our are used, and in which the term you is plural:
•
Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may
impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the
day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with
all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ
forgave you (Ephesians 4:29-32 NKJV).
8 Blow the Trumpet in Zion
•
Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given
Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. But fornication and all
uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; neither
filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this
you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in
the kingdom of Christ and God (Ephesians 5:1-5 NKJV).
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Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the
rebellion, in the day of trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, and saw My works
forty years. Therefore I was angry with that generation, and said, “They always go astray in their heart,
and they have not known My ways.’ So I swore in My wrath, “They shall not enter My rest.’ ” Beware,
brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort
one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end,
while it is said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the
rebellion” (Hebrews 3:7-15 NKJV).
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See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on
earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, whose voice
then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but
also heaven.” Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as
of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are
receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably
with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:25-29 NKJV).
•
But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This
wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking
exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then
peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.
Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. Where do wars and fights
come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You
lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have
because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your
pleasures. Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with
God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you
think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”? But He gives more
grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Therefore submit to
God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse
your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let
your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord,
and He will lift you up (James 3:14-4:10 NKJV).
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For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will
be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? (1 Peter 4:17 NKJV).
Once again, these statements demand congregational action. Passivity, complacency and indifference toward
corporate sin were not an option. Each of these commands required corporate action and repentance. The goal
was corporate purity within the Body of Christ. Therefore, strong warnings are also found in the New
Testament regarding the tolerance of sin within the church. The church is commanded to deal with sin within
the Body of Christ individually and corporately:
•
In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the
power of our Lord Jesus Christ, deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit
may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus... But now I have written to you not to keep company with
anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard,
or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person. For what have I to do with judging those also who
are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside God judges. Therefore
“put away from yourselves the evil person.” (1 Corinthians 5:4-5, 11-13 NKJV).
•
But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every
brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us... And if
anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person and do not keep company with him, that
he may be ashamed. (2 Thessalonians 3:6, 14 NKJV).
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But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers
of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving,
unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty,
lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from
such people turn away! (2 Timothy 3:1-5 NKJV).
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But avoid foolish disputes, genealogies, contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable
and useless. Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition, knowing that such a person is
warped and sinning, being self-condemned (Titus 3:9-11 NKJV).
Throughout church history, the church has dealt with sin in solemn corporate gatherings. However,
sometimes these gatherings were referred to as fast days or as a day of humiliation, fasting and prayer, rather
than using the terms, solemn assembly. The extreme focus on individualism and tolerance in our culture has
caused the church to think in terms of individuals who would be offended by the church addressing sin in
which they are involved. However, God’s ultimate goal for His people is not comfort and happiness, but
rather consecration and holiness.
Until the church begins to deal with corporate sin through the biblical mandates of humility, honesty,
brokenness, confession and repentance, individuals will see no need to do so in their personal lives. Thus, the
solemn assembly continues to be a viable worship service in which the leadership of the church models
biblical confession and repentance of sin. The solemn assembly guides the church to acknowledge the depth
of their sin, in order to fully appreciate the depth of God’s grace. The more putrid our sin becomes to us, the
more precious the blood of Christ becomes! The solemn assembly appears to be in keeping with Christ’s goal
for His Bride: that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might
present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be
holy and without blemish (Ephesians 5:26-27).
God’s House Is On His Heart!
Then the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said to him: “I have
heard your prayer, and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of
sacrifice. When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the
locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, if My
people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and
seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from
heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now My eyes will be
open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place. For now I have
chosen and sanctified this house, that My name may be there forever; and
My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually. As for you, if you walk
before Me as your father David walked, and do according to all that I have
commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and My judgments, then I will
establish the throne of your kingdom, as I covenanted with David your
father, saying, “You shall not fail to have a man as ruler in Israel.’ “But if
you turn away and forsake My statutes and My commandments which I
have set before you, and go and serve other gods, and worship them, then I
will uproot them from My land which I have given them; and this house
which I have sanctified for My name I will cast out of My sight, and will
make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples. “And as for this house,
which is exalted, everyone who passes by it will be astonished and say,
‘Why has the LORD done thus to this land and this house?’ Then they will
answer, “Because they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, who brought
them out of the land of Egypt, and embraced other gods, and worshiped
them and served them; therefore He has brought all this calamity on them.’ ”
Mark 11:15-17
So they came to Jerusalem. Then Jesus went into the temple and began to
drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables
of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He would
not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple. Then He taught, saying
to them, “Is it not written, “My house shall be called a house of prayer for
all nations’? But you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ ”
When the Glory Departs
from the House of Prayer
Jesus’ reference to the temple, a house of prayer, becoming a den of thieves, points back to
the harsh warnings of Jeremiah 7. The message of Jeremiah 7 points back to the tragic
disaster that fell upon the people of Israel at Shiloh in 1 Samuel 4. When these three
passages are placed alongside each other we are given a vivid picture of the departure of
God’s glory from His people. Psalm 78:56-64 provides helpful commentary on this calamity.
They substituted
a place for His Presence!
Luke 19:45-46
Then He went into the
Joshua 18:1
temple and began to drive
The whole congregation
out those who bought and
of the children of Israel
assembled together at
sold in it, saying to them, It is
Jeremiah 7:11-14
Shiloh, and set up the
written: ‘My house is a house Has this house, which is called by My name, become
tabernacle of meeting
of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of thieves in your eyes? Behold, I, even I,
there. And the land was
have seen it,” says the LORD. “But go now to My
subdued before them.
place which was built in Shiloh, where I set My
name at the first, and see what I did to it because
of the wickedness of My people Israel. And now
because you have done all these works,” says
the LORD, “and I spoke to you, rising up early
1 Samuel 4:3-11, 19-21
Psalm 78:58-61
and speaking, but you did not hear, And when the people had come into the camp,
They provoked God to
the elders of Israel said, “Why has
I called you, but you did not answer,
anger with their high
the LORD defeated us today before
therefore, I will do to this house
places, and moved
the Philistines? Let us bring the ark
which is called by My name,
Him to jealousy
of the covenant of the LORD from
in which you trust, and to
with their carved
Shiloh to us, that when it comes
this
place
which
I
gave
images. When God
among us it may save us from
to you and your fathers,
heard this, He was furious,
the hand of our enemies.” So
as
I
have
done
to
and greatly abhorred Israel, so
the people sent to Shiloh, that
that He forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh.
they might bring from there the
the tent which He had placed
ark of the covenant of the LORD
among men, and delivered His
of hosts, who dwells between the
strength into captivity, and His
cherubim. And the two sons of Eli,
His glory into the enemy’s hand.
Hophni and Phinehas, were there with
the ark of the covenant of God. And when
the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, all Israel shouted so loudly that the earth shook. Now when
the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, “What does the sound of this great shout in the camp of the
Hebrews mean?” Then they understood that the ark of the LORD had come into the camp. So the Philistines were
afraid, for they said, “God has come into the camp!” And they said, “Woe to us! For such a thing has never happened
before. Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the
Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness. Be strong and conduct yourselves like men, you Philistines, that you
do not become servants of the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Conduct yourselves like men, and fight!” So the
Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and every man fled to his tent. There was a very great slaughter, and there
fell of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers. Also the ark of God was captured; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and
Phinehas, died... Phinehas’ wife was with child, due to be delivered; and when she heard the news that the ark of God
was captured, and that her father-in-law and husband were dead, she bowed herself, and gave birth, for her labor
pains came upon her. And about the time of her death the women who stood by her said to her, “Do not fear, for you
have borne a son.” But she did not answer, nor did she regard it. Then she named the child Ichabod, saying,
They chose ritual
over repentance!
They
were in
attendance, but
they were not attentive!
The glory has departed from Israel!
WHY DOES GOD CALL HIS PEOPLE
INTO SOLEMN ASSEMBLY?
For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with
us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?
1 Peter 4:17 NKJV
“It’s a boy!” Those were the words every young Jewish wife longed to bring to the ears of her husband. But,
for the widow of Phinehas, those words were like a sword mortally wounding her heart. Her husband was
killed in battle, and now she would have to name the child by herself (1 Sam. 4:19-22). She did it with her
final breath.
Her husband was a preacher’s kid, and he was corrupt. He was the stereotypical poster-boy for all of the
“PK” jokes ever told. He and his brother, Hophni, had made coming to worship difficult for most of the
congregation (1 Sam. 2:12-17). Eli, the complacent priest, refused to discipline them (1 Sam. 2:22-29).
Therefore, in a heated battle against the Philistines, these young men had come under the discipline and
judgment of God Himself!
When Eli heard of the death of his sons, and that the Philistines had captured the ark of the covenant, in
shock he had fallen out of his chair, off a wall, broke his neck and died (1 Sam. 4:11-18). All of this resulted
in his grandson being named Ichabod; the glory had departed from Israel! Indifference (Eli) had given birth to
Irreverence (Hophni and Phinehas), and Irreverence had given birth to Ichabod. Judgment begins at the
house of God!
However, the glory had departed from Israel long before the ark of the covenant was captured by the
Philistines. The people of God had mistakenly assumed that the ark of the covenant would assure victory in
battle, regardless of their lack of holiness or purity before God (1 Samuel 4:3). They had chosen a facade
over faithfulness; an appearance of good over the anointing of God; a symbol over substance; a mirage of
power over the manifest presence of God. That is why God convened the solemn assembly recorded in
1 Samuel 7:5-10. That is why God convenes the solemn assembly today. It is an offer of God’s mercy and
grace to His undeserving, defeated and disoriented people. “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So
be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the
door, I will come in and eat with Him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:19-20 NKJV). The solemn assembly is
Christ, knocking on the door of His church, longing to envelop His people with His manifest presence.
Why Does God Call His People Into Solemn Assembly? 13
6.
5.
4.
3.
2.
1.
Renewal
Restitution
Reorientation
Return
Repentance
Remorse
BARRENNESS
The High Road of
Biblical Revival
BLESSEDNESS
RE
VIV
AL
REVIVAL OR RUIN?
The Downward Spiral
of Spiritual Decline
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Discontentment
Disobedience
Disorientation
Defiance
Discipline
Divine Distancing
Decision
S
•
•
•
•
Leviticus 26:14-33
Deuteronomy 28:15-68
Revelation 2:4-5, 16
S
ES
RN
Isaiah 57:15
For thus says the High and Lofty One Who
inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell
in the high and holy place, with him who has a
humble and contrite spirit, to revive the spirit
of the humble and to revive the contrite ones.”
TE
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• Leviticus 26:1-13
• Deuteronomy 28:9-10
• 2 Chronicles 7:13-14
If you do not... then...
BIT
If... then...
RU
I
N
REVIVAL OR RUIN?
WHEN GOD WITHHOLDS HIS BLESSING
All of us have become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like a polluted garment; all of us
wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind. No one calls on Your name, striving to take
hold of You. For You have hidden Your face from us and made us melt because of our iniquity. Yet Lord, You
are our Father; we are the clay, and You are our potter; we are all the work of Your hands. Lord do not be
terribly angry or remember our iniquity forever. Please look--all of us are your people! (Isaiah 64:6-9 HCSB).
BARRENNESS
The Downward Spiral of Spiritual Decline
Sometimes God uses physical barrenness to cause His people to recognize their spiritual barrenness: “When I
shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My
people, if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and
turn from their wicked ways...” (2 Chronicles 7:13-14 NKJV). Spiritual barrenness is a season in which the
visible activity of God is limited or absent due to sin and ungodliness. Prolonged spiritual barrenness and
backsliding results in the downward spiral of spiritual decline.
Discontentment - Our journey toward spiritual barrenness begins when we become discontented and
turn our hearts away from God. We know that we have become discontented with God when our heart shifts
onto substitutes for His presence and power among us (Isaiah 30:1-3; 31:1). Many times this occurs because
God is not moving at the pace we desire, and we choose to run ahead of Him in order to generate carnal
religious activity on His behalf.
The prophet Isaiah expresses his discontentment with the situation caused by the peoples’ discontentment
with God. He brokenheartedly laments:
Oh, that You would rend the heavens! That You would come down! That the mountains might shake
at Your presence... For since the beginning of the world men have not heard nor perceived by the
ear, nor has the eye seen any God besides You who acts for the one who waits for Him. But we are
all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; we all fade as a leaf, and
our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away (Isaiah 64:1, 4, 6 NKJV).
Even when things that are good are preferred over the things of God, we are at the onset of spiritual drought
and famine.
Disobedience - When there is a heart-shift away from God, onto any idol that competes with Him for the
heart’s throne, disobedience begins to run rampant. Passions, which were once reserved solely for God, rage
out of control like a malignant cancer. As this deadly epidemic of disobedience becomes increasingly
contagious and widespread, the witness of God’s people begins to negate His holy reputation to a watching
world (Jeremiah 14:7; Daniel 9:16-19). In our disobedience, we attempt to convince ourselves that God is
impressed with our intellect and innovation that is tragically absent of the leading and empowering of the
Holy Spirit (Jeremiah 7:23-24).
Revival or Ruin? 15
Disorientation - Vision becomes blurred and distorted by sin. God’s people become completely disoriented to His ways and His thoughts as they arrogantly live without Him (Ps. 95:10). In lifestyle and worship
they resemble the culture more than Christ. Their idolatry turns to blasphemy as they close their Bibles and
begin to define God in terms that make him nothing more
than a magnification of their carnal desires, actions and
methods. Through His prophet God calls out to His people:
“My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My
BARRENNESS
ways,” says the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than
the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My
thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9 NKJV).
Defiance - The downward spiral continues as God’s
people defy Him by living life and “doing ministry” without
Him. The people of God are slowly, subtly and subconsciously attempting to usurp His lordship in the local church.
The Downward Spiral
of Spiritual Decline
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Discontentment
Disobedience
Disorientation
Defiance
Discipline
Divine Distancing
At this point the local church is devoured by contention,
strife and division (1 Cor. 1:11-13; 3:1-4). All vertical focus
Decision
toward the God they claim to worship is replaced by their
unhealthy horizontal obsession.
In Jeremiah 2:11-13, God interrogates His people, and calls His creation to the witness stand:
Has a nation changed its gods, which are not gods? But My people have changed their Glory for
what does not profit. Be astonished, O heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid; be very desolate,
says the LORD. For My people have committed two evils; they have forsaken Me, the fountain of
living waters, and hewn themselves cisterns--broken cisterns that can hold no water (NKJV).
This death grip of defiance throws open the door for divine discipline.
Discipline - As described in Judges 2:15, God’s hand is no longer upon them in blessing, but is now
against them in discipline. God will discipline His disobedient and defiant children. “For the Lord disciplines
the one He loves, and punishes every son whom He receives” (Hebrews 12:6 HCSB). Sometimes God’s
discipline is immediate (2 Chronicles 26:16-19); at other times His discipline is delayed (1 Samuel 13:5-14;
15:10-28; 31:1-13); and in some instances it is progressive (Numbers 14:20-29; Hebrews 3:16-19); but His
discipline is always certain!
Christ’s words to the church at Laodicea are vividly appropriate: “As many as I love, I rebuke and discipline.
So be committed and repent. Listen! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the
door, I will come in to him and have dinner with him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:19-20 HCSB). What a
tragic condition! The very One they claim to worship is not manifestly present, standing at the door and
knocking, and no one inside even notices!
Divine Distancing - Ignored discipline is blatant defiance that spirals downward to the place of divine
distancing. Although the Holy Spirit never removes His indwelling presence from a believer, He may
withdraw His manifest presence from among His people in the corporate setting in order to get their attention
(Ezekiel 8:4-6). In the Old Testament, this divine distancing is often described as the hiding of God’s face.
“I will certainly hide My face on that day because of all the evil they have done by turning to other
gods” (Deuteronomy 31:18 HCSB).
The shining of God’s face implies God’s pleasure and favor (Numbers 6:25-26), and the hiding of God’s face
implies His displeasure and disfavor: “... for You have hidden Your face from us and made us melt because of
our iniquity” (Isaiah 64:7 HCSB). During times of prolonged disobedience and defiance, the Father turns away
from His people because they have turned away from Him.
When God hides His face, He also does two other things: (1) He silences His voice, and (2) His hand that
has lovingly shaped them is now against them (Ezekiel 14:6-8). At that point the people of God are not living
in the full abundant fellowship with the Father, through Christ, which they have experienced in the past. In
this chilling silence, and divine opposition, there is an unavoidable decision to be made.
Decision - Ultimately, God’s people come to a fork in the road: blessedness or bitterness? They now face
the inevitable decision between the flames of revival or the funeral of ruin. The road of revival is marked by
the Scriptural formula, “If... then...” (Lev. 26:1-13; Deut. 28:9-10; 2 Chron. 7:14), whereas the road to ruin is
characterized by “If not... then...” (Lev. 26:14-33; Deut. 28:15-68; 2 Chron. 7:19-22). The Bible makes it very
clear that brokenness is the only bridge from barrenness to blessedness. The vast majority of believers in our
nation today appear to be barren, but not yet broken.
Barren, But Not Yet Broken
The bridge from barrenness to blessedness is brokenness! We tend to pray surface prayers that complacently
focus on natural symptoms rather than the spiritual source. The prayer in Daniel 9:3-19 stands in stark
contrast with these shallow superficial prayers that border on prayerlessness. Our failure in prayer magnifies
the fact that we are barren, but not yet broken!
So I turned my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and petitions, with fasting, sackcloth
and ashes (Daniel 9:3 HCSB).
•
When we are seeking horizontal solutions to a vertical problem, we are barren, but not yet broken!
•
When our ultimate trust is in the government rather than God, we are barren, but not yet broken!
•
When we are looking to Hollywood rather than to heaven, we are barren, but not yet broken !
•
When we choose complacency over contrition, we are barren, but not yet broken!
I prayed to the LORD my God, and confessed: Ah Lord, the great and awe-inspiring God who keeps his
gracious covenant with those who love Him and keep His commandments (Daniel 9:4 HCSB).
•
When we have more confidence in political parties than in the power of prayer, we are barren, but not yet
broken!
Revival or Ruin? 17
•
When we respond to disaster with pride or panic rather than prayer, we are barren, but not yet broken!
•
When we pray empty fast prayers rather than fasting and praying, we are barren, but not yet broken!
We have sinned, done wrong, acted wickedly, rebelled, and turned away from Your commandments and
ordinances. We have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings,
leaders, fathers, and all the people of the land (Daniel 9:5-6 HCSB).
•
When we are more attentive to political speeches than the prophetic Word of God, we are barren, but not
yet broken!
•
When we resort to renaming our sin rather than to repenting of our sin, we are barren, but not yet broken!
•
When we respond to conviction with comparison rather than confession, we are barren, but not yet
broken!
Lord, righteousness belongs to You, but this day public shame belongs to us: the men of Judah, the
residents of Jerusalem, and all Israel - those who are near and those who are far, in all the countries
where You have dispersed them because of the disloyalty they have shown toward You. Compassion and
forgiveness belong to the Lord our God, though we have rebelled against Him and have not obeyed the
voice of the LORD our God by following His instructions that He set before us through His servants the
prophets (Daniel 9:7-10 HCSB).
•
When we respond to sin and guilt with blame rather than shame, we are barren, but not yet broken!
•
When we boast rather than blush over our sin, we are barren, but not yet broken!
•
When we are more concerned about the national economy than national immorality, we are barren, but
not yet broken!
All Israel has broken Your law and turned away, refusing to obey You. The promised curse written in
the law of Moses, the servant of God, has been poured out on us, because we have sinned against Him .
He has carried out His Words that He spoke against us and against our rulers by bringing on us so
great a disaster that nothing like what has been done to Jerusalem has ever been done under all
of heaven. Just as it is written in the law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us, yet we have
not appeased the LORD our God by turning from our injustice and paying attention to Your truth.
(Daniel 9:11-13 HCSB).
•
When we are marked by objections rather than obedience, we are barren, but not yet broken!
•
When our nation responds to disaster with defiance and disobedience, we are barren, but not yet broken!
•
When we choose to be humiliated instead of humbling ourselves before God, we are barren, but not yet
broken!
So the LORD kept the disaster in mind and brought it on us, for the LORD our God is righteousness in
all He has done. But we have not obeyed Him. Now, Lord our God, who brought Your people out of the
land of Egypt with a mighty hand and made Your name renowned as it is this day, we have sinned, we
have acted wickedly (Daniel 9:14-15 HCSB).
•
When we deal with symptoms instead of the sinful source, we are barren, but not yet broken!
•
When we choose religious ritual over radical repentance, we are barren, but not yet broken!
Lord, in keeping with all Your righteous acts, may Your anger and wrath turn away from Your city
Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; for because of the sin and the injustices of our fathers, Jerusalem and
Your people have become an object of ridicule to all those around us (Daniel 9:16 HCSB).
•
When we carelessly bring ridicule to the righteous reputation of God, we are barren, but not yet broken!
•
When we are motivated by political correctness rather than biblical convictions, we are barren, but not yet
broken!
Therefore, our God, hear the prayer and the petitions of Your servant. Show Your favor to Your
desolate sanctuary for the Lord’s sake. Listen, my God, and hear. Open Your eyes and see our desolations and the city called by Your name. For we are not presenting our petitions before You based on
our righteous acts, but based on Your abundant compassion. Lord, hear! Lord, forgive! Lord, listen
and act! My God, for Your own sake, do not delay, because Your city and Your people are called by
Your name (Daniel 9:17-19 HCSB).
•
When we are sedated by apathy rather than shaken by urgency, we are barren, but not yet broken!
•
When we are recklessly driven by greed rather than genuine need, we are barren, but not yet broken!
•
When we are preoccupied with growing prices over godly principles, we are barren, but not yet broken!
•
When we are shaped more by the media than the Master, we are barren, but not yet broken!
•
When we are more concerned about the length of the sermon than our love for the Savior, we are barren,
but not yet broken!
•
When church members are upset about an increase in the church budget, but indifferent to a decrease in
conversions and baptisms, we are barren, but not yet broken!
•
When church members are more passionate about the business meeting than the prayer meeting, we are
barren, but not yet broken!
BROKENNESS
The Bridge from Barrenness to Blessedness
Brokenness is a gift from God to those who have a tender, sensitive heart toward Him (Luke 22:62). Only a
transparent look at our barrenness through the holy eyes of the Father can birth within us the depth of
brokenness He desires. Our hearts must become broken over the broken heart of the Father. Our broken
sensitive hearts give birth to a broken and submissive will. The demanding journey across the bridge of
brokenness is graphically described in Scripture.
The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart,
and saves such as have a contrite spirit (Psalm 34:18
NKJV).
•
For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give
it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices
of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite
heart--these, O God, You will not despise (Psalm
51:16-17 NKJV).
•
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Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will
flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw
near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and
purify you hearts, you double-minded. Lament and
mourn and weep! Let you laughter be turned to
mourning and you joy to gloom. Humble yourselves
in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up
(James 4:6-10 NKJV).
Decision
S
•
Revival or Ruin? 19
BLESSEDNESS
The High Road of Biblical Revival
Remorse - It is in the valley of brokenness that the people of God begin to experience a God-given
remorse over ungodliness and sin. ”For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name
is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a humble and contrite spirit, to revive the spirit
of the humble and to revive the contrite ones” (Isaiah 57:15 NKJV). When the people of God begin to humbly
cross this bridge of brokenness, they are positioning themselves to ascend the high road toward Biblical
revival.
“Now therefore,” says the LORD, “Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, with
mourning.” So rend your heart and not your garments; return to the LORD your God, for He is
gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm. Who
knows if He will turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind Him... (Joel 2:12-14 NKJV).
Repentance - Repentance is the act of simultaneously turning from sin, and turning to the Savior. “For
godly sorrow produces repentance to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces
death” (2 Corinthians 7:10 NKJV). Therefore, we must repent of any repentance that is motivated by a superficial ungodly sorrow. Repentance is a change of mind that produces a change of action.
The truest evidence of a changed heart is a changed life: “Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or
who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted his soul to an
idol, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his
salvation” (Psalm 24:4-5 NKJV).
Return - God promises to faithfully draw near to His people when they brokenly and humbly repent, and
•
“Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the LORD of hosts
(Malachi 3:7 NKJV).
•
Therefore say to them, “Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Return to
Me,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘and I will return to you’ says the LORD
of hosts’” (Zechariah 1:3 NKJV).
“If you will return, O Israel,” says the LORD, “Return to Me; and if
you will put away your abominations out of My sight, then you shall The High Road of
Biblical Revival
not be moved“ (Jeremiah 4:1 NKJV).
6. Renewal
Reorientation - God’s people become reoriented to the ways of God 5. Restitution
4. Reorientation
as they are refocused on the Word of God, and redirected toward the will 3. Return
2. Repentance
of God. As God’s people make this full sweep of return to Him, they 1. Remorse
begin to reenter the sweet precious fellowship that they once experienced
•
with Him: “Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the
LORD; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall
return to Me with their whole heart” (Jeremiah 24:7 NKJV).
BLESSEDNESS
draw near to Him.
Restitution - When God’s people are restored vertically with Him, there is occasion when horizontal
restitution must be made with others as an expression of full repentance. When a vertical return to God is
intersected with horizontal restitution it presents a more complete picture of the redeeming cross of Christ to a
watching world. In historical accounts of revival, it is common for this horizontal aspect of repentance to be a
means by which the revival fires spread.
Renewal - The threshold of revival is genuine renewal of covenant with God. This renewal includes the
denunciation of idols and substitutes for God, and visible expressions of loyalty and love for Him.
Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out
of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My
judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God (Ezekiel 11:19-20).
Through this ascension of the high road of revival, the people learn that they can only return to God on His
terms and in His time. He alone can fully renew and restore His covenant relationship with His people.
Revival - Revival is not something that can be worked up by God’s people, but is a sovereign act of God
drawing His people back to Himself, and restoring the fullness of His presence among them. Therefore,
revival is a divine process, not a human destination. It is a Spirit-led, passionate pursuit of the heart of the
Father as we seek to be conformed to the image of Christ.
•
If they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, with their unfaithfulness in which they were
unfaithful to Me, and that they also have walked contrary to Me, and that I also have walked contrary to
them and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if their uncircumcised hearts are humbled, and
they accept their guilt--then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and My covenant with Isaac and
My covenant with Abraham I will remember; I will remember the land (Leviticus 26:40-42 NKJV).
•
If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn
from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land
(2 Chronicles 7:14 NKJV).
Revival is not just a convenient option perpetually awaiting the people of God. It is a point of decision, within
the timing of God Himself, and there is a tragic destination for the people who complacently delay in responding with remorse and repentance to Him.
BITTERNESS
The Pathway of Self-Destruction
The people of God can choose to reject the bridge of brokenness, and experience the self-destruction of
proceeding toward the destination of bitterness and ruin. People who once frequented the place of worship
with what seemed to be a passionate heart for God, now have a cold, calloused, carnal heart that is consumed
with bitterness as they live under the unrelenting discipline of God.
Nevertheless, I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore
from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you
quickly and remove your lampstand from its place (Revelation 2:4-5 NKJV).
Revival or Ruin? 21
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TE
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But if you turn away and forsake My statutes and My commandments which I
have set before you, and go and serve other gods, and worship them, then I will
uproot them from My land which I have given them; and this house which I have
sanctified for My name I will cast out of My sight, and will make it to be a proverb
and a byword among all nations. And as for this house, which is exalted, everyone
who passes by it will be astonished and say, “Why has the LORD done thus to this
land and to this house?” Then they will answer, “Because they forsook the LORD
God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and embraced
other gods, and worshipped them and served them; therefore He has brought all
this calamity upon them” (2 Chronicles 7:19-22 NKJV).
SS
When a people stubbornly and willfully choose to live in defiance and rebellion
toward God, they become bitter toward God, and everyone vitally connected to
Him (2 Chronicles 36:13-16; Jeremiah 7:25-26). It takes very little to prompt the
surfacing and seething of this bitterness, as they willingly spew their venom on
innocent victims with weak faith. This results in a futile, but perpetual attempt to
defiantly prove that carnal ways are superior to the ways of God! This progressively moves toward the dead end of bitter torment (Hebrews 12:14-15).
Suggestion for Application
• Copy and distribute the diagram on page 14 to the leadership of your local church.
• Guide the group through an in-depth explanation of the diagram.
• Ask them to place a star next to where they think your congregation is at the
current time.
• Challenge participants to also draw a stick figure next to where they are spiritually.
• Allow time for small group interaction and corporate prayer.
SECTION TWO
Spiritual Leadership
of the
Solemn Assembly
ARE YOU STANDING IN THE GAP?
Some of the most tragic words in Scripture are found in Ezekiel 22:30-31, “’So I sought for a man among
them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy
it; but I found no one. Therefore I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the
fire of My wrath; and I have recompensed their deeds on their own heads,’ says the Lord God” (NKJV). Are
you standing in the gap? Nehemiah and Daniel are vivid examples of men who stood in the gap for the
people. Perhaps the following questions will clarify how well we are standing in the gap for those we lead.
Do you share the burdens of the Father’s heart?
• So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days... (Neh. 1:4
NKJV).
• Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting,
sackcloth, and ashes. (Daniel 9:3 NKJV).
Does your heart erupt in pleading painful prayer?
• O Lord, I pray, please let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your
servants who desire to fear Your name… (Nehemiah 1:11 NKJV).
• O my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see our desolations, and the city which is called
by Your name... O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for Your own sake, my
God, for Your city and Your people are called by Your name. (Daniel 9:18-19 NKJV).
Do you stand in awe of the holiness of God?
• And I said: “I pray, LORD God of heaven, O great and awesome God...” (Nehemiah 1:5 NKJV).
• O Lord, great and awesome God... O Lord, righteousness belongs to You (Daniel 9:4, 7 NKJV).
Do you have a holy hatred for sin?
• Both my father's house and I have sinned. We have acted very corruptly against You, and have not kept the
commandments, the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded... (Nehemiah 1:6-7 NKJV).
• O Lord, to us belongs shame of face, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned
against You. To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him.
(Daniel 9:10-11 NKJV).
Do you view life through the lens of Scripture?
• Remember, I pray, the word that You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, “If you are unfaithful, I will
scatter you among the nations; but if you return to Me, and keep My commandments and do them, though
some of you were cast out to the farthest part of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there, and bring
them to the place which I have chosen as a dwelling for My name.” (Nehemiah 1:8-9 NKJV).
• Yes, all Israel has transgressed Your law, and has departed so as not to obey Your voice; therefore the curse
and the oath written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out on us, because we have
sinned against Him (Daniel 9:11 NKJV).
SPARE YOUR PEOPLE, O LORD!
•
•
•
•
Exodus 32:31-32
Numbers 14:13-19
Deuteronomy 9:18-29
1 Samuel 7:1-9
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•
•
•
2 Chronicles 14:11
Nehemiah 1:5-11
Psalm 74:1-23
•
•
•
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Psalm 79:5-10
Psalm 80:1-19
Psalm 85:4-7
Isaiah 64:1-12
•
•
•
•
Jeremiah 14:7-9
Jeremiah 14:19-22
Lamentations 5:1-22
Daniel 9:4-19
WHY CONDUCT A
SOLEMN ASSEMBLY?
Nadab and Abihu were preacher’s kids who became too familiar and comfortable with the things of God.
They were guilty of doing the wrong thing in the wrong way and with improper motivation: Then Nadab and
Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire
before the LORD, which He had not commanded them. So fire went out from the LORD and devoured them,
and they died before the LORD. Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD spoke, saying: ‘By those
who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; and before all the people I must be glorified’” (Lev. 10:1-3
NKJV). Is it possible that the local church has been guilty of fashioning a facade of fire to conceal her lack of
the glorious display of the fiery flame of the manifest presence of God Himself? A flicker of the flesh is no
comparison to the flame of the Father.
The contemporary church is on carnal life support due to the terminal illness of chronic innovative
programitis. Could it be that Jesus would say to us what He said to the church at Sardis? “I know your works,
that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead!” (Revelation 3:1 NKJV). We are guilty of confusing
religious hyperactivity with the activity of God Himself. Busyness does not guarantee blessedness. Neither
does the size of the crowd compensate for the depth of our sin!
Human innovation can become a subtle and sinful substitute for heavenly intervention. We know what the
arm of the flesh can accomplish, but what about the hand of God? “...‘not by might nor by power, but by My
Spirit,’ says the LORD of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6 NKJV). There is a desperate need today for the local church to
come clean before a holy God, and return to Him with wholehearted repentance. Until we repent of corporate
sin, all other religious activity can become very repulsive to the God we claim to worship (Isaiah 1:11-15;
1 Samuel 15:22).
Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will
draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up (James 4:7-10 NKJV).
The tragic reality is that if there is no repentance, there will be no revival! Revival demands repentant
reformation. Biblical change and spiritual transformation are inevitable because the local church cannot
continue to pursue fleshly methods and accomplish faithful ministry. Sometimes God responds by using
physical barrenness to cause His people to recognize their spiritual barrenness:
When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send
pestilence among My people, if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and
pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will
forgive their sin and heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:13-14 NKJV).
Spiritual barrenness is a season in which the visible activity of God is limited or even absent due to blatant
and rampant sin and ungodliness. A solemn assembly is desperately needed when, due to spiritual barrenness,
the focus of the local church has shifted from:
•
•
•
•
•
•
humble awe to haughty arrogance;
conforming to Christ to catering to culture;
holiness to happiness;
devotion to defiance;
faith to flesh;
commitment to complacency;
•
•
•
•
•
•
convictions to compromise;
prayer and passion to plans and programs;
intercession to innovation;
service to strife;
worship to worldliness;
Scriptural truth to societal trends!
Why Conduct a Solemn Assembly? 25
In the biblical solemn assembly, God called a leader to call the people back to Him. The solemn assembly
assists the church in moving from spiritual barrenness to biblical blessedness. It provides the pastor with a
biblical means of guiding the local church across the bridge of brokenness. However, only a pastor who has
made this journey personally is prepared to guide the local church to do so! Thus, a primary responsibility of
the leader is to assist the people in making the connection between their defiance and disobedience, and God’s
discipline. It is very helpful to provide church members with a copy of the diagram below in preparation for
the solemn assembly. It will help them visualize how the current reality demands corporate repentance.
THE TRAIL OF TRAVAIL
BETWEEN THE PORCH AND THE ALTAR
Gird yourselves and lament, you priests; wail, you who minister before the altar; come,
lie all night in sackcloth, you who minister to my God; for the grain offering and the
drink offering are withheld from the house of your God... Let the priests, who minister
to the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar; let them say, “Spare Your people, O
LORD, and do not give Your heritage to reproach, that the nations should rule over them.
Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’” (Joel 1:13; 2:17 NKJV).
The prophet Joel was surrounded by drought and devastation which had become a haunting reminder of the
discipline of God upon a disoriented defiant people. Their only hope was the bridge of brokenness that alone
could move them from barrenness to blessedness. Although they were barren, they were not yet broken. The
words of the prophet Daniel are picturesque when we overlay them on the situation in Joel’s day: “As it is
written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us; yet we have not made our prayer before the
LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand Your truth” (Daniel 9:13 NKJV). We,
too, are barren, but not yet broken!
Through Joel, God commanded the priests to go to a place reserved for them to perform a task required of
them: “Let the priests, who minister to the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar” (Joel 2:17). These
tears of travail, to be shed in the shadow of the Holy Place and at the base of the altar, were to erupt in the cry:
“Spare Your people, O LORD!” It is appropriate that the towering pillars on the Temple porch were named:
Jachin, which means “He will establish,” and Boaz, which means “In Him is strength” (1 Kings 7:21). God’s
desire was to re-establish His people in His own strength alone.
The priests’ desperate tears of travail were to begin the breaking of the physical and spiritual drought of the
nation. Only this deluge of repentance could nurture the downpour of revival. The problem was not that the
priests were not working. The problem was that they were not weeping. Therefore, they were commanded to
embrace the burden of the Father’s heart as their very own.
Ritual and religiosity are no substitute for repentance and revival (Revelation 3:1-2). Revival always begins
in the contrite heart of a person completely broken before a sovereign, holy God (Psalm 51:16-17). To work
without weep-ing, is to plant seeds in dry parched soil that lacks the water of our travail and intercession
(Psalm 126:5-6). Pastor, how long has it been since you shed tears of heart-rending intercession over the
spiritual condition and calamity of your people? When was the last time you spent a sleepless night in prayer
for those whom God has entrusted to your care? The pastoral pattern seems to be excessive working, and
virtually no time at all weeping. Is it any surprise that our culture is ravaged by the absence of heaven-sent
revival? It is imperative that pastors begin by weeping over their own personal sin.
The Trail of Travail 27
We have exchanged:
We are guilty of:
• passionate purity for polished professionalism;
• confession without contrition;
• intimacy with the Father for ingenuity of the flesh;
• methods without a message;
• contrite consecration for calloused carnality;
• administration without anointing;
• maturing ministry for ministerial maneuvering;
• busyness without brokenness;
• prophetic proclamation for pathetic preaching;
• pulpits without prophets;
• crucifixion of self for the craving of success;
• tradition without travail;
• conformity to Christ for concessions to the culture;
• haughtiness without holiness;
• supernatural power for superficial performance.
• innovation without intercession.
Have we no tears! Why aren’t we weeping between the study and the sanctuary? When we work, He waits,
but when we weep, He works! May the words of Ezekiel 22:30-31 not be echoed in our day: “So I sought for
a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I
should not destroy it; but I found no one. Therefore, I have poured out My indignation on them; I have
consumed them with the fire of my wrath; and I have recompensed their deeds on their own heads,” says the
LORD.
REBUILD THE ALTAR
Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people came near to
him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down (1 Kings 18:30 NKJV).
Elijah ascended Mount Carmel on the heels of fifty-eight years of idolatry and ungodliness. The reigning
king, Ahab, was more wicked and repulsive to God than all the kings before him in Israel (1 Kings 16:30-33).
Pagan idolatry throughout Israel had resulted in a polluted priesthood (1 Kings 12:31), worthless worship
(1 Kings 12:28-30), pointless prayer (1 Kings 18:25-26) and fantasy rather than faith (1 Kings 18:27-29). The
people had become deceived, dissatisfied and disillusioned with the lifeless god of Baal. This god of fertility
had become a god of futility. God had closed the heavens, because His people had closed their hearts toward
Him. This three-year drought was an answer to the prayers of Elijah (James 5:17), but it had become a
nightmare for Ahab, and the false prophets of this god who supposedly caused crop-producing thunderstorms.
Elijah, unknown by men, but known by God was given the unenviable responsibility of confronting the
calloused conceited king, Ahab. The spiritual drought of defiant disorientation to a holy God had preceded
and prompted the physical drought in Israel (Leviticus 26:18-19; Jeremiah 3:3; 5:22-25). Idolatry prompts
indignation (Isaiah 42:8; Ezekiel 6:4-7). God would only send the downpour of rain after the outpour of His
wrath. Therefore, after the desperate pleas and prayers of the prophets of Baal had gone unanswered, Elijah
stepped forward to do what desperately needed to be done. He rebuilt the altar!
Elijah Knew the Word
Elijah knew that the current altar had been desecrated by cultural contamination. An altar to Baal could not be
converted into an altar for the true God. The altar of God had to be much more than a revision of the altar to
Baal. The situation necessitated an extreme, radical holy replacement! Thus, Elijah built the altar “in the name
of the LORD” (1 Kings 18:30-32). This altar was constructed according to the divine specifications of
Scripture (Exodus 20:24-25; Joshua 4:19-24; Leviticus 1:1-9). God’s fire would not fall on an altered altar!
It is imperative that we learn from the example of Elijah. What a tragedy it is when the things of God
become so intermingled with the things of the world that any distinction between the two is all but lost. The
things of God are not just an improvement or a revision of the things of the world! Scriptural ministry is not
outdated or antiquated. However, with our excessive craving to cater to the culture through technology and
methodology, we have been guilty of sending a mixed message. Could it be that we have led our culture to
believe that the gospel is not enough apart from the assistance of props and performance?
Through meticulous attention to divine detail, Elijah kept the reorientation of the people to the commands of
God at the forefront of his actions. The very nature and number of the stones which Elijah used vividly
expressed the heart of God. The altar of twelve uncut stones, which symbolized the twelve tribes, were
utilized in a nation that represented only ten of those tribes. This magnified the depth of God’s desire for His
people to be reconciled to Him and to each other!
Rebuild the Altar 29
After the altar and sacrifice were prepared, Elijah’s prayer went up, and God’s power came down! Could it
be that the absence of His power is the result of the silence of our prayers? It is important to note that Elijah’s
prayers were anchored in the solid soil of the Word of God, and flowed from the reality of the warning of
God: “Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and
worship them, lest the Lord’s anger be aroused against you, and He shut up the heavens so that there be no
rain, and the land yield no produce, and you perish quickly from the good land which the LORD is giving
you” (Deuteronomy 11:16-17 NKJV).
Thus, we read in the New Testament, “...The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Elijah
was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the
land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its
fruit” (James 5:16-18 NKJV). It appears that Elijah simply and desperately prayed that 2 Chronicles 7:13
would happen: “When I shut up heaven and there is no rain...” in order that 2 Chronicles 7:14 could happen:
“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from
their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
Elijah Knew the Lord
Elijah had obviously become well acquainted with the Word and ways of God. Have we become better
acquainted with the ways of men than the ways of God? Are we shaped more by the methods of men or the
mandates of God? Elijah’s humble desire was to be known as an obedient servant of God: “Lord God of
Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel, and that I am Your servant, and
that I have done all these things at Your word” (1 Kings 18:36). It is obvious that Elijah had placed his life on
the altar long before he rebuilt the altar on Mount Carmel. Until the ambitions and agendas of men are placed
as a sacrifice on the altar of biblical obedience, the fire of God will be withheld.
God heard Elijah because Elijah heard God! God called Elijah to call upon Him long before He called Elijah
to call upon the people to call upon Him. Behind Elijah’s prayer prayed on Mount Carmel were thousands of
hours spent by Elijah in the obscurity of the shadow of God. Elijah’s public prayer and proclamation were the
overflow of three years spent in passionate, broken-hearted intercession in behalf of the nation of Israel. This
passionate prayer gave birth to prophetic power! How much of our preaching is the overflow of intimacy with
God and intercession for those to whom we preach?
The altar can only be rebuilt by men who know the Word of the Lord, and the Lord of the Word! We must
repentantly bring ourselves back to the place where God focuses His fire. Genuine biblical revival is conceived in the heart of God, and it consumes the hearts of people whose
Pastoral leadership within the solemn
lives are placed on His altar. It is imperative that we allow God to alter assembly process symbolically centers
our lives on the altar of His will. Human effort is futile without the on the rebuilding of the altar.
flames of His fire! We have the famine, but where is the fire? We have
the drought, but where is the downpour?
PASTORAL LEADERSHIP IN THE
LOCAL CHURCH SOLEMN ASSEMBLY
•
•
The pastor should function in the role of:
Prophet - in preparation for the solemn assembly; proclaiming the Word of God in power.
Priest - in conducting the solemn assembly; going before God in behalf of the people
Intercession
•
Passionate, broken pastoral intercession should precede and permeate the solemn assembly.
•
Passionate pastoral intercession requires intimacy with the Father, and empathy for the people.
•
In preparation for the solemn assembly, hours and days of prayer should be planned and protected by the
pastor. These should be personal days of prayer as well as times that involve staff, leadership and
congregation.
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The pastor should live in the shadow of the reality of Isaiah 57:15, “For thus says the High and Lofty One
Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a
contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the contrite
ones” (NKJV).
•
The pastor should spend focused quality time with the biblical revival leaders in the Old Testament (see
Biblical Revival Leaders, pp. 35-38). This will deepen the level of intercession for the people.
•
Focused, extended pastoral intercession should be made for the church body collectively and individually.
•
During the solemn assembly itself, the prayer of corporate confession and repentance should be prayed
from the foot of the cross.
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Passionate pastoral intercession is born out of desperate discontentment with the spiritual condition and
level of spiritual maturity within the church.
Instruction
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The pastor should place primary focus on instructing the people from the Word of God about the ways of
God with a view to guiding them toward the will of God.
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The goal of pastoral instruction is to enlarge the vision of the scope and magnitude of the solemn
assembly in anticipation of the activity and manifest presence of God on that day.
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In his preaching and teaching, the pastor must deal with the source of corporate sin rather than just the
symptoms of it.
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At the heart of the pastoral instruction is the selection of corporate sins of which the church needs to
repent. In this manual, there is a section entitled, Biblical Catalog of Corporate Sin (p. 42). That catalog
can be utilized in assisting the pastor, leadership and congregation in identifying specific corporate sins to
be dealt with in the solemn assembly. Once the sins have been selected, sermons in which these sins are
addressed specifically and biblically, can be very helpful in preparing the congregation for the solemn
assembly.
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The pastor can immerse himself in a biblical understanding of the source of corporate sin through an indepth study of Jeremiah, Lamentations, Minor Prophets, 1 Corinthians, and Revelation 2-3.
Pastoral Leadership in the Solemn Assembly 31
•
It is also beneficial for the pastor to prayerfully immerse himself in 2 Chronicles 6-7 and Joel 2.
•
Sermons on the solemn assemblies of the Bible can also be effective in preparing the congregation.
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Other sermon themes could include:
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the holiness of God;
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divine judgment;
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divine discipline;
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the hideous nature of sin;
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individual and corporate repentance;
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the glory of God;
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repentance within the solemn assemblies of the Bible;
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word study on repentance, revival, etc.
•
Prayer meetings in which corporate prayer exercises are utilized that center on the biblical solemn
assemblies can also Scripturally sensitize the congregation.
Identification
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The spirituality, sincerity and solemnity of the pastor sets the tone/atmosphere of the solemn assembly.
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The pastor’s identification with the sinful plight of the people sensitizes his intercession to both the hearts
of the people and the heart of God.
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Identification with the sin of the congregation focuses, fine-tunes, and fuels the pastor’s intercession for
the people in the solemn assembly.
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The pastor should identify the ways in which he may contributed, directly or indirectly, to the corporate
sins of the congregation.
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The prayer of corporate confession within the solemn assembly should sincerely focus on “us” and “we”
as opposed to “them” and “they.”
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In preparation for leading the prayer of corporate repentance, it is helpful for the pastor to study the role
of the high priest on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16) especially the solemnity and seriousness that
was required.
•
The pastor should also become well-acquainted with the desperate intercessory identification of Moses
(Exodus 32:11-14, 30-33; Numbers 14:13-19), Nehemiah (Nehemiah 1:4-11), and Daniel (Daniel 9:3-21).
Let the priests, who minister to the Lord, weep between the
porch and the altar; let them say, “Spare Your people, O
Lord, and do not give your heritage to reproach, that the
nations should rule over them. Why should they say among
the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’” (Joel 2:17 NKJV)
PRAYING PASTOR PLUMBLINE
Therefore, brothers, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and
wisdom, whom we can appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the preaching
ministry (Acts 6:3-4 HCSB).
• What are you doing that others could be doing that is keeping you from focusing on prayer and the Word?
• Do you faithfully undergird your preaching ministry with extended and intensive prayer?
• What percentage of your time each week are you devoting to these primary apostolic priorities?
For although we are walking in the flesh, we do not wage war in a fleshly way, since the weapons of our
warfare are not fleshly, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish
arguments and every high-minded thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, taking every
thought captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:3-5 HCSB).
• Is your presentation of the Word of God reinforced by waging spiritual warfare on your knees?
• Are you guilty of fighting spiritual battles with fleshly methods and weapons?
With every prayer and request, pray at all times in the Spirit, and stay alert in this, with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints. Pray also for me, that the message may be given to me
when I open my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel (Ephesians 6:18-19
HCSB).
• Are you enlisting and equipping believers in prayer support of the preaching of the Word?
• Are you training them to pray strategically for the filling of your mouth with God’s Word?
Epaphras, who is one of you, a slave of Christ Jesus, greets you. He is always contending for you in his
prayers, so that you can stand mature and fully assured in everything God wills (Colossians 4:12 HCSB).
• Do you consistently contend in prayer for your flock in vigilant, unceasing intercession?
• Are you passionately pleading with the Father for spiritual maturity and assurance in your flock?
Therefore, so that I would not exalt myself, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to
torment me so I would not exalt myself. Concerning this, I pleaded with the Lord three times to take it
away from me. But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.”
Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside
in me. So because of Christ, I am pleased in weaknesses, in insults, in catastrophes, in persecutions, and
in pressures. For when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:7-10 HCSB).
• With humility, do you faithfully rely upon the strength of God to be manifested in your weakness?
• Do you respond to personal weakness and limitations with submissive, dependent prayer?
• Do you view personal obstructions and obstacles as divine opportunities for God to display His unlimited
power?
I never stop giving thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, would give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of
Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may know what is the hope of
His calling, what are the glorious riches of His inheritance among the saints, and what is the
immeasurable greatness of His power to us who believe, according to the working of His vast strength
(Ephesians 1:16-19 HCSB).
• Do you intercede beneath the surface with cries to the Father for spiritual depth among your flock?
• Are you asking God to increase your people’s understanding of His powerful activity in their lives?
Praying Pastor Plumbline 33
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father from whom every family in heaven and on earth is
named. I pray that He may grant you, according to the riches of His glory to be strengthened with
power through His Spirit in the inner man, and that the Messiah may dwell in your hearts through
faith. I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, may be able to comprehend with all
the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love, and to know the Messiah’s love
that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:14-19
HCSB).
• Is your pastoral intercession on behalf of those you lead specific, strategic and spiritual in its focus?
• Is the love of Jesus the motivation and the destination of your pastoral intercession?
We always thank God for all of you, remembering you constantly in our prayers. We recall in the
presence of our God and Father, your work of faith, labor of love, and endurance of hope in our Lord
Jesus Christ, knowing your election, brothers loved by God (1 Thessalonians 1:2 HCSB).
• Do you intercede for your flock with thanksgiving and gratitude for them?
• Are your prayers of intercession motivated by the faith, love and hope of your people?
I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience as my forefathers did, when I constantly remember
you in my prayers night and day (2 Timothy 1:3 HCSB).
• Are you actively involved in a prayer partnership with a younger pastor?
• Are you faithfully interceding for him through every joy, stress, and disappointment of ministry?
First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayer, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone,
for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness
and dignity. This is good and it pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to come to
the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:1-4 HCSB).
• Are you passionately mentoring a life of prayer for others who serve in pastoral ministry?
• Is your life and ministry a call to prayer for fellow servants in the kingdom of God?
•
•
PASTORAL CONFESSION
I am not the Christ!... He must increase, but I must decrease!
John 1:20; 3:30
I Am Not Omniscient! I do not have all knowledge, understanding and wisdom. I do not have all of the
answers for everyone’s questions. I am not the final authority on life, Scripture or godliness.
I Am Not Omnipotent! I am not all-powerful. I do not have the power to change people, circumstances or
situations. I cannot fix everyone’s lives, resolve every-one’s issues and solve everyone’s problems.
I Am Not Omnipresent! I cannot be in all places at all times. It is impossible for me to be present for all
emergencies and disasters. Neither can I be in attendance at all occasions of celebration and joy.
I AM OMNIDEPENDENT! I am completely dependent upon the Father, for He alone is omnipotent,
omniscient and omnipresent. I must allow Him to be God in all of my relationships and circumstances.
Only then can I be of any service within His kingdom, and in the lives of others.
PROFILES OF BIBLICAL
REVIVAL LEADERS
There are several occasions in the Bible when God sovereignly chose to revive His people. Each of these
accounts of God’s activity are unique; however, there is at least one common factor. Each revival was marked
by a man who set his heart on seeking the Lord. This person became the catalyst through whom God initiated
and perpetuated revival among His people.
These men were different from one another in personality, age, background and social setting. However,
their determination to whole-heartedly seek God’s face and His glory unifies them. At the sovereign initiative
of God, each of these men led the people to cease all activity for the sole purpose of returning to the Lord.
Without exception, God honored their vulnerable faithfulness. God is still searching for humble, broken, and
prayerful leaders through whom he can revive His people. As you prayerfully consider the profile of some of
these men, may it deepen your hunger to be a vessel of revival to the people of God.
MOSES - Exodus 2-3, 32-34
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He was born in the midst of the bondage of God’s people (2:1-2).
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God divinely intervened in sparing his life when he was an infant in Egypt (2:3-10).
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He experienced the futility of his own impulsive efforts apart from God (2:11-15).
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He received a call from God in the context of the manifest presence of God (3:4-6).
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His call by God was in direct response to the crying out of the people of God (3:7-9).
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He was called to lead a stubborn and stiff-necked people toward the will of God (32:9).
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He was a passionate, desperate intercessor in behalf of his people to the point of being willing to sacrifice
his personal well-being (32:11, 32).
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He had a deep concern for the reputation of God (32:12).
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He was angered by the idolatry among the people of God (32:19-21).
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He called the people to repent and return to their covenant relationship with God (32:26).
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He practiced corporate confession on behalf of the people (32:31).
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He guided the people in responding redemptively to the discipline of God (32:34-33:7).
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He experienced intimacy in his walk with God (33:9, 11).
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He was marked by a stubborn refusal to move ahead of God (33:15).
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He cultivated the manifest presence of God in his life (33:18-23; 34:5-7).
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He prostrated himself before the manifest presence of God as he cried out for corporate forgiveness
(34:8).
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Moses received a specific promise of revival from God (34:10).
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He called the people to strict obedience personally and corporately in renewal of the covenant relationship
(34:11-27).
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He practiced fasting and prayer (34:28).
SAMUEL - 1 Samuel 3-4, 6-7
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At an early age, he learned to hear and obey the voice of God (3:1-10).
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He was called to serve in a spiritually barren time (3:1; 4:11-22).
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He responded with strong, timely leadership to the lamenting people of God (7:2).
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He called for whole-hearted repentance and the denouncement of idols (7:3).
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He led the people to prepare their hearts to encounter the Lord (7:3).
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He called the people to singular allegiance and loyalty to God (7:3-4).
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He conducted a solemn assembly among the people of God (7:5-6).
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He exemplified a strong commitment to intercession, as well as fasting (7:5-6)
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He led the people in corporate confession (7:6).
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The people held the intercession of Samuel in high esteem (7:8).
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He experienced divine intervention in response to his intercession (7:9-13).
ASA - 2 Chronicles 14-16
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He purged the nation of idols and pagan worship centers, and commanded the people to seek God with a
view to obedience (14:3-4).
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He cried out to the Lord for divine intervention (14:11).
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He was deeply concerned for God’s reputation (14:11).
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He experienced the manifest presence and power of God (17:10).
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He obeyed God quickly in removing pagan idols and restoring the altar (15:8).
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He led the people to wholeheartedly return to the covenant relationship (15:12).
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He conducted a solemn assembly, and experienced the return of the manifest presence of the Lord among
His people (15:9ff).
JEHOSHOPHAT - 2 Chronicles 17-20
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He experienced the manifest presence of God in his life and ministry (17:3).
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He stood counter to his culture as he steadfastly obeyed the Lord (17:4).
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He took delight in the ways of God (17:6).
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He uprooted and destroyed satanic strongholds of pagan worship (17:6).
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He promoted reviving reformational teaching of the Scriptures (17:7-9).
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He experienced a regional awareness of the manifest power of God (17:10; 20:29).
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Jehoshophat positioned himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast among the people in keeping with
the solemn assembly (20:3ff).
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He demonstrated dependence upon God in pleading for divine intervention (20:5-13).
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He received a personal promise of victory from God (20:15).
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He prostrated himself before God (20:18).
HEZEKIAH - 2 Chronicles 29-32
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He repaired the house of God, and removed rubbish from the holy place (29:3, 5).
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He traced the hand of God in judgment among his people (29:6ff).
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He sought the lifting of God’s wrath through renewing the covenant (29:10).
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Hezekiah conducted a solemn assembly (29:3ff).
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He urged the people to return to the Lord that His wrath might be lifted (30:6-9).
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He interceded on behalf of the people, and the Lord responded (30:18-19).
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He maintained his focus on God amidst opposition and misrepresentation (32:7-8, 16).
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He experienced divine intervention (32:21).
JOSIAH - 2 Chronicles 34-35
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He assumed leadership as king amidst compromise, idolatry and disobedience (34:2).
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He sought the Lord at an early age, and refused to turn to the right or the left (34:1-3).
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He initiated the removal of false worship and the repair of the Lord’s house (34:4-8).
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He openly expressed brokenness and remorse in response to the Scriptures (34:19).
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He acknowledged the wrath and judgment of God on the sin of the people (34:21).
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He led in the corporate confession of the sin of their fathers (34:21).
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His heart was tender and humble before God (34:27).
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He conducted a solemn assembly of covenant renewal (34:29-33).
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He carried out a deep purging and cleansing of ungodliness among the people (34:33).
EZRA - Ezra 7-10
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He prepared his heart to seek and obey the Lord, and to teach the people to do the same (7:10).
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He identified the activity of God in the midst of the people (7:27).
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He experienced God’s hand powerfully resting on his life and ministry (7:28).
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He proclaimed a fast and conducted a solemn assembly (8:21-23; 9:5-15).
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He overcame the temptation to compromise his total dependence upon God (8:22).
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He mourned and fasted over the failures of his people, as he interceded (9:3-15).
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He expressed humiliation as he acknowledged God’s grace in withholding judgment (9:8-9, 13).
NEHEMIAH - Nehemiah 1-6
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He mourned, wept, fasted and prayed out of a deep burden for the people of God (1:4).
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He earnestly interceded on behalf of his people (1:5-11).
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He practiced corporate confession (1:7).
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His deep burden produced a sorrowful countenance on his face (2:2).
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He magnified the hand of God on his life and ministry (2:8, 18).
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He clarified his mission in isolation and obscurity (2:12).
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He experienced ridicule, criticism and opposition (2:19; 4:1-3; 6:1-13).
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He responded to his critics and opponents with prayer (4:4-5, 9; 6:9, 14).
Adapted from Prayer Meeting First Aid Kit, Prayeridigm Publishing, 2006
God Still Seeks Men Who Will Seek Him
• For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to
show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him...
(2 Chronicles 16:9 NKJV).
• Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor
stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his
delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and
night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings
forth its fruit in its season, whose leave shall not wither; and whatever
he does shall prosper (Psalm 1:1-3 NKJV).
• Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His
holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not
lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive
blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his
salvation (Psalm 24:3-5 NKJV).
• So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand
in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it;
but I found none (Ezekiel 22:30 NKJV).
• Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and
opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with
Me (Revelation 3:20 NKJV).
SECTION THREE
Corporate Repentance
in the
Solemn Assembly
Genuine corporate confession and repentance produces the following fruit:
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glorifying the Father;
magnifying the name of Christ;
unifying believers on a deeper level;
edifying the body of Christ;
exemplifying unconditional love;
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intensifying passion for the Father;
identifying with a sinful lost world;
electrifying power for evangelism;
solidifying kingdom expansion.
CORPORATE CONFESSION AND
CLEANSING FOR REVIVAL
Corporate confession is a missing element in the majority of our churches today. However, just as individuals
are commanded to confess sin, corporate confession is also prominent in Scripture. Revival is the Father’s
response to our response to the conviction of His Holy Spirit with genuine corporate confession and
repentance: “When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send
pestilence among My people, if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and
seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and
heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:13-14 NKJV).
At the heart of most of the revivals in the Bible and in history stands corporate confession and repentance.
Corporate confession of sin is just as prominent in Scripture as personal confession of sin. However, in our
culture, there is such an unhealthy emphasis on individuality that we have lost sight of the corporate nature of
churches, cities and nations. Just as individuals sin, so do groups through participation or toleration of sinful
behavior and lifestyle.
From the corporate perspective of the Bible, a local church is only as obedient as their most disobedient
member (see Joshua 7:1, 11-13). Each member is either raising or lowering the obedience level of their local
church. Therefore, when sin is rampant, and judgment seems certain, there is a desperate need for the people
of God to bring all religious activity, and worldly pursuits to a halt for the express purpose of seeking the face
of God, and wholeheartedly returning to Him. An initial phase of biblical revival appears to be a blanketing
of the people of God with a spirit of prayer, which produces an atmosphere of awe, reverence and repentance.
Consequences of Corporate Sin
There are no less than twelve consequences of corporate sin identified in Scripture:
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Loss of effective witness (2 Chronicles 7:19-22; Revelation 2:5)
Tribulation (Judges 2:11-13; Revelation 2:22)
Divine opposition (Judges 2:13-15; Revelation 2:16)
Repulsiveness to God (Revelation 3:15-16)
Vulnerability to enemies (Joshua 7:1-5; Judges 2:14)
Distress (Judges 2:15; Psalm 80:4-6)
The hiding of God’s face (Deuteronomy 31:18; Isaiah 64:7)
Anger of the Lord (Numbers 32:10-15; Judges 2:14)
Bondage and captivity (Deuteronomy 28:36-68; 1 Kings 8:46)
Drought and pestilence (2 Chronicles 7:13-14; Joel 1)
Humiliation and shame (Isaiah 30:1-3; Jeremiah 2:26-28)
Defeat and devastation (1 Kings 8:33; 2 Chronicles 6:24-25)
Catalog of Corporate Sins
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Abandoning God - Judges 2:12-13
Anger - Ephesians 4:31
Apathy - Isaiah 43:22
Attacking Leadership - Jeremiah 18:18
Backsliding - Jeremiah 3:14
Bitterness - Ephesians 4:31
Blinded by Tradition - Mark 7:6-8
Broken Covenant - Jeremiah 11:10
Carnal Decision-Making - Joshua 9:14
Carnality - 1 Corinthians 3:3
Complaining - Philippians 2:14-15
Compromise - Revelation 2:14-15
Correction Refused - Jeremiah 5:3
Corruption - Nehemiah 1:7
Covenant-Breaking - Psalm 78:37
Covetousness - Jeremiah 6:13
Defiance - Nehemiah 9:16
Dependence on Men - Isaiah 30:1-3
Destroying Leaders - Nehemiah 9:26
Discord - 1 Corinthians 3:3
Disloyalty to God - Psalm 78:8
Disobedience - Isaiah 1:7
Disputing - Philippians 2:14
Disrepaired Place of Worship - Haggai 1:4
Distrusting God - Psalm 78:22
Division - 1 Corinthians 12:25
Doubting God - Psalm 78:19-20
Dull Hearing - Hebrews 5:11
Empty Offerings - Isaiah 1:3
Evil Hearts and Minds - Jeremiah 7:24
Evil Speaking - Ephesians 4:31
Evil Thoughts - Jeremiah 4:14
Excessive Spending on Self - Haggai 1:4
Factions - 1 Corinthians 12:25
Faith Without Works - James 2:26
False Dealings - Jeremiah 8:10
Forgetting God - Jeremiah 3:21
Forsaking Commandments - Ezra 9:10
Forsaking God - Isaiah 1:4
Forsaking the Assembly - Hebrews 10:24-25
Grieving the Holy Spirit - Ephesians 4:30
Grumbling - 1 Peter 4:8-9
Half-heartedness - Jeremiah 3:10
Hardened Hearts - Jeremiah 4:4
Hearing Without Doing - Ezekiel 33:31
Horizontal Focus - Isaiah 30:1-3
Hypocrisy - Isaiah 29:15
Hypocritical Worship - Isaiah 1:14
Idolatry - Jeremiah 2:5
Ignorance of God's Law - Jeremiah 8:7
Ignoring God's Discipline - Daniel 9:13-14
Ignoring God's Voice - Jeremiah 9:13
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Ignoring Leadership - Jeremiah 18:18
Image Consciousness - Revelation 3:1
Immorality - 1 Thessalonians 4:3
Indifference - Revelation 3:15-16
Inferior Offerings - Malachi 1:7-14
Ingratitude - 1 Thessalonians 5:19
Iniquity - Isaiah 1:4
Lewdness - Ezekiel 16:58
Limiting God - Psalm 78:41
Loss of First Love - Revelation 2:4
Lost Respect for Marriage - Malachi 2:13-16
Lukewarmness - Revelation 3:15-16
Lying - Jeremiah 9:4
Meaningless Ritual - Isaiah 1:11
Misplaced Trust - Isaiah 30:1-3
Murmuring - Exodus 16:2, 8
Neglect of the Poor - Amos 2:6
No Fear of God - Jeremiah 2:19
Non-submissive to Leaders - Hebrews 13:17
Partial Obedience - 1 Samuel 15
Powerless Rituals - 2 Timothy 3:5
Prayerlessness - Isaiah 64:7
Prejudice - 1 Thessalonians 2:14-16
Pride - Nehemiah 9:16
Profaning the Sabbath - Ezekiel 20:16, 21
Quarreling - Ephesians 4:31
Rebellion - Isaiah 1:2
Refusal to Repent - Jeremiah 5:8
Refusal to Return to God - Jeremiah 5:3
Rejecting Leadership - Jeremiah 18:18
Self-Centered Fasting - Zechariah 7:5-7
Self-Sufficiency - Joshua 9:14
Selfish Ambition - Philippians 2:3-4
Speaking Against God - Psalm 78:19
Spiritual Adultery - Jeremiah 5:7
Spiritual Deadness - Revelation 3:1
Stiffened Necks - Nehemiah 9:16, 29
Strife - Hosea 7:4
Stubbornness - Jeremiah 9:14
Superficial Healing - Jeremiah 6:14
Testing God - Psalm 78:18, 41, 56
Tolerating False Teachers - Revelation 2:14-15
Treachery - Jeremiah 9:2
Turning Aside - Psalm 78:57
Turning Back - Zechariah 1:6
Unfaithfulness - Psalm 78:8
Ungodly Alliances - Isaiah 31:1
Unmindful of God's Works - Nehemiah 9:17
Unresponsive to Leadership - Jeremiah 42:21
Wickedness - Jeremiah 2:19
Withholding Tithes - Malachi 3:8-10
Worldliness - James 4:4
Confession of Corporate Sin
And they fasted that day, and said there, “We have sinned against the Lord.”
1 Samuel 7:6 NKJV
The biblical solemn assembly was a gathering that centered on collective corporate confession and repentance. In these solemn assemblies, the leaders led the way down the road of repentance and the boulevard of
brokenness. Through the corporate confession and repentance of the solemn assemblies, the people gained a
feel for the rhythm of personal repentance. Corporate repentance gave birth to personal repentance. The Old
Testament records at least six occasions where corporate confession was offered to God. In these instances of
corporate confession:
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The terms “we” and “us” were used as opposed to “them” and “they.”
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Sin was identified primarily as a sin against God, although it also affected others.
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Sins of their “fathers” were confessed.
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At times, corporate confession was marked by fasting, weeping and/or lamenting.
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Past blessings of God were remembered, and the present calamity was recognized as a discipline and/or
judgment from God.
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God’s mercy in withholding judgment was recognized.
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Often corporate confession was prompted by disaster, defeat and/or devastation.
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Unfaithfulness to the covenant relationship and/or forsaking God by turning to other gods in idolatry was
confessed.
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Corporate confession was marked by a concern for God’s reputation and glory.
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Participants pleaded for God’s intervention, mercy and the withholding of final judgment.
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Leaders interceded with desperate pleadings on behalf of the people.
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Extended hours were spent seeking the face of God.
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It resulted in the decisive action of turning from false gods and back to God Himself.
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It was followed by an exclusive loyalty and service to God instead of false gods.
Characteristics of Biblical Corporate Confession
Characteristics
The terms we and us
were used as
opposed to them and
they
Sin was identified
primarily as a sin
against God
Judges
10:6-15
1 Samuel
7:1-6
Ezra
9:1-15
Nehemiah
1:3-11
Jeremiah
14:7-9
Jeremiah
14:19-22
Daniel
9:3-19
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Marked by fasting,
lamenting and/or
weeping
Present calamity was
recognized as a
discipline of God
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Remembrance of
God’s blessings in
the past
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Confession of the
sins of their fathers.
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Recognition of God’s
mercy
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Prompted by
devastation, disaster
or defeat
Unfaithfulness and/
or idolatry confessed
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Concern for the
reputation of God
Pleading for divine
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Intercession by a
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Forsaking of pagan
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Exclusive loyalty to
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Cleansing of Corporate Sin
In periods of revival, cleansing is deep and thorough. The people viewed sin as primarily a sin against God.
Sins that had been viewed as being harmless, were viewed from God’s perspective as hideous. At times,
cleansing was deepened through acts of restitution to God, and to others who had been offended. However,
in a genuine work of God, horizontal confession to others is always secondary to vertical confession to the
Father.
Although the cleansing of corporate sin occurs in the heart, there are outward evidences of this authentic
work of God. Genuine corporate confession and repentance results in:
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a passionate pursuit of the heart of the Father that flows from a desire to glorify Him alone;
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a radical reorientation to the Word of God and the ways of God;
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an exchange of natural expressions of the flesh for supernatural expressions of the Spirit;
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a holy hunger for the things of God, and a repulsiveness toward the things of the world;
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a deepened humility that seeks to exalt and magnify the name of Jesus above all others;
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a renewed lifestyle of Christ-centered servanthood that unselfishly edifies the Body of Christ;
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a tenacious pursuit of Christ-honoring unity that overflows in biblical evangelism.
“If you will return, O Israel,” says the Lord, “Return to Me;
and if you will put away your abominations out of My
sight, then you shall not be moved” (Jeremiah 4:1 NKJV).
Adapted from Our Lord’s Life of Prayer, Prayeridigm Publishing, 2005
BIBLICAL CALLS TO REVIVAL
2 Chronicles 7:13-14 - “When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the
land, or send pestilence among My people, if My people, who are called by My name will humble
themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and
will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
Isaiah 1:18 - “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil doings from before My eyes. Cease
to do evil... Come now, and let us reason together, “ says the Lord, “though your sins are like scarlet, they
shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”
Isaiah 44:21-22 - “I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions, and like a cloud your sins.
Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.”
Isaiah 57:15 - “For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in
the high and holy place, with him who has a humble and contrite spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble and
to revive the contrite ones.”
Jeremiah 4:1 - “If you will return, O Israel,” says the Lord, “Return to Me; and if you will put away your
abominations out of My sight, then you shall not be moved.”
Jeremiah 6:16 - “Thus says the Lord: ‘Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good
way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls.’”
Lamentations 3:40 - “Let us search out and examine our ways, and turn back to the Lord.”
Ezekiel 14:6 - “Thus says the Lord God: ‘Repent, turn away from your idols, and turn your faces away from
all your abominations.’”
Hosea 10:12 - “Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground, for it is time
to seek the Lord, till He comes and rains righteousness on you.”
Zechariah 1:3 - “Return to Me,” says the Lord of hosts, “and I will return to you,” says the Lord of hosts.
Malachi 3:7 - “Yet from the days of your fathers you have gone away from My ordinances and have not kept
them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of hosts.
James 4:4-10 - “Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know friendship with the world is enmity with
God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think
the Scripture says in vain, ‘The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously’? But He gives more grace. Therefore
He says: ‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and
he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and
purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.”
Revelation 2:4-5 - “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember
therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and
remove your lampstand from its place--unless you repent.”
Revelation 3:1-3 - “...I know your works that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. Be
watchful, and strengthen the things that remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect
before God. Remember, therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent...”
Revelation 3:15-16, 19 - “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or
hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of My mouth... As
many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.”
BIBLICAL HEART-CRIES
FOR REVIVAL
• Amos: “O Lord GOD, forgive, I pray! Oh, that Jacob may stand, for he is small!... O Lord GOD, cease, I
pray! Oh, that Jacob may stand, for he is small!” (Amos 7:2, 5 NKJV).
• Asaph: “Restore us, O God; cause Your face to shine, and we shall be saved!... Restore us, O God of hosts;
cause Your face to shine, and we shall be saved!... Return, we beseech you, O God of hosts; look down
from heaven and see, and visit this vine... Revive us, and we will call upon Your name. Restore us, O LORD
God of hosts; cause Your face to shine, and we shall be saved!” (Psalm 80:3, 7, 14, 18-19 NKJV).
• Daniel: “O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him,
and with those who keep His commandments, we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done
wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments... O Lord, righteousness
belongs to You, but to us shame of face... As it is written in the law of Moses, all this disaster has come
upon us; yet we have not made our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities
and understand Your truth... O Lord, according to all Your righteousness, I pray, let Your anger and Your
fury be turned away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; because of our sins, and for the
iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people have become a reproach to all who are around us. Now
therefore, our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications, and for the Lord’s sake cause
Your face to shine on Your sanctuary, which is desolate. O my God, incline Your ear and hear, open Your
eyes and see our desolations, and the city which is called by Your name; for we do not present our
supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies. O Lord, hear!
O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for Your own sake, my God, for Your city and Your
people are called by Your name” (Daniel 9:4-5, 7, 13, 16-19 NKJV).
• Elijah: “Hear me, O LORD, that this people may know that You are the LORD God, and You have turned
their hearts back to You again” (1 Kings 18:37 NKJV).
• Ezra: “O my God: I am too ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God; for our iniquities
have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has grown up to the heavens... Oh LORD God of Israel, You
are righteous, for we are left as a remnant, as it is this day. Here we are before You, in our guilt, though no
one can stand before You because of this!” (Ezra 9:6, 15 NKJV).
• Habakkuk: “O LORD, I have heard Your speech and was afraid; O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of
the years! In the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy.” (Habakkuk 3:2 NKJV).
• Isaiah: “Oh, that You would rend the heavens! That You would come down! That the mountains might
shake at Your presence... That the nations may tremble at Your presence!” (Isaiah 64:1-2 NKJV).
• Jeremiah: “O LORD, though our iniquities testify against us, do it for Your name’s sake; for our
backslidings are many, we have sinned against You. O the Hope of Israel, his Savior in time of trouble, why
should You be like a stranger in the land, and like a wayfaring man who turns aside to tarry for a night?
Why should You be like a man astonished, like a mighty one who cannot save? Yet You, O LORD, are in our
midst, and we are called by Your name; do not leave us! ” (Jeremiah 14:7-9 NKJV).
• Jeremiah: “We acknowledge, O LORD, our wickedness and the iniquity of our fathers, for we have sinned
against You. Do not abhor us, for Your name’s sake; do not disgrace the throne of Your glory. Remember,
do not break Your covenant with us.” (Jeremiah 14:20-21 NKJV).
Biblical Heart Cry for Revival 47
• Jeremiah: “Remember, O LORD, what has come upon us; look, and behold our reproach!... Our fathers
sinned and are no more, we bear their iniquities... The crown has fallen from our head. Woe to us, for we
have sinned!... Turn us back to You, O LORD, and we will be restored; renew our days as of old, unless You
have utterly rejected us, and are very angry with us!” (Lamentations 5:1, 7, 16, 21-22 NKJV).
• Moses: “Lord, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people whom You have brought out of the land
of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians speak and say, ‘He brought
them out to harm them, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth?’
Turn from Your fierce wrath, and relent from this harm to Your people” (Exodus 32:11-12 NKJV).
• Moses: “Oh, these people have sinned a great sin, and have made for themselves a god of gold! Yet now, if
You will forgive their sin--but if not, blot me out of Your book which You have written” (Exodus 32:31-32
NKJV).
• Nehemiah: “I pray, LORD God of heaven, O great and awesome God, You who keep Your covenant and
mercy with those who love You and observe Your commandments... We have acted very corruptly against
You, and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your
servant Moses... O LORD, I pray, please let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to the
prayer of Your servants who desire to fear Your name...” (Nehemiah 1:5, 7, 11 NKJV).
• Sons of Korah: “Restore us, O God of our salvation, and cause Your anger toward us to cease. Will You be
angry with us forever? Will You prolong Your anger to all generations? Will You not revive us again, that
Your people may rejoice in You? Show us Your mercy, O LORD, and grant us Your salvation” (Psalm 85:4-7
NKJV).
A Closer Look
Notice the connection Daniel makes between national sin and disaster, in his prayer recorded in
Daniel 9:3-19. Yet, his ultimate concern is not the removal of consequences, but rather the
reputation of God. Hence, his prayer includes the following phrases:
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Your precepts (v. 5)
Your judgments (v. 5)
Your servants (v.6)
Your name (v. 6)
Your law (v. 11)
Your voice (v. 11)
Your truth (v. 13)
Your people (v. 15)
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Your righteousness (v. 16)
Your anger (v. 16)
Your fury (v. 16)
Your city (v. 16)
Your holy mountain (v. 16)
Your people (v. 16)
Your servant (v. 17)
Your face (v. 17)
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Your sanctuary (v. 17)
Your ear (v. 18)
Your eyes (v. 18)
Your name (v. 18)
Your city (v. 19)
Your people (v. 19)
Your name (v. 19)
Genuine prayer for revival involves the confession of sin by the people of God in light of the
righteous reputation of God. Revival praying centers on the person of God, the Giver of Revival!
SECTION FOUR
Practical Steps
Toward a
Local Church
Solemn Assembly
Practical Steps Toward a Local Church Solemn Assembly 49
Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from
you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse
your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you doubleminded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be
turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in
the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up (James 4:7-10 NKJV).
APPENDIX A
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TO
FACILITATE A DAY OF REPENTANCE
The local church solemn assembly is a special extended worship service in which the congregation gathers to
corporately seek cleansing from the Father in response to genuine corporate confession and repentance.
Remember, the ultimate objectives of the local church solemn assembly process are to:
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reconnect the people with the Word of God;
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reorient the people to the ways of God;
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redirect the people toward the will of God;
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reawaken the people in the worship of God;
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rejuvenate the people in the work of God.
The Day of Atonement and the
Local Church Solemn Assembly
The ultimate example of a solemn assembly in the Old Testament is the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:1-34;
23:26-32; Numbers 29:7-11). The Day of Atonement in the Old Testament also became known as The Day of
Repentance. It was the annual day in which the people of God gathered with heart-wrenching repentance, and
desperate cries for forgiveness from the Holy God of the universe.
The blood of animals was shed on that day to atone for individual
and national sin. However, in the solemn assembly, people who have
been redeemed by the blood of the sinless Savior’s sacrifice, gather at
the foot of the cross seeking to bring all sin, individual and corporate,
Not with blood of goats and calves,
but with His own blood He entered
the Most Holy Place once for all,
having obtained eternal redemption.
Hebrews 9:12 NKJV
under the cleansing power of His precious blood (Hebrews 9:7-13, 24-26; 1 John 1:7-9). Thus, the Day of
Atonement provides an appropriate framework for considering various aspects and components of a biblical
solemn assembly as a day of repentance in the local church.
Extensive instructions are given for the preparation for, and the execution of the Day of Atonement. These
instructions solemnly center on cleansing, repentance and forgiveness. They move through the concentric
circles of: (1) the High Priest (Leviticus 16:11-14), (2) the tabernacle (Leviticus 16:15-19), and (3) the people
(Leviticus 16:20-28). Hence, we will develop the following overview around the parallels of the the High
Priest and pastor, the tabernacle and the place of worship, and the congregation.
What You Need to Know to Facilitate a Day of Repentance 51
The Pastor
The heavy burden of spiritual leadership in the solemn assembly is magnified in the weight of meticulous
spiritual responsibility placed upon the shoulders of the High Priest in observing the Day of Atonement.
Therefore, it is imperative that the pastor spend extensive time in personal spiritual preparation for leading the
congregation through the solemn assembly process. The following suggestions should be found helpful.
•
Prayerfully seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit as to the Father’s will and timing in scheduling a local
church solemn assembly.
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Having scheduled the solemn assembly, observe a personal prayer retreat of at least one day (preferably
multiple days) of focused solitary prayer and personal repentance.
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Seek to daily allow the Holy Spirit to guide you in purging yourself of any and all sin in your life.
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Lay aside all other books and literature, in order to spend extended time reading the Word of God, filling
your mind with His thoughts and His ways.
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Begin preparing to lead the time of corporate confession within the solemn assembly by immersing
yourself in books of the Bible such as Jeremiah, Lamentations, 2 Chronicles, and 1 Corinthians.
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Ask the Father to help you see your personal sins, and the corporate sins of your local congregation from
His holy perspective.
The Place of Worship
Having spent time in intensive spiritual preparation, the pastor should now focus on preparing the place of
worship. The goal of preparing the place of worship will center on a reformation of the perspective and
practice of the congregation to one that is Biblical. There must be a willingness to align the mindset and
methods of the local church with Scripture. The following suggestions can assist you in creating the proper
atmosphere for the solemn assembly.
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Seek to saturate your local church with prayer in all areas and facets of its ministry.
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Emphasize the singing of songs to the Lord as prayers, in contrast with songs about the Lord.
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Include strategic Scripture readings in worship that focus on corporate confession and repentance.
•
Develop a Bible study focused on the nature and necessity of the solemn assembly to be utilized in adult
small groups.
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Utilize Scriptural calls to prayer in worship services to guide your people into strategic prayer focuses.
•
Alter the schedule for the day of the solemn assembly to ensure that the gathering for corporate confession and repentance is given the utmost and ultimate priority on that day.
•
If your local church has more than one worship service, make preparations to have a single unified service
on the day of the solemn assembly.
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Begin the solemn assembly service at an earlier time to remove any time restraints or expectations from
this open-ended service.
The Congregation
It is very important that the congregation spend several weeks in serious preparation for the solemn assembly.
The congregation must be spiritually prepared for the depth and focus of this unique worship service. The
following suggestions have proven to be very helpful.
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Call the church into a forty-day season of focused prayer and fasting. Provide a daily prayer guide in
which they are guided through strategic Scripture passages.
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Distribute the list of corporate sins to your leadership, and the core of your membership. Guide them to
identify the most prominent corporate sins of your congregation.
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Compile the results of the prominent corporate sins that have been identified. Distribute this list to your
entire congregation. Ask them to prayerfully search their hearts and confess their involvement in these
sins to the Lord.
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In the weeks leading up to the solemn assembly, develop a sermon series that addresses the depth of the
identified corporate sins within the congregation.
•
One week prior to the solemn assembly, mail a card to every church member which contains a checklist
of the identified corporate sins.
•
Encourage each member to check the corporate sin(s) in which they have participated or tolerated within
the life of your local church. Instruct members to bring these unsigned cards with them to the solemn
assembly to be placed in a chest in preparation for the prayer of corporate confession and repentance.
•
Prayerfully compose a “Solemn Assembly Covenant” to be signed by participants at the conclusion of the
solemn assembly. Include a list of the identified corporate sins within the covenant.
•
Prepare a handout for each participant at the solemn assembly which includes a list of the identified
corporate sins accompanied by Scripture references and definitions of each sin.
What You Need to Know to Facilitate a Day of Repentance 53
APPENDIX B
SAMPLE SOLEMN ASSEMBLY CALENDAR
Six Months Before
❒ Prayerfully seek the Father’s will and timing in scheduling a local church solemn assembly.
❒ The pastor should observe a personal prayer retreat of at least one day.
Three Months Before
❒ The pastor should begin reading books of the Bible such as: Jeremiah, Lamentations, 2 Chronicles, and
1 Corinthians.
❒ Saturate your local church with prayer in all areas and facets of its ministry.
❒ Small group Bible study on the nature and necessity of the solemn assembly.
❒ Make preparations to have a single unified service on the day of the solemn assembly.
Two Months Before
❒ Guide your leadership and core membership in determining the most prominent corporate sins.
❒ Compile the results of the most prominent corporate sins that are identified by the congregation.
❒ Schedule a forty-day season of focused prayer and fasting leading up to the solemn assembly.
❒ Prepare a forty-day prayer guide in which they are guided through strategic Scripture passages, and which
lists the most prominent corporate sins identified by the congregation.
Forty Days Before
❒ Distribute the forty-day prayer guide.
❒ Begin the forty-day season of prayer.
❒ Begin a sermon series that addresses the depth of the identified corporate sins within the congregation.
One Month Before
❒ Alter the schedule for the day of solemn assembly to ensure it is given the ultimate priority on that day.
❒ Strategically schedule the solemn assembly service with the removal of time restraints.
Two Weeks Before
❒ Distribute a card containing a checklist of prominent corporate sins to your entire congregation.
❒ Instruct church members to bring these checked cards with them to the solemn assembly.
One Week Before
❒ Prayerfully compose a “Solemn Assembly Covenant” to be signed by participants at the solemn assembly.
❒ Prepare a handout for each participant at the solemn assembly which includes a list of the identified corporate sins accompanied by Scripture references and definitions of each sin.
APPENDIX C
GUIDELINES FOR CONDUCTING A
LOCAL CHURCH SOLEMN ASSEMBLY
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Because of the nature of the solemn assembly, it is imperative that it be divinely initiated and directed.
It is important to guide the congregation through an extensive prayer and/or fasting emphasis in preparing
for the solemn assembly (e.g. - 40 days of prayer and fasting).
Sermons should be preached on themes of biblical revival and the nature of corporate sin and corporate
repentance in preparation for the solemn assembly.
There should be a specific focus for the solemn assembly.
Corporate sins should be well-defined and Scripturally identified.
A catalog of specific corporate sins and their definitions should be prepared to sensitize the people toward
confession and repentance.
Saturate the church with an awareness of the list of corporate sins identified for repentance (e.g. sermons, Sunday School and worship handouts, mail-outs, newsletter, website, e-mail, etc.)
It is important to guide the people to personalize their participation in corporate sin. Corporate sins
should be confessed and repented of individually and specifically, rather than vaguely and generally.
If the solemn assembly is conducted in a Sunday worship service, the regular schedule should be altered
to avoid time restraints that might prevent the ability to wait upon the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
The solemn assembly service should be characterized by "planned spontaneity." There should be an order
of service to ensure that the corporate confession and proper prayer focuses are maintained. However,
there should be opportunity within the service to spontaneously respond as well.
The solemn assembly should be planned in such a way that all of the people can respond, thus, the
number of people involved in worship leadership should be minimal. This requires the proper use of
silence, recorded music, etc.
Youth and children should be involved in the solemn assembly that they might come to understand the
seriousness of sin and its consequences, as well as the nature of and the need for corporate repentance.
This is very important in a culture that has lost its orientation to God and His holiness.
Music during the solemn assembly should major on solemn, and should promote confession, repentance,
reverence and fear.
Music should be songs unto the Lord as opposed to songs about the Lord.
Utilize scriptural calls to prayer in conducting the solemn assembly
Hymns of repentance and confession can be read in unison. This places the emphasis on lyrics/prayers
rather than melody, etc.
At the onset of the solemn assembly, the altar should be consecrated and designated as a place of prayer.
A creative reading of 2 Chronicles 6-7 can be an effective way to assist the people in feeling the rhythm
of solemn assembly praying.
Corporate confession and repentance has to be rehearsed in a variety of settings in order to deepen and
broaden congregational participation. The objective is for the congregation to be participants in the act of
corporate confession and repentance, not merely spectators.
Remember: Ultimately, God sets the agenda for the solemn assembly, and His agenda is repentance. The
repentance He desires is genuine, radical and long-lasting.
Practical Guidelines for Conducting a Solemn Assembly 55
APPENDIX D
SAMPLE SOLEMN ASSEMBLY SERVICE
Pastor, the following suggestions can be adapted and utilized within the solemn assembly service. This is not
intended to be followed completely, but rather it provides examples and various components that can be
included in a solemn assembly service.
Welcome and Orientation
Pastor, during this welcome and orientation you are simply giving participants a preview of the solemn
assembly journey. Here are some examples of brief biblical messages that can give the people a sense of the
solemnity of the service:
“Sin in Your Midst” (Joshua 7:1-26)
• Individual sin contributes to corporate sin
• God holds us accountable corporately for the collective sinfulness of members
• We are only as obedient as our most disobedient member
“Oh Lord, Teach Us To Tremble!” (Isaiah 66:1-2; 2 Chronicles 34)
• An overwhelming sense of our accountability to a Holy God - 2 Chronicles 34:19-21
• Obedience is not optional!
• God expects His people to obey Him!
• A realization of God’s jealous intolerance of our idolatry - 2 Chronicles 34:24-25
• Exodus 20:1-6; 34:14
• James 4:4
• A desperate cry for mercy from a humble broken heart - 2 Chronicles 34:19, 27
• Isaiah 57:15
• Psalm 34:18; 51:1-4a, 17
• A whole-hearted passionate pursuit of God alone - 2 Chronicles 34:29-33
• Key Word = “all”
• Deuteronomy 6:4
• Jeremiah 29:13
“Desperate for a Downpour” (1 Kings 16:29-34; 17:1; 18:1, 41-46)
• It is dangerous to become disoriented to God - 1 Kings 16:29-17:1; 18:17-18
• Sin is serious - 1 Kings 18:23-24
• Romans 6:23a
• 2 Corinthians 5:21
• 1 Peter 2:24
• Isaiah 53:6
• God does not tolerate divided devotion - 1 Kings 18:21, 39
• James 4:4
• Deuteronomy 11:16-17
The Awesomeness of Our Savior
Pastor, as you proceed in the solemn assembly, it is imperative that the congregation experience an
intentional God-consciousness, as opposed to people-consciousness and time-consciousness. The magnitude
of the ungodliness and sin in our lives is blatantly obvious in the presence of a holy God. Prayerfully consider
utilizing some of the Scriptures and songs from the following lists to magnify the awesomeness of the Father.
• God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. has He said, and will He not
do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? (Numbers 23:19 NKJV).
• For the LORD is great and greatly to be praised; He is also to be feared above all gods (1 Chronicles 16:25
NKJV).
• As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him. For
who is God, except the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God? (Psalm 18:30-31 NKJV).
• Praise the LORD! Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Who can
utter the mighty acts of the LORD? Who can declare all His praise? (Psalm 106:1-2 NKJV).
• Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD, for He is aroused from His holy habitation! (Zechariah 2:13 NKJV).
• For I am the LORD, I do not change... (Malachi 3:6 NKJV).
• “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,”
says the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are
My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts
(Isaiah 55:8-9).
• Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, measured
heaven with a span and calculated the dust of the earth in a measure?
Weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance? Who has
directed the Spirit of the LORD, Or as His counselor has taught Him?
With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him, and taught
Him in the path of justice? Who taught Him knowledge, And showed
Him the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are as a drop in a
bucket, and are counted as the small dust on the scales; look, He lifts
up the isles as a very little thing... Have you not known? Have you not
heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the
earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable
(Isaiah 40:12-15, 28 NKJV).
SUGGESTED MUSIC
Agnus Dei
Awesome In This Place
God of Wonders
Holy Ground
Holy, Holy, Holy
How Great Is Our God
How Great Thou Art
I Exalt Thee
I Stand In Awe
The Majesty and Glory of Your Name
O Lord, You’re Beautiful
Revelation Song
Thou Art Worthy, Great Jehovah
To Him Who Sits on the Throne
We Bow Down
• Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!
“For who has known the mind of the LORD? Or who has become His
counselor?” “Or who has first given to Him and it shall be repaid to him?” For of Him and through Him
and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen. (Romans 11:33-36 NKJV).
• See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on
earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, whose voice
then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also
heaven.” Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of
things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving
a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with
reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:25-29 NKJV).
Sample Solemn Assembly Service 57
The Awfulness of Our Sin
Pastor, as you allow the Scripture to magnify the awfulness of sin, it is important to direct the people to a
vertical focus and interaction with the Father. Therefore, it is very important that the majority of the music be
songs that are addressed unto the Lord. Even those songs that are about the Lord can be reworded to be unto
the Lord.
• And I will surely hide My face in that day because of all the evil which they have done, in that they have
turned to other gods (Deuteronomy 31:18 NKJV).
• Hear, O My people, and I will admonish you! O Israel, if you will listen to Me! There shall be no foreign
god among you; nor shall you worship any foreign god. I am the LORD your God, Who brought you out of
the land of Egypt; open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. But My people would not heed My voice, and
Israel would have none of Me. So I gave them over to their own stubborn heart, to walk in their own
counsels. Oh, that My people would listen to Me, that Israel would walk in My ways! (Psalm 81:8-13
NKJV).
• To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?” says the LORD. I have had enough of burnt
offerings of rams and the fat of fed cattle. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs or goats. When
you come to appear before Me, who has required this from your hand, to trample My courts? Bring no
more futile sacrifices; incense is an abomination to Me. The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of
assemblies—I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting. Your New Moons and your appointed feasts
My soul hates; they are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands, I
will hide My eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of
blood. Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes.
Cease to do evil (Isaiah 1:11-16 NKJV).
• Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear
heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your
God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear
(Isaiah 59:1-2 NKJV).
• But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like
filthy rags; we all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have
taken us away. And there is no one who calls on Your name, who stirs
himself up to take hold of You; for You have hidden Your face from us, and
have consumed us because of our iniquities. (Isaiah 64:6-7 NKJV).
• O LORD, are not Your eyes on the truth? You have stricken them, but they
have not grieved; You have consumed them, but they have refused to
receive correction. They have made their faces harder than rock; they have
refused to return. Therefore I said, “Surely these are poor. They are foolish;
for they do not know the way of the LORD, the judgment of their God. I will
go to the great men and speak to them, for they have known the way of the
LORD, the judgment of their God.” But these have altogether broken the
yoke and burst the bonds (Jeremiah 5:3-5 NKJV).
• But this is what I commanded them, saying, “Obey My voice, and I will be
your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have
commanded you, that it may be well with you.’ Yet they did not obey or
incline their ear, but followed the counsels and the dictates of their evil
hearts, and went backward and not forward (Jeremiah 7:23-24 NKJV).
SUGGESTED MUSIC
As the Deer
Bend Me Lower
Breathe on Me
Change My Heart, O God
Give Us Clean Hands
Hear Us From Heaven
I Give All to You
I Surrender All
If My People Will Pray
In Christ Alone
Just As I Am
My Eyes Are Dry
Nearer, My God, to Thee
Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior
Search Me Know Me
Search Me, O God
Speak to My Heart
Word of God, Speak
• For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth,
there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery
indignation which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on
the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be
thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he
was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, “Vengeance
is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The LORD will judge His people.” It is a fearful thing to
fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:26-31 NKJV).
Return to Me...
Pastor, enlist volunteers prior to the solemn assembly to prayerfully read some of the following passages
aloud. This will provide a good Scriptural transition into the culmination of the solemn assembly focus on
corporate confession and repentance.
• 1 Samuel 7:3
• Psalm 34:18
• 2 Corinthians 7:9-10
• Jeremiah 3:11-15
• Psalm 51:17
• Hebrews 10:26-31
• Jeremiah 4:1
• Proverbs 4:23-27
• James 4:1-4
• Joel 2:12-14
• Isaiah 66:1-2
• 1 Peter 5:17
• Zechariah 1:3
• Romans 6:12-23
• 1 John 2:15-17
• Malachi 3:7
• Romans 13:8-14
• Revelation 2:4-5
Corporate Confession & Repentance
Let us search out and examine our ways, and turn back to the LORD!
(Lamentations 3:40 NKJV).
Pastor, in this part of the service, you will guide the congregation to participate in corporate confession and
repentance regarding the corporate sins which have been identified in the preparation process.
Option One: Call out each corporate sin individually followed by silence for prayer.
Option Two: As each sin is called out, challenge participants to stand if they have personally practiced or
tolerated that particular corporate sin. Pray aloud a prayer of confession and repentance for each corporate sin.
Option Three: In preparation for the solemn assembly, enlist a team of people who will lead the prayers of
corporate confession and repentance. This will require meeting with them to pray, make assignments and
instruct them in principles of corporate confession and repentance.
Option Four: Distribute the list of corporate sins. Call participants into a season of prayer. Encourage them
to take turns calling out corporate sins within your local church, followed by silence for prayers of confession
and repentance after each sin is called.
Option Five: Prior to the solemn assembly, write each of the corporate sins from the “Biblical Catalog of
Corporate Sins” on separate 3” x 5” index cards. Place these index cards on the steps leading up to the
platform. Call participants into a season of prayer. Guide them to come to the platform steps, and begin
praying over the corporate sins. Instruct them to hand the cards of corporate sins in your local church to you.
Call out each corporate sin allowing time for prayers of repentance after each sin is called.
Sample Solemn Assembly Service 59
APPENDIX E
SAMPLE CORPORATE
CONFESSION CARD
Front
CORPORATE CONFESSION
First Baptist Church - Crockett, TX
November 19, 2006
The following corporate sins have been identified as being prevalent in our church family.
Please place a check mark beside those in which you have personally participated, either
directly or indirectly.
❑ Apathy (Isaiah 43:22)
❑ Lukewarmness (Revelation 3:15-16)
❑ Complaining (Philippians 2:14-15)
❑ Murmuring (Exodus 16:2, 8)
❑ Forgetting God (Jeremiah 3:21)
❑ Prayerlessness (Isaiah 64:7)
❑ Grumbling (1 Peter 4:8-9)
❑ Pride (Nehemiah 9:16)
❑ Half-heartedness (Jeremiah 3:10)
❑ Withholding of Tithes (Malachi 3:8-10)
❑ Hearing Without Doing (Ezekiel 33:31)
❑ Worldliness (James 4:4)
Back
The Nature of Corporate Repentance
Corporate sin is an action or lifestyle of disobedience to God which is committed,
ignored and/or tolerated by a local church. The collective nature of this sin must be
acknowledged, confessed and repented of, in a corporate setting. The depth of
corporate repentance is measured by the collective solemn sincerity of individual
brokenness over sin.
Therefore, as we come before the Lord in corporate repentance, you will contribute
to either the shallowness or depth of our repentance. In 2 Corinthians 7:10, the
church is instructed to distinguish between godly and worldly sorrow: “For godly
sorrow produces repentance to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the
world produces death.” May we prayerfully accept the conviction and discipline of
the Holy Spirit as He moves among us during this season of solemnness.
APPENDIX F
SAMPLE LIST OF LOCAL CHURCH
CORPORATE SINS AND DEFINITIONS
During the corporate confession of the solemn assembly, it is important that each corporate sin be specifically
stated, Scripturally identified, and succinctly defined. This will assist the people in collectively participating
in genuine meaningful repentance. The following list provides an example of how this list can be prepared
for distribution at the solemn assembly.
Apathy
• A lack of concern and passion for the things of God.
• Woe to you who are complacent in Zion... (Amos 6:1 NKJV).
Complaining
• Critical fault-finding motivated by the arrogance of the flesh.
• Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and innocent children
of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights
in the world (Philippians 2:14-15 NKJV).
Grumbling
• Allowing a critical spirit to fill the mouth with the venom of poisonous negativism.
• And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.” Be
hospitable to one another without grumbling (1 Peter 4:8-9 NKJV).
Hearing without Doing
• Failing to obediently apply the Word of God to our lives.
• Be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves (James 1:22 NKJV).
Lukewarmness
• A lack of zeal and passionate love and devotion for God and the things of His kingdom.
• I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish that you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of My mouth (Rev. 3:15-16 NKJV).
Prayerlessness
• Allowing prayer to become ritualistic, very limited, or non-existent due to the church’s reliance on the
ingenuity of people and programs rather than the power of God.
• What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from desires that battle within you? You
want something, but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You do not
have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive because you ask with the wrong
motives, that you may spend what you get on your own pleasures (James 4:2-4 NKJV).
Worldliness
• Loving and resembling the world more than we love and resemble Christ.
• Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the
Father is not in them. For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride
of life--is not of the Father, but of the world (1 John 2:15-16 NKJV).
Local Church Corporate Sins and Definitions 61
APPENDIX G
COMMEMORATIVE ACTS
OF COVENANT LOYALTY
Solemn assemblies in the Bible were commonly sealed with a commemorative action. This action left the
people with a vivid reminder of their repentant return and covenantal commitments. Within the local church,
it is also helpful to provide the people with a lasting visible reminder of congregational accountability to
expressions of corporate confession, repentance and commitment. The Solemn Assembly Covenant is one
way in which this can be accomplished. Prayerfully consider the variety of reminders found in the Biblical
solemn assemblies.
•
Moses: Covenantal oath between the Lord and the people (Deuteronomy 29:10-15)
•
Samuel: The stone of Ebenezer (1 Samuel 7:12)
•
Solomon: Dedication of the Temple and installation of the Ark of the Covenant (1 Kings 8:1-53;
2 Chronicles 5:1-6:42)
•
Elijah: The massacre of false prophets (1 Kings 18:40)
•
Jehoiada: Covenant made between the Lord, the king and the people (2 Kings 11:17; 2 Chronicles 23:16)
•
Josiah: Covenant of obedience and loyalty to the Lord (2 Kings 23:3; 2 Chronicles 34:31-33)
•
David: Placement of the Ark of the Covenant in the newly erected Tabernacle (1 Chronicles 16:1)
•
David: Presentation of the plans for the Temple to Solomon (1 Chronicles 28:11-19)
•
Asa: Silver and gold utensils for the house of the Lord (2 Chronicles 15:18)
•
Jehoshophat: Naming of the Valley of Berachah [Blessing] (2 Chronicles 20:26)
•
Hezekiah: A Passover proclamation to the people (2 Chronicles 30:5-13)
•
Ezra: Dedication of the Temple (Ezra 6:16-18)
•
Ezra: A written covenant sealed by leaders, Levites and priests (Nehemiah 9:38)
APPENDIX H
SAMPLE SOLEMN ASSEMBLY
COVENANTS
SOLEMN ASSEMBLY COVENANT
December 10, 2006
Whereas, on November 19, 2006, we as a congregation met in solemn assembly, and experienced a
monumental breakthrough marked by genuine individual and corporate repentance and the
spontaneous celebration of the Father’s activity among us; be it resolved that First Baptist Church of
Crockett, TX, has entered into a new season of faith and expectancy as we pledge to persistently seek
the face of God together.
Whereas, in solemn assembly, we have openly confessed the prevalence of twelve corporate sins
within our congregation, and have expressed deep and genuine corporate repentance; be it resolved
that we as a congregation will tenaciously guard our lives against the sins of apathy, complaining,
forgetting God, grumbling, halfheartedness, hearing without doing, lukewarmness, murmuring,
prayerlessness, pride, withholding of tithes, and worldliness.
Whereas, these corporate sins have grieved the heart of our Holy Father, and have tainted His
reputation; be it further resolved that we will practice compassionate accountability by graciously
confronting those who are found turning back regarding these sins, and lovingly seek to promote
individual and corporate purity.
Whereas, we have seen the Father remove a debt of $400,000 in three years, in response to our faith
and desperate cries for help; be it resolved that we as a congregation will patiently wait upon God,
seeking to follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit rather than being shaped by the traditional
expectations of others or the society in which we attempt to minister.
Whereas, through this process we have experienced the reality of Isaiah 55:8-9, “For My thoughts
are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher
than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts;” be it
resolved that we will pursue the ways of God over the methods of men with complete trust that He
“is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we could ask or think according to His power at
work in us” (Ephesians 3:20).
Whereas, this experience over the past three years has reinforced our understanding of the power of
corporate prayer; be it resolved that together we will seek to live out the identity Jesus gave the
church as “a house of prayer” (Luke 19:46), by spending extended time praying before spending
extensive time planning, in order that we may continue to experience the outpouring of divine power
upon us and through us.
Whereas, the Father has guided our church through the stages of conflict, avoidance, tolerance,
acceptance, and now to the place of unity; be it resolved that we as a congregation will avoid strife
and division by seeking to maintain “the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3), as
we continue to grow in ever-deepening biblical fellowship as brothers and sisters in Christ.
Sample Solemn Assembly Covenant 63
RENEWAL OF REPENTANCE
SOLEMN ASSEMBLY COVENANT
November 21, 2010
Whereas, the Word of God has revealed that we have disobediently backslidden into
sinfulness after having entered into a time of corporate repentance in the past; be it
resolved that today we come together in humility and brokenness to renew our
repentance before our holy God.
Whereas, we as a church continue to be plagued by ten corporate sins which have been
the focus of corporate confession and repentance in 2003 and 2006; be it resolved that
we as a congregation will tenaciously guard our lives against the sins of: apathy,
complaining, grumbling, hearing without doing, lukewarmness, murmuring,
prayerlessness, pride, withholding of tithes, and worldliness.
Whereas, we as a congregation have also identified six more corporate sins which are
prominent within our church; be it resolved that we also tenaciously guard our lives
against: attacking leadership, forsaking the assembly, hardened hearts, limiting God, no
fear of God and stiffened necks.
Whereas, these corporate sins have grieved the heart of our Holy Father, and have
tainted His reputation; be it further resolved that we will practice compassionate
accountability by graciously confronting those who are found turning back regarding
these sins, and lovingly seek to promote individual and corporate purity.
Whereas, we have carelessly damaged our witness within our community through
ungodly behavior and conversation; be it resolved that we will seek to hold each other
accountable by compassionately confronting and correcting one another in “a spirit of
gentleness” (Galatians 6:1-3).
Whereas, the Father has guided our church to this climactic commitment to biblical
congregational unity; be it resolved that we as a congregation will avoid factions, strife
and division by seeking to maintain “the unity of the Spirit in the bond of
peace” (Ephesians 4:3), as we continue to grow in ever-deepening biblical fellowship
as brothers and sisters in Christ.
APPENDIX I
CATALOG OF CORPORATE SIN
WORKSHEET
Place a check mark beside the twelve corporate sins that you think are most prominent in our local church.
❒ Abandoning God - Judges 2:12-13
❒ Anger - Ephesians 4:31
❒ Apathy - Isaiah 43:22
❒ Attacking Leadership - Jeremiah 18:18
❒ Backsliding - Jeremiah 3:14
❒ Bitterness - Ephesians 4:31
❒ Blinded by Tradition - Mark 7:6-8
❒ Broken Covenant - Jeremiah 11:10
❒ Carnal Decision-Making - Joshua 9:14
❒ Carnality - 1 Corinthians 3:3
❒ Complaining - Philippians 2:14-15
❒ Compromise - Revelation 2:14-15
❒ Correction Refused - Jeremiah 5:3
❒ Corruption - Nehemiah 1:7
❒ Covenant-Breaking - Psalm 78:37
❒ Covetousness - Jeremiah 6:13
❒ Defiance - Nehemiah 9:16
❒ Dependence on Men - Isaiah 30:1-3
❒ Destroying Leaders - Nehemiah 9:26
❒ Discord - 1 Corinthians 3:3
❒ Disloyalty to God - Psalm 78:8
❒ Disobedience - Isaiah 1:7
❒ Disputing - Philippians 2:14
❒ Disrepaired Place of Worship - Haggai 1:4
❒ Distrusting God - Psalm 78:22
❒ Division - 1 Corinthians 12:25
❒ Doubting God - Psalm 78:19-20
❒ Dull Hearing - Hebrews 5:11
❒ Empty Offerings - Isaiah 1:3
❒ Evil Hearts and Minds - Jeremiah 7:24
❒ Evil Speaking - Ephesians 4:31
❒ Evil Thoughts - Jeremiah 4:14
❒ Excessive Spending on Self - Haggai 1:4
❒ Factions - 1 Corinthians 12:25
❒ Faith Without Works - James 2:26
❒ False Dealings - Jeremiah 8:10
❒ Forgetting God - Jeremiah 3:21
❒ Forsaking Commandments - Ezra 9:10
❒ Forsaking God - Isaiah 1:4
❒ Forsaking the Assembly - Hebrews 10:24-25
❒ Grieving the Holy Spirit - Ephesians 4:30
❒ Grumbling - 1 Peter 4:8-9
❒ Half-heartedness - Jeremiah 3:10
❒ Hardened Hearts - Jeremiah 4:4
❒ Hearing Without Doing - Ezekiel 33:31
❒ Horizontal Focus - Isaiah 30:1-3
❒ Hypocrisy - Isaiah 29:15
❒ Hypocritical Worship - Isaiah 1:14
❒ Idolatry - Jeremiah 2:5
❒ Ignorance of God's Law - Jeremiah 8:7
❒ Ignoring God's Discipline - Daniel 9:13-14
❒ Ignoring God's Voice - Jeremiah 9:13
❒ Ignoring Leadership - Jeremiah 18:18
❒ Image Consciousness - Revelation 3:1
❒ Immorality - 1 Thessalonians 4:3
❒ Indifference - Revelation 3:15-16
❒ Inferior Offerings - Malachi 1:7-14
❒ Ingratitude - 1 Thessalonians 5:19
❒ Iniquity - Isaiah 1:4
❒ Lewdness - Ezekiel 16:58
❒ Limiting God - Psalm 78:41
❒ Loss of First Love - Revelation 2:4
❒ Lost Respect for Marriage - Malachi 2:13-16
❒ Lukewarmness - Revelation 3:15-16
❒ Lying - Jeremiah 9:4
❒ Meaningless Ritual - Isaiah 1:11
❒ Misplaced Trust - Isaiah 30:1-3
❒ Murmuring - Exodus 16:2, 8
❒ Neglect of the Poor - Amos 2:6
❒ No Fear of God - Jeremiah 2:19
❒ Non-submissive to Leaders - Hebrews 13:17
❒ Partial Obedience - 1 Samuel 15
❒ Powerless Rituals - 2 Timothy 3:5
❒ Prayerlessness - Isaiah 64:7
❒ Prejudice - 1 Thessalonians 2:14-16
❒ Pride - Nehemiah 9:16
❒ Profaning the Sabbath - Ezekiel 20:16, 21
❒ Quarreling - Ephesians 4:31
❒ Rebellion - Isaiah 1:2
❒ Refusal to Repent - Jeremiah 5:8
❒ Refusal to Return to God - Jeremiah 5:3
❒ Rejecting Leadership - Jeremiah 18:18
❒ Self-Centered Fasting - Zechariah 7:5-7
❒ Self-Sufficiency - Joshua 9:14
❒ Selfish Ambition - Philippians 2:3-4
❒ Speaking Against God - Psalm 78:19
❒ Spiritual Adultery - Jeremiah 5:7
❒ Spiritual Deadness - Revelation 3:1
❒ Stiffened Necks - Nehemiah 9:16
❒ Strife - Hosea 7:4
❒ Stubbornness - Jeremiah 9:14
❒ Superficial Healing - Jeremiah 6:14
❒ Testing God - Psalm 78:18, 41, 56
❒ Tolerating False Teachers - Revelation 2:14-15
❒ Treachery - Jeremiah 9:2
❒ Turning Aside - Psalm 78:57
❒ Turning Back - Zechariah 1:6
❒ Unfaithfulness - Psalm 78:8
❒ Ungodly Alliances - Isaiah 31:1
❒ Unmindful of God's Works - Nehemiah 9:17
❒ Unresponsive to Leadership - Jeremiah 42:21
❒ Wickedness - Jeremiah 2:19
❒ Withholding Tithes - Malachi 3:8-10
❒ Worldliness - James 4:4
Catalog of Corporate Sin 65
APPENDIX J
LOCAL CHURCH CORPORATE SIN TALLY
Use the following worksheet to tally the responses of your leadership and membership.
___________ Abandoning God
___________ Anger
___________ Apathy
___________ Attacking Leadership
___________ Backsliding
___________ Bitterness
___________ Blinded by Tradition
___________ Broken Covenant
___________ Carnal Decision-Making
___________ Carnality
___________ Complaining
___________ Compromise
___________ Correction Refused
___________ Corruption
___________ Covenant-Breaking
___________ Covetousness
___________ Defiance
___________ Dependence on Men
___________ Destroying Leaders
___________ Discord
___________ Disloyalty to God
___________ Disobedience
___________ Disputing
___________ Disrepaired Place of
Worship
___________ Distrusting God
___________ Division
___________ Doubting God
___________ Dull Hearing
___________ Empty Offerings
___________ Evil Hearts/Minds
___________ Evil Speaking
___________ Evil Thoughts
___________ Excessive Spending on
Self
___________ Factions
___________ Faith Without Works
___________ False Dealings
___________ Forgetting God
___________ Forsaking Commandments
___________ Forsaking God
___________ Forsaking the Assembly
___________ Grieving the Holy Spirit
___________ Grumbling
___________ Half-heartedness
___________ Hardened Hearts
___________ Hearing Without Doing
___________ Horizontal Focus
___________ Hypocrisy
___________ Hypocritical Worship
___________ Idolatry
___________ Ignorance of God’s Law
___________ Ignoring God’s Discipline
___________ Ignoring God’s Voice
___________ Ignoring Leadership
___________ Image Consciousness
___________ Immorality
___________ Indifference
___________ Inferior Offerings
___________ Ingratitude
___________ Iniquity
___________ Lewdness
___________ Limiting God
___________ Loss of First Love
___________ Lost Respect for
Marriage
___________ Lukewarmness
___________ Lying
___________ Meaningless Ritual
___________ Misplaced Trust
___________ Murmuring
___________ Neglect of the Poor
___________ No Fear of God
___________ Non-submissive to
Leaders
___________ Partial Obedience
___________ Powerless Rituals
___________ Prayerlessness
___________ Prejudice
___________ Pride
___________ Profaning the Sabbath
___________ Quarreling
___________ Rebellion
___________ Refusal to Repent
___________ Refusal to Return to
God
___________ Rejecting Leadership
___________ Self-Centered Fasting
___________ Self-Sufficiency
___________ Selfish Ambition
___________ Speaking Against God
___________ Spiritual Adultery
___________ Spiritual Deadness
___________ Stiffened Necks
___________ Strife
___________ Stubbornness
___________ Superficial Healing
___________ Testing God
___________ Tolerating False
Teachers
___________ Treachery
___________ Turning Aside
___________ Turning Back
___________ Unfaithfulness
___________ Ungodly Alliances
___________ Unmindful of God’s
Works
___________ Unresponsive to
Leadership
___________ Wickedness
___________ Withholding Tithes
___________ Worldliness
APPENDIX K
SOLEMN ASSEMBLY FOLLOW-THROUGH:
AN ATMOSPHERE OF ACCOUNTABILITY
Conducting a solemn assembly is not the conclusion, but rather a commencement. The local church solemn assembly
demands an atmosphere of consistent scriptural accountability. Without accountability, the solemn assembly
can quickly become just another church event that has come and gone. This absence of accountability quickly
creates a vacuum in which carnality, worldliness and hypocrisy contaminate the church with deadly infection.
However, genuine lasting individual and corporate repentance must become a lifestyle among the members of
your congregation. In the diagram below you will see the contrast between the chasm of compromise and the
climate of continual consecration.
Here we are, servants today! And the land that You gave to our fathers, to eat its fruit and its bounty, here we are, servants in
it! And it yields much increase to the kings You have set over us, because of our sins; also they have dominion over our
bodies and our cattle at their pleasure; and we are in great distress. And because of all this, we make a sure covenant and
write it; our leaders, our Levites, and our priests seal it... these joined with their brethren, their nobles, and entered into a
curse and an oath to walk in God’s Law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the
commandments of the LORD our Lord, and His ordinances and His statutes (Nehemiah 9:36-38; 10:29 NKJV).
CHASM OF CARNAL COMPROMISE
So I contended with the rulers, and said, “Why is the house of God forsaken?” And I gathered them together and set them in
their place... Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said to them, “What evil thing is this that you do, by which you
profane the Sabbath day? Did not your fathers do thus, and did not our God bring all this disaster on us and on this city? Yet
you bring added wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath.”... So I contended with them and cursed them, struck some of
them and pulled out their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters as wives to their
sons, nor take their daughters for your sons or yourselves. Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? Yet among
many nations there was no king like him, who was beloved of his God; and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless
pagan women caused even him to sin. Should we then hear of your doing all this great evil, transgressing against our God by
marrying pagan women?” (Nehemiah 13:11, 17-18 NKJV).
CLIMATE OF CONTINUAL CONSECRATION
Pastoral Accountability
(2 Timothy 4:1-5; Titus 1:7-9; 2:1-15)
Congregational Accountability
(Galatians 6:1; 2 Thess. 3:1-6; Titus 3:8-11; James 5:19-20)
Personal Accountability
(1 Cor. 9:24-10:13; 11:23-32; Heb. 10:19-31; 1 Peter 1:13-19)
Solemn Assembly Follow-Through 67
Follow-Through Suggestions
This list contains possible ways by which to perpetuate the repentance within the solemn assembly, and
nurture an atmosphere of accountability within your local church:
•
Display the Solemn Assembly Covenant in visible places within your church building.
•
Distribute copies of the Solemn Assembly Covenant for people to place in their Bibles.
•
Incorporate a 40-day prayer guide, with twenty days prior to the solemn assembly service, and twenty
days proceeding from the solemn assembly.
•
Allow the observance of the Lord’s Supper to become a time of personal and congregational heartsearching and repentance (1 Corinthians 11:23-32; 1 John 1:5-10). Emphasize:
•
•
•
•
•
Salvation and Sanctification
Redemption and Reformation
Forgiveness and Faithfulness
Cleansing and Consecration
Remission and Reconciliation
•
Provide a list of personal and corporate accountability questions on a tent-card for the dining tables of
your members to be reviewed daily.
•
Ask accountability questions in leadership meetings and gatherings for corporate worship.
•
Exercise biblical church discipline when disobedience and ungodliness continues among your leadership
and/or membership.
•
Conduct an annual solemn assembly in which commitments to a lifestyle of repentance are reviewed and
renewed.
•
Conduct an annual day of humiliation, fasting and prayer focusing on corporate repentance.
•
Preach a sermon series on repentance within the church and the lives of individual believers.
•
Periodically leading public prayers of repentance concerning corporate sins that were confessed within
the solemn assembly.
•
Develop an adult Sunday School lesson that deals with corporate repentance that specifically focuses on
corporate sins which were identified by the congregation for the solemn assembly.
•
Distribute quarterly prayer guides that reinforce congregational repentance.
•
Participate in a quarterly Concert of Prayer which focuses on personal and corporate repentance.
•
Encourage accountability groups and partners who will periodically ask each other questions concerning
the list of corporate sins, such as:
Do you see any of these sins in my life?
Is there one of these sins which you are concealing from me?
APPENDIX L
A HOUSE OF PRAYER?
Jesus said that the gathering of His people was to be a “house of prayer for all nations,” but that
identity had become blurred (Mark 11:15-17). Several substitutes for prayer exist in our churches
today. Prayerfully rate your local church as a house of prayer. A rating of ten indicates a strong
house of prayer, and a rating of one indicates a virtually prayerless congregation.
Is your church a house of prayer or a house of programs?
⑩⑨ ⑧ ⑦ ⑥ ⑤ ④ ③ ② ①
Is your church a house of prayer or a house of performance?
⑩⑨ ⑧ ⑦ ⑥ ⑤ ④ ③ ② ①
Is your church a house of prayer or a house of personal preferences?
⑩⑨ ⑧ ⑦ ⑥ ⑤ ④ ③ ② ①
Is your church a house of prayer or a house of preaching?
⑩⑨ ⑧ ⑦ ⑥ ⑤ ④ ③ ② ①
Is your church a house of prayer or a house of politics?
⑩⑨ ⑧ ⑦ ⑥ ⑤ ④ ③ ② ①
Is your church a house of prayer or a house of pageantry?
⑩⑨ ⑧ ⑦ ⑥ ⑤ ④ ③ ② ①
Is your church a house of prayer or a house of power struggles?
⑩⑨ ⑧ ⑦ ⑥ ⑤ ④ ③ ② ①
Is your church a house of prayer or a house of prejudice?
⑩⑨ ⑧ ⑦ ⑥ ⑤ ④ ③ ② ①
Is your church a house of prayer or a house of pride?
⑩⑨ ⑧ ⑦ ⑥ ⑤ ④ ③ ② ①
Is your church a house of prayer or a house of pettiness?
⑩⑨ ⑧ ⑦ ⑥ ⑤ ④ ③ ② ①
Is your church a house of prayer or a shrine to the past?
⑩⑨ ⑧ ⑦ ⑥ ⑤ ④ ③ ② ①
A House of Prayer? 69
APPENDIX M
DIVINE APPROVAL RATINGS
Studying the divine approval ratings of the kings can sensitize you to the seriousness of sin in the personal
life of a leader. Prayerfully study these kings as you prepare to lead the solemn assembly service. Pay close
attention to the shaded number(s) that corresponds the sins which were committed by each king.
Kingship Divine Approval Scale
= Not so bad
= Above average
= Good
= Very good
= Godly reformer
= Repulsive to God
= Very Bad
= Bad
= Below Average
= Not so good
JEROBOAM (I)
•
•
•
1 Kings 12:25-33; 13:33-34
Length of Reign: 22 years
Sins of Jeroboam: ❶ ❷ ❸ ❹ ❺ ⑥
NADAB (I)
•
•
•
1 Kings 15:25-26
Sins of Nadab: ❶ ❷ ❸ ❹ ❺ ⑥
BAASHA (I)
•
•
•
1 Kings 15:32-34
Sins of Baasha: ❶ ❷ ❸ ❹ ❺ ⑥
ELAH (I)
•
•
•
1 Kings 16:8-14
Sins of Elah: ❶ ❷ ❸ ❹ ❺ ⑥
ZIMRI (I)
•
•
•
1 Kings 16:15-20
Length of Reign: 7 days
Sins of Zimri: ❶ ❷ ❸ ❹ ❺ ⑥
Sins Committed by the Kings
of Israel (I) and Judah (J)
① Idolatry
② Tolerance of Pagan Worship
③ Immorality
④ Divided Heart
⑤ Defiance of God
⑥ Ungodly Alliances
OMRI (I)
•
•
•
1 Kings 16:23-28
Sins of Omri: ❶ ❷ ❸ ❹ ⑤ ⑥
AHAB (I)
•
•
•
1 Kings 16:29-34
Sins of Ahab: ❶ ❷ ❸ ❹ ❺ ❻
AHAZIAH (I)
•
•
•
1 Kings 22:51-53
Sins of Ahaziah: ❶ ❷ ❸ ❹ ❺ ⑥
JORAM/JEHORAM (I)
•
•
•
2 Kings 3:1-3
Sins of Joram: ❶ ❷ ❸ ❹ ⑤ ⑥
JEHU (I)
•
•
•
2 Kings 10:29-31
Sins of Jehu: ❶ ❷ ❸ ❹ ❺ ❻
JEHOAHAZ (I)
•
•
•
2 Kings 13:1-7
Sins of Jehoahaz: ❶ ❷ ❸ ❹ ❺ ⑥
JOASH/JEHOASH (I)
•
•
•
2 Kings 13:10-13
Sins of Joash: ❶ ❷ ❸ ❹ ⑤ ⑥
JEROBOAM 11 (I)
•
•
•
2 Kings 14:23-24
Sins of Jeroboam II: ❶ ❷ ❸ ❹ ⑤ ⑥
ZECHARIAH (I)
•
•
•
2 Kings 15:8-9
Length of Reign: 6 months
Sins of Zechariah: ❶ ❷ ❸ ❹ ⑤ ⑥
SHALLUM (I)
•
•
•
2 Kings 15:13-15
Sins of Shallum: ① ② ❸ ④ ⑤ ⑥
MENAHEM (I)
•
•
•
2 Kings 15:16-22
Sins of Menahem: ❶ ❷ ❸ ❹ ⑤ ❻
PEKAHIAH (I)
•
•
•
2 Kings 15:23-24
Sins of Pekahiah: ❶ ❷ ❸ ❹ ⑤ ⑥
PEKAH (I)
•
•
•
2 Kings 15:27-28
Sins of Pekah: ① ② ❸ ❹ ⑤ ⑥
HOSHEA (I)
•
•
•
2 Kings 17:1ff
Sins of Hoshea: ❶ ❷ ❸ ❹ ⑤ ⑥
REHOBOAM (J)
•
•
•
Sins of Rehoboam: ① ❷ ③ ❹ ⑤ ⑥
ABIJAH/ABIJAM (J)
•
•
•
Sins of Abijah: ① ② ❸ ❹ ⑤ ⑥
ASA (J)
•
•
•
Sins of Asa: ① ② ③ ④ ❺ ⑥
JEHOSHOPHAT (J)
•
•
•
2 Chronicles 17:1-6; 19:1-3
Sins of Jehoshophat: ① ② ③ ④ ⑤ ❻
JEHORAM (J)
•
•
•
2 Chronicles 21:5-10, 20
Sins of Jehoram: ❶ ❷ ❸ ❹ ❺ ❻
AHAZIAH (J)
•
•
•
2 Chronicles 22:1-4
Length of Reign: 1 year
Sins of Ahaziah: ❶ ❷ ❸ ❹ ⑤ ❻
QUEEN ATHALIAH (J)
•
•
•
2 Chronicles 22:10ff
Sins of Athaliah: ① ② ❸ ❹ ❺ ⑥
Divine Approval Ratings 71
JOASH (J)
•
•
•
2 Chronicles 24:1-2
Sins of Joash: ① ❷ ❸ ④ ⑤ ⑥
AMAZIAH (J)
•
•
•
2 Chronicles 25:1-2
Sins of Amaziah: ❶ ❷ ③ ❹ ⑤ ⑥
UZZIAH (J)
•
•
•
2 Chronicles 26:1-5, 16-21
Sins of Uzziah: ① ② ③ ④ ❺ ⑥
JOTHAM (J)
•
•
•
2 Chronicles 27:1-2
Sins of Jotham: ① ❷ ③ ❹ ⑤ ⑥
AHAZ (J)
•
•
•
2 Chronicles 28:1-4
Sins of Ahaz: ❶ ❷ ❸ ❹ ⑤ ❻
HEZEKIAH (J)
•
•
•
2 Chronicles 29:1-2
Sins of Hezekiah: ① ② ③ ④ ⑤ ❻
MANASSEH (J)
• 2 Chronicles 33:1-9
• Length of Reign: 55 years
• Sins of Manasseh: ❶ ❷ ❸ ❹ ❺ ⑥
AMON (J)
•
•
•
Sins of Amon: ❶ ❷ ❸ ❹ ❺ ⑥
JOSIAH (J)
•
•
•
2 Chronicles 34:1-2
Sins of Josiah: ① ② ③ ④ ⑤ ⑥
JEHOAHAZ (J)
•
•
•
2 Kings 23:31-32
Sins of Jehoahaz: ❶ ❷ ❸ ❹ ⑤ ⑥
JEHOIAKIM (J)
•
•
•
2 Chronicles 36:4-8
Sins of Jehoiakim: ❶ ❷ ❸ ❹ ⑤ ❻
JEHOIACHIN (J)
•
•
•
Sins of Jehoiachin: ① ② ❸ ④ ⑤ ⑥
ZEDEKIAH (J)
•
•
•
Jeremiah 52:1-2
Sins of Zedekiah: ❶ ❷ ❸ ❹ ⑤ ❻
APPENDIX N
40 DAYS OF SCRIPTURE READINGS TO
PREPARE FOR A SOLEMN ASSEMBLY
❍
2 Chronicles 6
❍
Ezekiel 2
❍
Exodus 32
❍
2 Chronicles 33
❍
2 Chronicles 7
❍
Ezekiel 3
❍
Nehemiah 1
❍
2 Chronicles 34
❍
Jeremiah 1
❍
Ezekiel 22
❍
Daniel 9
❍
1 Kings 18
❍
Jeremiah 2
❍
Isaiah 1
❍
Psalm 80
❍
1 Samuel 7
❍
Jeremiah 23
❍
Isaiah 57
❍
Psalm 85
❍
Numbers 13
❍
Lamentations 1
❍
Isaiah 64
❍
Jeremiah 6
❍
Numbers 14
❍
Lamentations 2
❍
Joel 2
❍
Jeremiah 7
❍
Deuteronomy 28
❍
Lamentations 3
❍
Revelation 2
❍
2 Chronicles 20
❍
Judges 2
❍
Lamentations 4
❍
Revelation 3
❍
2 Chronicles 26
❍
Malachi 3
❍
Lamentations 5
❍
1 John 1
❍
2 Chronicles 29
❍
Matthew 23
Scripture Readings
73
APPENDIX O
SONGS OF REPENTANCE & REVIVAL
Music can be utilized to heighten the focus, and deepen the fervency within a solemn assembly. It can also be
a means of expressing corporate repentance to God in a unified manner.
BH - Baptist Hymnal. Nashville: Convention Press, 1991
WH - Worship Hymnal. Nashville: LifeWay Worship, 2008
CH - Celebration Hymnal. Word/Integrity, 1997
A Fresh Encounter, RTM-29
A Jealous God, RTM-27
A Living Sacrifice, RTM-24
A Prayer for Our Nation, RTM-7
Ancient Words, WH-394
Anyway, Anytime, Anywhere, RTM-34
Back to the Cross, RTM-21
Bend Me Lower, RTM-9
Blow Like the Wind Upon Us, RTM-51
Breathe On Me, RTM-28
Burn in Me Fire of God, BH-496, RTM-21
Change My Heart, O God, CH-654, WH-529
Cleanse Me, CH-657, TH-438, WHM-473
Cleanse Me, TH-439
Cry of My Heart, WH-526
Draw Me Close, WH-482
Faithful Men, TH-288
Forgiving, I’m Forgiven, RTM-23
Fresh Springs, RTM-42
Full Surrender, RTM-36
Fullness, RTM-43
Give Us Clean Hands, WH-590
God is Looking for a People, RTM-81
God of Grace and God of Glory, BH-395, CH-435,
TH-292, WHM-332
God’s Plumbline, RTM-16
Heal Our Land, CH-800
Heirs to the Kingdom, RTM-30
Here I Am, Lord, WH-440
Holy Spirit, Rain Down, WH-335
If My People, RTM-5
If My People Pray, CH-803
If My People Will Pray, WHM-52, WH-430
If My People’s Hearts Are Humbled, CH-805, TH-574
If You Love Me, RTM-83
If Your Heart Departs, RTM-10
Jesus, Be Jesus In Me, RTM-41
Jesus, Draw Me Close, WH-553
Knowing You (All I Once Held Dear), WH-487
Let It Be Said of Us, WH-597
Living Faith, RTM-77
Lord, Come Upon Your Church Once More, RTM-50
Lord, Do It Again, RTM-15
Lord, How Long?, RTM-19
Lord of Grace and Mercy, RTM-67
Lord, Listen to Your Children Praying, TH-429, WHM-513
Lord, Meet My Need, RTM-17
Lord, Reign in Me, WH-525
Lord, Send a Revival, BH-468, WH-494
TH - The Hymnal. Waco: Word Music, 1986
RTM - Return to Me. Bella Vista: ICS Music, 1993
WHM - Worship His Majesty. Alexandria: Gaither, 1987
Lord, Teach Us to Pray, RTM-47
Lord, Thy Church On Earth Is Seeking, BH-391, TH-305
More Love, More Power, WH-558
My Eyes Are Dry, RTM-24
My Highest Goal, RTM-39
O Breath of Life, TH-291, RTM-22
O the Blood of Jesus, RTM-26
Old Time Power, WHM-312
Once Again, WH-241
Pentecostal Power, BH-242, WH-496
Prepare the Way, RTM-2
Purer in Heart, O God, WH-591
Raise Up, O God, a Praying Host, RTM-48
Refiner’s Fire, WH-592
Renew Thy Church, Her Ministries Restore, WHM-390
Return to Me, RTM-1
Revival Cry, RTM-14
Revive Us Again, BH-469, CH-434, TH-295, WHM-391,
WH-493
Revive Us, O Lord, CH-432
Revive Your Church, Oh Lord, RTM-3
Rise Up, O Church of God, CH-433, TH-293
Search Me, TH-434
Search Me, O God, BH-297, RTM-6
Seekers of Your Heart, CH-557, WH-598
Send a Great Revival, BH-466
Set My Soul Afire, BH-573, TH-294
Shine on Us, WH-89
Shout to the North, WH-350
Stir Your Church, O God, Our Father, BH-392
Surrender, WH-444
Take My Life (Holiness), WH-589
Take Your Glory, Lord, RTM-93
The Fear of the Lord, RTM-82
The Greatest Need, RTM-49
The Potter’s Hand, WH-441
The Process, RTM-71
The Stillness of a Silent Sound, RTM-46
This Is the Sacrifice I Bring, RTM-33
This Is What I Ask, RTM-4
Touch Not the Glory, RTM-92
Use Me, RTM-53
We Cry for Mercy, Lord, RTM-20
We Fall Down, WH-556
We Weep for You America, RTM-8
We Would See Jesus, RTM-78
When the Glory’s Gone, RTM-11
Your Purifying Fire, RTM-18
APPENDIX P
SINS OF THE SHEPHERD
The following Scriptures contain commands and condemnations that pertain to those referred to in Scripture
as shepherds, priests, prophets, bishops and/or pastors. Each Scripture passage and the accompanying list of
sins is intended to guide pastors into a time of deep heart-searching, confession and repentance. On many
occasions, the impetus of revival and awakening has rested upon personal revival among pastors who then
guided their people into corporate confession and repentance.
Isaiah 56:10-11
His watchmen are blind, they are ignorant; they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying
down, loving to slumber. 11 Yes, they are greedy dogs which never have enough. And they are shepherds
who cannot understand; they all look to their own way, every one for his own gain, from his own territory.
10
• Spiritual blindness, slothfulness and spiritual drowsiness (Isaiah 56:10).
• Sinful silence amidst approaching attack and disaster (Isaiah 56:10).
• Greed and an obsession with personal preservation and profit (Isaiah 56:11).
Jeremiah 2:8
The priests did not say, “Where is the LORD?” And those who handle the law did not know Me; the rulers
also transgressed against Me; the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.
• Disorientation to God as a result of failing to seek Him (Jeremiah 2:8).
• Ministering without an intimate experiential knowledge of God (Jeremiah 2:8).
• Familiarity with the law of God apart from an intimate relationship with the God of the law (Jeremiah 2:8).
Jeremiah 5:30-31
An astonishing and horrible thing has been committed in the land: 31 The prophets prophesy falsely, and
the priests rule by their own power; and my people love to have it so, but what will you do in the end?
30
• Ministering in the power of the flesh (Jeremiah 5:31).
• Equating divine approval with carnal human approval (Jeremiah 5:31).
• Insubordination to God’s authority (Jeremiah 5:31).
Jeremiah 6:13-15
Because from the least of them even to the greatest of them, everyone is given to covetousness; and from
the prophet even to the priest, everyone deals falsely. 14 They have also healed the hurt of My people
slightly, saying, “Peace, peace!” when there is no peace.” 15 Were they ashamed when they had committed
abomination? No! They were not at all ashamed; nor did they know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall
among those who fall; and the time I punish them, they shall be cast down,” says the LORD.
13
•
•
•
•
•
False dealings with others (Jeremiah 6:13; 8:10).
Shallow superficial ministry to the people of God (Jeremiah 6:14; 8:11).
Lack of shame and humiliation over personal sin (Jeremiah 6:15; 8:12).
Callousness toward sin (Jeremiah 6:15; 8:12).
Covetousness (Jeremiah 6:13; 8:10).
Sins of the Shepherd 75
Jeremiah 10:21
For the shepherds have become dull-hearted, and have not sought the LORD; and all their flocks shall be
scattered.
• Dull-heartedness toward God (Jeremiah 10:21).
• Failure to seek the Lord due to a life of prayerlessness (Jeremiah 10:21).
Jeremiah 14:14
And the LORD said to me, “The prophets prophesy lies in My name. I have not sent them, commanded
them, nor spoken to them; they prophesy to you a false vision, divination, a worthless thing, and the deceit
of their heart.
• Self-appointed rather than God-ordained (Jeremiah 14:14).
• Self-made messages (Jeremiah 14:14; 23:16; Ezekiel 13:2; 22:28).
Jeremiah 23:1-3
1 “Woe
to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” says the LORD. 2 Therefore, thus
says the LORD GOD of Israel against the shepherds who feed My people: “You have scattered My flock,
driven them away, and not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your doings,” says
the LORD. 3 “But I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries where I have driven them, and
bring them back to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.
• Destroying and scattering the flock with which God has entrusted them (Jeremiah 23:1).
• Neglect of the needs of God’s people (Jeremiah 23:2).
Jeremiah 23:11-12
”For both prophet and priest are profane; yes, in My house I have found their wickedness,” says the
LORD. 12 “Therefore their ways shall be to them like slippery ways; in the darkness they shall be driven on
and fall in them; for I will bring disaster on them, the year of their punishment,” says the LORD.
11
• Evil and ungodliness (Jeremiah 23:11).
• Disrespect for the house of God (Jeremiah 23:11).
Jeremiah 23:13-17
13 “And
I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria: They prophesied by Baal and caused My people Israel
to err. 14 Also I have seen a horrible thing in the prophets of Jerusalem: They commit adultery and walk in
lies; they also strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns back from his wickedness, all of them
are like Sodom to Me, and her inhabitants like Gomorrah.” 15 Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts
concerning the prophets: “Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of
gall; for from the prophets of Jerusalem profaneness has gone out into all the land.” 16 Thus says the LORD
of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They make you worthless; they
speak a vision of their own heart, not from the mouth of the LORD. 17 They continually say to those who
despise Me, ‘The LORD has said, “You shall have peace”’; and to everyone who walks according to the
imagination of his own heart, no evil thing shall come upon you.”
•
•
•
•
•
•
Adultery (Jeremiah 23:14; 29:23).
Lifestyles of deception (Jeremiah 23:14).
Encouraging wickedness rather than calling for repentance (Jeremiah 23:14).
Spiritual pollution caused by an apathetic complacent failure to promote godliness (Jeremiah 23:15).
Promising peace to those who live in selfishness and sin (Jeremiah 23:17).
Offering false hope and affirmation to the spiritually defiant and rebellious (Jeremiah 23:17).
Jeremiah 23:21-22
21 I
have not sent these prophets, yet they ran. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. 22 But if they
had stood in My counsel, and had caused My people to hear My words, then they would have turned them
from their evil way and from the evil of their doings.
• Running ahead of God (Jeremiah 23:21)
• Failure to stand in the counsel of God and receive a message of repentance (Jeremiah 23:22).
• Failure to guide the people of God away from their evil way and their evil doings (Jeremiah 23:22).
Jeremiah 23:25-28
I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in My name, saying, “I have dreamed, I
have dreamed!” 26 How long will this be in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies? Indeed they are
prophets of the deceit of their own heart, 27 who try to make My people forget My name by their dreams
which everyone tells his neighbor, as their fathers forgot My name for Baal. 28 The prophet who has a
dream, let him dream; and he who has My word, let him speak My word faithfully. What is the chaff to the
wheat?” says the LORD.
25
•
•
•
•
•
Manmade messages (Jeremiah 23:25-26).
Preaching from the deceit of their own heart (Jeremiah 23:25-26; 29:23).
Tolerance of the worship of false gods (Jeremiah 23:27).
Failure to faithfully speak God’s Word (Jeremiah 23:28).
Pulpit plagiarism; preaching second-hand sermons as messages from God (Jeremiah 23:30).
Jeremiah 23:30-40
”Therefore behold, I am against the prophets,” says the LORD, “who steal My words everyone from his
neighbor. 31 Behold, I am against the prophets,” says the LORD, “who use their tongues and say, ‘He says.’
32 Behold I am against those who prophesy false dreams,” says the LORD, “and tell them, and cause My
people to err by their lies and by their recklessness. Yet I did not send them or command them; therefore
they shall not profit this people at all,” says the LORD. 33 So when these people or the prophet or the priest
ask you, saying, ‘What is the oracle of the LORD?’ you shall then say to them, ‘What oracle?’ I will even
forsake you,” says the LORD. 34 “And as for the prophet and the priest and the people who say, ‘The oracle
of the LORD!’ I will even punish that man and his house. 35 Thus every one of you shall say to his neighbor,
and every one to his brother, ‘What has the LORD answered?’ and, ‘What has the LORD spoken?’ 36 And the
oracle of the LORD you shall mention no more. For every man’s word will be his oracle, for you have
perverted the words of the living God, the LORD of hosts, our God. 37 Thus you shall say to the prophet,
‘What has the Lord answered you?’ and, ‘What has the LORD spoken?’ But since you say, ‘The oracle of
the LORD!’ therefore thus says the LORD: ‘Because you say this word, “The oracle of the LORD!” and I
have sent to you saying, “Do not say, ‘The oracle of the LORD!’ 39 therefore behold, I, even I will utterly
forget you and forsake you, and the city that I gave you and your fathers, and will cast you out of My
presence. 40 And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be
forgotten.”
30
•
•
•
•
The deceptive and reckless handling of their awesome accountability before God (Jeremiah 23:32).
Blatantly jeopardizing the well-being of the flock and his own household (Jeremiah 23:33-34).
Perverting and twisting the words of the living God and LORD of hosts (Jeremiah 23:36).
Becoming a stumbling block as an everlasting reproach and perpetual shame before the people of God
(Jeremiah 23:39-40).
Lamentations 2:14
Your prophets have seen for you false and deceptive visions; they have not uncovered your iniquity, to
bring back your captives, but have envisioned for you false prophecies and delusions.
• Failure to openly address sin and iniquity (Lamentations 2:14).
• Valuing the acceptance of people over obedience to God (Lamentations 2:14).
• Preaching empty messages void of the conviction of God (Lamentations 2:14).
Ezekiel 2:3-8
And the He said to me: “Son of man, I am sending you to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation
that has rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day. 4 For
they are impudent and stubborn children. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says
the LORD God.’ 5 As for them, whether they hear or whether they refuse - for they are a rebellious house yet they will know that a prophet has been among them. 6 And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them,
nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you dwell among scorpions; do not
be afraid of their words nor dismayed by their looks, though they are a rebellious house. 7 You shall speak
my words to them, whether they hear or whether they refuse, for they are a rebellious house. 8 But you, son
of man, hear what I say to you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house; open you mouth and eat
what I give you.”
3
• Intimidated by the words and looks of those who are stubborn and have hardened hearts (Ezekiel 2:3-6;
Jeremiah 2:8).
• Fearing and revering man more than fearing and revering God (Ezekiel 2:6).
• Responding to rebellious hearers with a rebellious heart toward God (Ezekiel 2:7-8).
Ezekiel 13:1-8
1 And
the word of the LORD came to me saying, 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who
prophesy, and say to those who prophesy out of their own heart, ‘Hear the word of the Lord!’ 3 Thus says
the LORD GOD: Woe to the foolish prophets, who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing! 4 O Israel,
your prophets are like foxes in the deserts. 5 You have not gone up into the gaps to build a wall for the
house of Israel to stand in battle on the day of the LORD. 6 They have envisioned futility and false
divination, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD!’ But the LORD has not sent them; yet they hope that the word may
be confirmed. Have you not seen a futile vision, and have you not spoken false divination? You say, ‘The
LORD says,’ but I have not spoken.” 8 Therefore thus says the LORD GOD, “Because you have spoken
nonsense and envisioned lies, therefore I am indeed against you says the LORD GOD.”
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Exchanging God’s Word for their own (Ezekiel 13:2).
Lack of divine vision (Ezekiel 13:3).
Failure to spiritually reinforce and fortify the people (Ezekiel 13:4-5).
Leaving the people spiritually vulnerable (Ezekiel 13:4-6).
Preaching of the flesh without God’s commission or God’s Word (Ezekiel 13:6; Jeremiah 14:15).
Speaking when God has not spoken to them (Ezekiel 13:7; Jeremiah 23:21).
Empty foolish and false preaching (Ezekiel 13:8).
Arrogantly ministering under the discipline and rebuke of God (Ezekiel 13:8).
Ezekiel 13:9-14
“My hand will be against the prophets who envision futility and who divine lies; they shall not be in the
assembly of My people, nor be written in the record of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter into the land
of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the LORD GOD. 10 Because, indeed, because they have seduced My
people saying, ‘Peace!’ when there is no peace - and one builds a boundary wall, and they plaster it with
untempered mortar - 11 say to those who plaster it with untempered mortar, that it will fall. There will be
flooding rain, and you, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall tear it down... 14 So I will
break down the wall which you have plastered with untempered mortar, and bring it down to the ground, so
that its foundation will be uncovered; it shall fall, and you shall be consumed in the midst of it. Then you
shall know that I am the LORD.”
9
•
•
•
•
•
Seducing the people of God by popular positive preaching amidst ungodly disobedience (Ezekiel 13:10).
Condoning sin and removing boundaries established by God (Ezekiel 13:10).
Offering external surface solutions to internal spiritual problems (Ezekiel 13:10).
Guiding the people into divine discipline and devastating disaster (Ezekiel 13:11).
Encouraging the people to build on a faulty spiritual foundation (Ezekiel 13:14).
Ezekiel 34:2-10
“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD
GOD to the shepherds: “Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed
the flocks? 3 You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you slaughter the fatlings, but you do not
feed the flock. 4 The weak you have not strengthened, nor have you healed those who were sick, nor bound
up the broken, nor brought back what was driven away, nor sought what was lost; but with force and
cruelty you have ruled them. 5 So they were scattered because there was no shepherd; and they became
food for all the beasts of the field when they were scattered. 6 My sheep wandered through all the
mountains, and on every high hill; yes, My flock was scattered over the whole face of the earth, and no one
was seeking or searching for them.” 7 Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: 8 “as I live,”
says the LORD GOD, “surely because My flock became a prey and My flock became food for every beast of
the field, because there was no shepherd, nor did My shepherds search for My flock, but the shepherds fed
themselves and did not feed My flock - 9 therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the LORD! 10 Thus says
the LORD GOD: “Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require My flock at heir hand; I will cause
them to cease feeding the sheep, and the shepherds shall feed themselves no more; for I will deliver My
flock from their mouths, that they may no longer be food for them.”
2
•
•
•
•
•
•
Self-indulgence and neglect of the flock entrusted them by God (Ezekiel 34:2).
Neglecting the needs of the weak, sick and broken (Ezekiel 34:4).
Hard-hearted harshness (Ezekiel 34:4).
Carelessly scattering the people of God in the midst of spiritual predators (Ezekiel 34:4-6).
Failure to humbly serve as a faithful steward of God’s flock (Ezekiel 34:4-6).
Lack of passion for God and compassion for His flock (Ezekiel 34:7-10).
Joel 2:17
Let the priests who minister to the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar; let them say, “Spare Your
people, O LORD, and do not give Your inheritance to reproach, that the nations should rule over them.
Why should the nations say, ‘Where is their God?’”
• Lack of brokenness over the sin of the people of God (Joel 2:17).
• Lack of desperate intercession on behalf of the people of God (Joel 2:17).
• Lack of concern for the righteous reputation of God (Joel 2:17).
Micah 3:11
Her heads judge for a bribe, her priests teach for pay, and her prophets divine for money. Yet they lean on
the LORD, and say, “Is not the LORD among us? No harm can come upon us.”
• Financial motivation rather than spiritual motivation (Micah 3:11).
• Giving false security that is motivated by impure motives and hidden agendas (Micah 3:11).
Zephaniah 3:4
Her prophets are insolent, treacherous people; her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done
violence to the law.
• Careless and irresponsible in lifestyle and teaching (Zephaniah 3:4).
Acts 6:2-4
Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable that we should
leave the word and serve tables. 3 Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good
reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; 4 but we will give
ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.
2
• Failure to anchor the ministry of the Word in a life of prayer (Acts 6:4).
• Overextending oneself in acts of ministry to the neglect of prayer and the ministry of the Word (Acts 6:1-4).
Romans 1:16
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who
believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
• Ashamed of the gospel of Christ (Romans 1:16).
• Forfeiting the power of God by not preaching the gospel of Christ (Romans 1:16).
1 Corinthians 2:1-5
1 And
I brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you
the testimony of God. 2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him
crucified. 3 I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. 4 And my speech and my preaching
were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that
your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
•
•
•
•
Obsession with eloquence and charisma (1 Corinthians 2:1).
Loss of the centrality of the cross of Christ in preaching (1 Corinthians 2:2).
Exchange of the power of the Spirit for persuasive words of human wisdom (1 Corinthians 2:3-4).
Powerless preaching (1 Corinthians 2:4-5).
1 Corinthians 3:1-7
1 And
I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. 2 I fed
you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are
still not able; 3 for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you
not carnal and behaving like mere men? 4 For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of
Apollos,” are you not carnal? 5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you
believed, as the Lord gave to each one? I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. 7 So then
neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.
•
•
•
•
Preaching carnal messages to carnal hearts (1 Corinthians 3:1).
Nurturing strife and division among believers due to a fragile ungodly ego (1 Corinthians 3:3-4).
Pride and arrogance over personal acts of service and ministry (1 Corinthians 3:5-6).
A competitive spirit toward other servants of Christ (1 Corinthians 3:7).
2 Corinthians 4:2, 5, 7
But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of
God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the
sight of God... 5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants for
Jesus’ sake... 7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God
and not of us.
• Deceitfully distorting the message of God (2 Corinthians 4:2).
• Preaching a self-centered message rather than a Christ-centered message (2 Corinthians 4:5).
• Concealing weaknesses to impress others with personal power and authority (2 Corinthians 4:7).
• Failing to give God the glory for the release of His power in ministry (2 Corinthians 4:7).
2
2 Corinthians 6:3-7
We give no offense in anything that our ministry may not be blamed. 4 But in all things we commend
ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses, 5 in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings; 6 by purity, by knowledge, by longsuffering,
by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love, 7 by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of
righteousness on the right hand and on the left...
• Causing others to stumble (2 Corinthians 6:2-3).
• Unwillingness to pay the price of authentic ministry (2 Corinthians 6:3-7).
• Catering to the culture in order to avoid persecution or pressure (2 Corinthians 6:3-7).
3
Ephesians 4:11-13
And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and
teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of
Christ, 13 till we all come to the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the
stature of the fullness Christ...
11
•
•
•
•
Failure to view the pastorate as a calling and gift from God (Ephesians 4:11).
Failure to exercise spiritual gift to equip the church for the work of the ministry (Ephesians 4:12).
Failure to exercise spiritual gift to build up the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:12).
Focusing on numerical growth to the neglect of spiritual growth (Ephesians 4:13).
Philippians 1:15-16
Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from good will:
preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely...
15
16
The former
• Preaching Christ with impure motives (Philippians 1:15-16).
• Motivated by envy and strife (Philippians 1:15-16).
• Selfish ambition (Philippians 1:15-16).
1 Timothy 1:5-7, 12
Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from
sincere faith, 6 from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk, 7 desiring to be teachers of
the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm... 12 And I thank Christ
Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry.
5
•
•
•
•
•
Having a ministry lacking love, due to an impure heart, tainted conscience, and insincere faith (1 Tim. 1:5).
Distracted from effective ministry by idle talk (1 Timothy 1:6).
Stagnation in ministry through the failure of teaching and living consistently (1 Timothy 1:7).
Ministering without a clear divine call on one’s life (1 Timothy 1:12)
Ingratitude toward the call of God (1 Timothy 1:12).
1 Timothy 1:18-19
This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you,
that by them, you may wage the good warfare, 19 having faith and a good conscience, which some having
rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck...
18
• Becoming embattled in issues and disputes that are less than ultimate spiritual warfare (1 Timothy 1:18).
• Forfeit in spiritual warfare due to the absence of faith and a pure conscience (1 Timothy 1:18-19).
• Spiritual, moral and/or ethical shipwreck (1 Timothy 1:19).
1 Timothy 2:1-4
Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for
all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peacable life in all godliness
and reverence. 3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be
saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
1
•
•
•
•
Complacency toward corporate prayerlessness (1 Timothy 2:1).
Failure to guide others in practical and biblical intercession for those in authority (1 Timothy 2:1-2).
Failure to instruct and encourage others in a life of prayer (1 Timothy 2:1-4).
Ungodliness and irreverence (1 Timothy 2:4).
1 Timothy 3:2-3
A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior,
hospitable, able to teach; 3 not given to much wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not
quarrelsome, not covetous;
2
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Questionable lifestyle (1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:7).
Marital unfaithfulness (1 Timothy 3:2).
Insensible (1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:8).
Lack of self-control (1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:8).
Bad behavior (1 Timothy 3:2).
Inability to teach others (1 Timothy 3:2).
Inhospitable (1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:8).
•
•
•
•
•
•
Drunkenness (1 Timothy 3:3; Titus 1:7).
Violent (1 Timothy 3:3; Titus 1:7).
Greedy (1 Timothy 3:3; Titus 1:7).
Lack of gentleness (1 Timothy 3:3).
Quarrelsome (1 Timothy 3:3).
Covetousness (1 Timothy 3:3).
1 Timothy 3:4-7
one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence 5 (for if a man
does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God); 6 not a novice, lest
being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. Moreover he must have a good
testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.
4
•
•
•
•
•
Failure to rule his household well (1 Timothy 3:4).
Arrogance and pride (1 Timothy 3:4).
Damaged witness in the community (1 Tim. 3:4).
Spiritually immature arrogance (1 Timothy 3:6).
Bad reputation in the community (1 Timothy 3:7).
1 Timothy 4:6
If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the
words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed.
6
• Spiritually malnourished in the words of faith (1 Timothy 4:6).
• Failure to follow good doctrine (1 Timothy 4:6).
1 Timothy 4:12, 14-16
Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit,
in faith, in purity... 14 Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the
laying on of the hands of the presbytery. 15 Meditate on these thing; give yourself entirely to them, that
your progress may be evident to all. 16 Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in
doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.
12
•
•
•
•
•
•
Failure to set a godly example in speech, lifestyle, love, faith and purity (1 Timothy 4:12).
Neglecting God-given spiritual gifts (1 Timothy 4:14).
Failure to meditate deeply upon the truths of God’s Word (1 Timothy 4:15).
Failure to personally and consistently apply the truth that is preached to others (1 Timothy 4:15).
Lack of whole-hearted obedience to the Word of God (1 Timothy 4:15).
Neglect of biblical doctrine (1 Timothy 4:16).
2 Timothy 2:1-2
1 You
therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And the things that you have heard
from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.
• Failure to disciple godly men and develop them into effective teachers (2 Timothy 2:1-2).
2 Timothy 2:15
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly
dividing the word of truth.
• Seeking the approval of men over the approval of God (2 Timothy 2:15).
• Failure to unashamedly and correctly teach the truth of God’s Word (2 Timothy 2:15).
2 Timothy 2:22-25
22 Flee
also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out
of a pure heart. 23 But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. 24 And a
servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, 25 in humility correcting
those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth,
26 and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by
him to do his will.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Pursuing youthful lusts (2 Timothy 2:22).
Failure to pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace (2 Timothy 2:22).
Calling upon God out of an impure heart (2 Timothy 2:22).
Engaging in foolish and ignorant disputes and arguments (2 Timothy 2:23-24).
Generating strife, and jeopardizing ministry through quarreling (2 Timothy 2:23-24).
Resentfulness toward opposition (2 Timothy 2:24).
Impatient failure to respond to opposition with humility and gentleness (2 Timothy 2:25).
2 Timothy 3:14-17
14 But
as for you, continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom
you have learned them, 15 and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to
make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is given by inspiration
of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that
the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
•
•
•
•
Wandering from the Holy Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:14-17).
Preaching without reproving, correcting and instructing others in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16).
Spiritual immaturity (2 Timothy 3:17).
Failure to allow the Word of God to equip oneself for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
2 Timothy 4:1-5
I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at
His appearing and His kingdom: 2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince,
rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure
sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for
themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. 5 But
you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
1
•
•
•
•
Failure to minister in the awesome reality of accountability before God (2 Timothy 4:1-2).
Reluctance in faithfully preaching the Word of God (2 Timothy 4:2).
Unwillingness to patiently endure trials of ministry (2 Timothy 4:2-5).
Failure to fulfill the ministry to which one has been called (2 Timothy 4:5).
Titus 1:7-9
For a bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to
wine, not violent, not greedy for money, 8 but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy,
self-controlled, 9 holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound
doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict.
7
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Self-willed (Titus 1:7).
Quick-tempered (Titus 1:7).
Unrighteous (Titus 1:8).
Unholy (Titus 1:8).
Lack of self-control (Titus 1:8).
Failure to grip the Word of God tightly (Titus 1:9).
Neglecting to exhort and convict those who contradict the truth (Titus 1:9).
1 Peter 5:2-4
2 Shepherd
the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by constraint, but willingly, nor
for dishonest gain, but eagerly; 3 nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the
flock of God; 4 and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade
away.
•
•
•
•
Motivated by compulsion and coercion (1 Peter 5:2).
Ministering for financial profit and dishonest gain (1 Peter 5:2).
Failure to set an example of selfless service (1 Peter 5:3).
Becoming obsessed with temporal profit, and blinded to eternal reward (1 Peter 5:4).
Jude 12-13
12 These
are spots on your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves; they
are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up
by the roots; 13 raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved
the blackness of darkness forever.
•
•
•
•
•
•
Abuse of spiritual authority (Jude 12-13)
Powerless and pointless preaching (Jude 12-13)
Dead unfruitful ministry (Jude 12-13)
Ministry void of spiritual substance (Jude 12-13).
Empty promises of spiritual fulfillment (Jude 12-13).
Hypocritical ministry that majors on spiritual deception (Jude 12-13).
APPENDIX Q
CHARACTERISTICS OF
FALSE PROPHETS AND TEACHERS
An atmosphere of spiritual adultery becomes the breeding ground for false prophets and teachers who are
void of a pure scriptural message from God (Jeremiah 23:9-11). However, a true prophet or teacher is a
person who has received a call from God, to deliver the Word of God, under the authority of God, with the
power of God. The following checklist is designed to assist your people in discerning between false and true
messages.
❑ A false prophet or teacher is a deadly, spiritual pretender and predator (1 Cor. 11:13-15; Matt. 7:15).
❑ A false prophet or teacher presumes to put words in God’s mouth, rather than having God’s Word on his
lips (Deuteronomy 18:20).
❑ A false prophet or teacher confuses being a “prophet” with making a “profit” (Jer. 6:13-15; 2 Peter 2:3).
❑ A false prophet or teacher is self-serving and exploits his followers (2 Peter 2:3).
❑ A false prophet or teacher is for sale to the highest bidder (1 Kings 16:30-33; 18:19).
❑ A false prophet or teacher is self-serving (Jude 12).
❑ A false prophet or teacher deceives disciples with deviant doctrine (Acts 20:28-31).
❑ A false prophet or teacher is all surface and no substance (2 Peter 2:17; Jude 12-13).
❑ A false prophet o r teacher teaches false doctrine, and recycles heresy (Isaiah 8:19-20; 2 Peter 2:1).
❑ A false prophet or teacher produces bad fruit (Matthew 7:15-20).
❑ A false prophet or teacher delivers a positive, man-centered message void of conviction and repentance
(Jeremiah 23:16-17).
❑ A false prophet or teacher, at times, majors on the miraculous rather than the message of God’s Word
(Mark 13:21-22).
❑ A false prophet or teacher misleads people with deceptive miraculous acts that are foolishly thought to
give credibility to a false message (Deuteronomy 13:5-8).
❑ A false prophet or teacher is self-appointed (Jeremiah 14:14).
❑ A false prophet or teacher gives false hope (Jeremiah 23:16; Ezekiel 13:1-16).
Characteristics of False Prophets 85
❑ A false prophet or teacher is proud and arrogant (Zephaniah 3:4).
❑ A false prophet or teacher ultimately denies Jesus Christ (1 John 4:2-3; 2 John 7-11; 2 Peter 2:1).
❑ A false prophet or teacher may have a large following due to a message that tickles the ears of its hearers
(2 Timothy 4:3-4; 2 Peter 2:2).
❑ A false prophet or teacher caters to the demands of the people for a message of peace and prosperity
(Isaiah 30:9-15).
❑ A false prophet or teacher condones and encourages lifestyles of stubborn defiance and disobedience by
minimizing the hearer’s ultimate accountability to God (Jeremiah 23:16-18).
❑ A false prophet or teacher despises authority and has no accountability (2 Peter 2:10).
❑ A false prophet or teacher are presumptuous and self-willed (2 Peter 2:10).
❑ A false prophet or teacher makes ungodly compromises (2 Peter 2:15).
❑ A false prophet or teacher feeds the flesh and minimizes sin (2 Peter 2:18).
❑ A false prophet or teacher has an empty eloquence (Ephesians 5:6; Colossians 2:8; 2 Peter 2:18).
❑ A false prophet or teacher delivers empty deceptive messages (Lamentations 2:14).
❑ A false prophet or teacher resembles the culture more than they resemble the Christ (2 Peter 2:20).
❑ A false prophet or teacher has a disparity between preaching and lifestyle (2 Peter 2:19-22).
❑ A false prophet or teacher proclaims a false gospel, and are not to be tolerated (Galatians 1:6-9).
APPENDIX R
PRAYING PASTOR ANNOTATED
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BIBLE
The Gospel According to Luke. Reading through this gospel in one sitting will enable you to see the way in
which prayer was woven into the fabric of Jesus’ earthly life and ministry. The praying pastor should saturate
his heart and mind with Jesus’ life of prayer.
The Acts of the Apostles. Reading this sequel to The Gospel According to Luke in one sitting provides a
foundational understanding of the central place corporate prayer held in the early church. It reinforces the
truth that the activity of the Holy Spirit is most active among praying people.
Psalms. The book of Psalms has been referred to as the prayer book of the Bible. From psalms of lament and
vindication to psalms of praise and thanksgiving, the psalmists cover the full spectrum of prayer.
2 Chronicles. This book reveals how prayer can impact the destiny of nations. It also reveals the devastating
affects prayerlessness and ungodliness can have in bringing divine judgment and discipline. There are various
examples of how God convenes solemn assemblies in order to call His people back to Him in biblical
repentance and revival.
BOOKS
Baxter, Richard. The Reformed Pastor. Carlisle: Banner of Truth Trust, 1997. Baxter places a strong emphasis
on spirituality and depth in ministry as the outgrowth of prayer.
Bennett, Arthur, ed. The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions. Carlisle: Banner of
Truth Trust, 1975. This is a compilation of prayers from men such as Richard Baxter, David Brainerd, John
Bunyan, Christmas Evans, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Thomas Watson, Isaac Watts and others. This volume is
filled with thought-provoking and prayer-prompting meditations. The section entitled, “Service and Ministry”
is especially helpful for the praying pastor.
Bonar, Andrew A., ed. Memoirs of McCheyne. Chicago: Moody Press, 1947. This is a compilation of the
letters and messages of Robert Murray McCheyne. It includes a helpful biographical introduction by S.
Maxwell Coder.
Bonar, Andrew A. Robert Murray McCheyne. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1983. Andrew Bonar was a lifelong
friend of McCheyne. Thus, he provides a very personal perspective of the deep spirituality of this young
pastor.
Bounds, E. M. The Complete Works of E. M. Bounds on Prayer. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1990. This
standard work on prayer and ministry is an absolute necessity for the praying pastor’s library.
Bounds, E. M. Prayer and Praying Men. Focuses on the praying men of the Old Testament and culminates in
a thorough examination of the praying of the Apostle Paul.
Bounds, E. M. Preacher and Prayer. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1907. A most convicting message to pastors
that focuses on the necessity of prayer in the life of all who proclaim the Word of God. Also published in
1912 under the title, Power Through Prayer.
Bounds, E. M. The Weapon of Prayer. This book includes chapters entitled: The Ministry and Prayer;
Prayerlessness in the Pulpit; Prayer-Equipment for Preachers; The Preacher’s Cry - Pray for Us! The final two
chapters focus on the prayer lives of men such as Samuel Rutherford, Henry Martyn, David Brainerd,
Jonathan Edwards and George Muller.
Praying Pastor Annotated Bibliography 87
Chadwick, Harold J., ed. E. M. Bounds: The Classic Collection on Prayer. Gainesville: Bridge Logos, 2001.
The value of this volume is in its revision in modern English which enhances understanding. It also contains a
helpful biographical section, a three-page photo gallery, and a topical index.
Choy, Leona. Andrew and Emma Murray: An Intimate Portrait of Their Marriage and Ministry. Winchester:
Golden Morning Publishing, 2000. This work is a revision of Andrew Murray: Apostle of Abiding Love,
which is expanded to include more insight into the life and influence of Andrew Murray’s wife, Emma.
Choy, Leona. Andrew Murray: Apostle of Abiding Love. Fort Washington: Christian Literature Crusade,
1978. Warm and personal insight into a man whose writings about prayer have shaped believers for
generations. Reveals the legacy and impact of Murray’s father, a praying pastor himself.
Crawford, Dan, comp. Continually Giving Ourselves to Prayer: An Acts 6:4 Primer for Ministry. Terre Haute:
PrayerShop Publishing, 2008. This is a comprehensive textbook on prayer and ministry. It was composed
through the guidance of the Task Force of Theological Education of the National Prayer Committee.
Contributors to this monumental volume of 80 chapters represent the full spectrum of the rapidly growing
prayer movement among evangelicals. It is arranged around four key areas: (1) The Theological Foundation
for Prayer, (2) The Personal Passion for Prayer, (3) The Corporate Expression of Prayer, and (4) The Global
Impact of Prayer. The extensive bibliography is also very beneficial.
Dallimore, Arnold A. George Whitefield: God's Anointed Servant in the Great Revival of the Eighteenth
Century. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 1990. This concise biography provides a very helpful overview of the
life of this powerful preacher of the First Great Awakening.
Dallimore, Arnold A. George Whitefield: The Life and Times of the Great Evangelist of the Eighteenth
Century, Volumes 1 and 2. Carlisle: Banner of Truth Trust, 1970, 1980. This is an extensive work which
provides much insight into the magnitude of George Whitefield’s ministry during the First Great Awakening.
Dorsett, Lyle Wesley. E. M. Bounds: Man of Prayer. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1991. A
thorough biographical sketch followed by a topical arrangement of statements from his writings.
Douglas, W. M. Andrew Murray: One of God’s Choice Saints. Greenville: Ambassador, 1998. This is a helpful
biography originally published in 1926.
Drummond, Lewis. Spurgeon: Prince of Preachers. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1992. This 834-page
biography provides insight into Spurgeon’s walk with God. It is filled with stories and anecdotes that
emphasize the power of prayer in his life and ministry. Valuable information is also given regarding his
development of corporate prayer in the fabric of the Metropolitan Tabernacle. It contains an extensive
bibliography and index.
Duewel, Wesley. Ablaze for God. Grand Rapids: Francis Asbury Press, 1989. Excellent treatment of the
minister’s personal accountability to God and his need for God’s anointing upon his life and ministry.
Practical call to consistent pastoral intercession.
Duewel, Wesley. Heroes of the Holy Life. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002. Short biographies of people
whose passionate prayerfulness gave birth to personal holiness: Francis Asbury, Duncan Campbell, Oswald
Chambers, Jonathan Goforth, John Hyde, Adoniram Judson, D. L. Moody and Evan Roberts.
Duewel, Wesley. Revival Fire. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1995. This is a priceless resource
of the history of revival. Its brief biographical and anecdotal sketches of the instruments God has used in
spiritual awakening is very inspirational.
Earley, Dave. Prayer: The Timeless Secret of High-Impact Leaders. Chattanooga: Living Ink Books, 2008.
This book is filled with quotations and inspirational anecdotes of how leadership can be undergirded with
prayer. It relates prayer to the full gamut of leadership.
Eggert, Ron, comp. Tozer on Christian Leadership. Camp Hill: Wing Spread Publishers, 2001. This is a 366day goldmine of the writings of A. W. Tozer. It provides a daily challenge for pastors who are burdened for
revival and scriptural church life. Each month focuses on a specific topic. Topics include: personal life, the
Holy Spirit, pastoral ministry, prayer, preaching, worship, church, evangelism, revival, failure and success,
spiritual warfare and sin, trials and pain.
Evans, Eifion. Daniel Rowland and the Great Awakening in Wales. Carlisle: Banner of Truth Trust, 1985.
This book provides a vivid portrait of a man whose powerful preaching was anchored to the prayer closet.
Fant, David J., Jr. A. W. Tozer: A Twentieth Century Prophet. Camp Hill: Christian Publications, 1964. This
topically arranged biographical material assists the praying pastor in better understanding this man who
passionately pursued the heart and mind of God.
George Whitefield's Journals. Carlisle: Banner of Truth Trust, 1992. These journals provide insight into the
spirituality and passion of this powerful preacher.
Harvey, Edwin and Lillian. How They Prayed (Volume 2): Ministers’ Prayers. Hampton: Harvey Christian
Publishers, 1987. This book is filled with quotations and anecdotes from a variety of praying preachers such
as George Whitefield, Charles Simeon, John Wesley, Samuel Chadwick, John Knox, Samuel Rutherford,
Robert Murray McCheyne, Andrew Bonar, Christmas Evans, Jonathan Edwards and A. B. Simpson.
Harvey, Edwin and Lillian. How They Prayed (Volume 3): Missionaries and Revival. Hampton: Harvey
Christian Publishers, 1987. This book is filled with quotations and anecdotes from the lives and ministries of
notable men of prayer: D. L. Moody, Hudson Taylor, Evan Roberts, William Carey and John Hyde. It also
includes material focusing on lesser known men of prayer.
Jones, Owen. Great Preachers of Wales. Hanley: Tentmaker Publications, 1995. Must reading for every man
who dares to proclaim the Word of God with power. Brief biographies of Daniel Rowland, Robert Roberts,
Christmas Evans, John Elias, William Williams, Henry Rees, and John Jones. From the introduction: “The
preachers of this volume composed their sermons on their knees; every sermon was like a sword sheathed to
the hilt in a sheath of prayer.”
King, Darrel D. E. M. Bounds. Minneapolis: Bethany House Publishers, 1998. This is a thorough biography,
focusing on Bounds’ life of prayer, writings and influence.
King, Darrel D., ed. Powerful and Prayerful Pulpits: Forty Days of Readings by E. M. Bounds. Grand
Rapids: Baker Book House, 1993. Articles that first appeared in the Christian Advocate a national publication
of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Includes a brief biographical sketch of E. M. Bounds.
Lloyd-Jones, D. Martyn. Preaching and Preachers. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1971. A very
thorough work on the various facets of biblical preaching with a strong emphasis on the spirituality of the
preacher.
Lloyd-Jones, D. Martyn. Revival. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 1987. This is a scriptural exploration of
revival with a strong emphasis on the spiritual life of those who proclaim the Word of God. It provides a solid
biblical foundation for the study of revival.
McGaw, Francis. Praying Hyde. Minneapolis: Bethany Fellowship, 1970. A brief, but valuable biography of
John Hyde’s ministry in India.
McMullen, Michael. God’s Polished Arrow: W. C. Burns Revival Preacher. Christian Focus, 2000. Burns is
the man who filled the pulpit of Robert Murray McCheyne in Dundee when the tide of revival came to that
church. He is also esteemed as a pioneer missionary to the interior of China. This biography is enhanced by
the inclusion of Burns’ journals, letters and sermons.
Miller, Basil. Praying Hyde. Greenville: Ambassador, 2000. This is a concise, yet comprehensive biography
of John Hyde.
Muller, George. Autobiography of George Muller. Springdale: Whitaker House, 1984. Helpful sampling of
the voluminous journals of George Muller. Provides insight into his perspectives on faith, prayer and
ministry.
Muller, George. Narratives and Addresses, Volume 1 and 2. Muskegon: Dust and Ashes Publications, 2003.
Contains all six volumes of A Narrative of Some of the Lord’s Dealings with George Muller, and Jehovah
Magnified: Addresses by George Muller. To read these narratives and addresses is to embark on a lengthy, but
rewarding journey of faith and prayer. It is well worth the investment of time.
Murray, Andrew. Living a Prayerful Life. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 2002. Reprint of The Prayer Life
and The Believer’s Prayer Life. Edited and updated by Nancy Renich. A summary of truths presented to over
two hundred ministers, missionaries, theological professors and students at a minister’s conference at
Stellenbosch, South Africa, April 11-14, 1912.
Murray, Andrew. Waiting on God. New Kensington: Whitaker House, 1981. A sober warning against
running ahead of God in life and ministry. Portrays the necessity of undergirding one’s life with prayerfulness.
Murray, Andrew. With Christ in the School of Prayer. Old Tappan: Fleming H. Revell, 1953. This is a comprehensive biblical work on the basics of prayer by the epitome of a praying pastor.
Murray, Andrew. Working for God. Fort Washington: Christian Literature Crusade, 1983. This sequel to
Waiting on God is a call for ministers to find the proper balance between prayer and service. This is a very
helpful discussion of these two aspects of ministry to which ministers tend to polarize.
Murray, Iain H. Jonathan Edwards: A New Biography. Carlisle: Banner of Truth Trust, 1987. An excellent
in-depth look at the man, his ministry and his message.
Murray, Iain H. Revival and Revivalism: The Making and Marring of American Evangelicalism 1750-1858.
Carlisle: Banner of Truth Trust, 1994. A most helpful introduction to the powerful preachers of the Second
Great Awakening.
Orr, J. Edwin. My All, His All. Wheaton: International Awakening Press, 1989. A heart-searching challenge to
live a life of purity. Focuses on the confession and cleansing of personal sin. It was originally titled, Full
Surrender.
Orr, J. Edwin. An Apprenticeship of Faith. Wheaton: International Awakening Press, 1993. J. Edwin Orr
became a renowned revival historian, which was the overflow of his life as an instrument of revival. A
powerful auto-biographical challenge to walk by faith and not by sight.
Parker, Joseph. The Joseph Parker Treasury of Pastoral Prayers. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1982.
This book inspires the praying pastor to seek renewed depth and focus in pastoral praying. Very helpful
introduction by Stephen Olford.
Pierson, A. T. George Muller: All Things Are Possible. This is a very helpful volume drawing from the
journals and correspondence of George Muller. It presents beneficial insight into Muller’s unique prayerful
approach to sermon preparation. The editorial comments on ministry and prayer are priceless.
Piper, John. Brothers, We Are Not Professionals: A Plea to Pastors for Radical Ministry. Nashville:
Broadman and Holman Publishers, 2002. A challenge to restore biblical spirituality to the pastoral ministry.
Piper, John. The Supremacy of God in Preaching. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1990. This book is the
result of lectures entitled, “The Supremacy of God in Preaching,” delivered at The Harold John Ockenga
Lectures on Preaching at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary, 1988, and “Sweet Sovereignty: The
Supremacy of God in the Preaching of Jonathan Edwards,” delivered at The Billy Graham Center Lectures on
Preaching, Wheaton College, 1984. This book places strong emphasis on the spiritual nature and demands of
proclaiming the Word of God.
Ravenhill, Leonard. America Is Too Young To Die: A Call to Revival. Presents the need for prophetic voices
to call our nation back to God.
Ravenhill, Leonard. Revival God’s Way: A Message for the Church. Minneapolis: Bethany House Publishers,
1983. A challenge for preachers to blaze the trail back to God.
Ravenhill, Leonard. Heart Breathings. Hampton: Harvey Christian Publishers, 1995. This book is a
compilation of quotations from the preaching and writing of Leonard Ravenhill. The quotations are arranged
topically. Topics of particular interest to pastors include: the church, preachers, prophets, prayer, and revival.
Ravenhill, Leonard. Revival Praying. Minneapolis: Bethany Fellowship, 1962. This is a clarion call for
preachers and the people to whom they preach to return to God in brokenness and repentance. It provides
insight into the nature and necessity of revival praying.
Ravenhill, Leonard. Sodom Had No Bible. Minneapolis: Bethany Fellowship, 1971. A strong challenge for
prayerful preaching. The second part of this book provides portraits of revival preachers: George Fox,
William Grimshaw, Jonathan Edwards, Gideon Ousely, Billy Nicholson, Francis Asbury, Richard Baxter,
George Whitefield, John Wesley and Savonarola.
Ravenhill, Leonard, comp. A Treasury of Prayer: From the Writings of E. M. Bounds. Greensburg: Ravenhill
Books, 1961. Provides a helpful condensed summary of the heart and teachings of this great man of prayer.
Ravenhill, Leonard. Why Revival Tarries. Minneapolis: Bethany Fellowship, 1959. A classic work on the
need for revival. Much attention is given to the awesome responsibility preachers have to prayerfully seek the
heart of God, and then to guide their hearers to do the same.
Roberts, Richard Owen. Revival. Wheaton: International Awakening Press, 1991. A foundational work on the
nature of genuine biblical revival. This book emphasizes the high standard to which God calls pastors, and
their responsibility to guide the people of God back to Him. The nature and necessity of biblical repentance is
also a prominent theme. Also, a very helpful bibliography on revival.
Roberts, Richard Owen, ed. Sanctify the Congregation: A Call to the Solemn Assembly and to Corporate
Repentance. Wheaton: International Awakening Press, 1994. This book is a compilation of sermons preached
by early Americans on days of fasting, corporate repentance and solemn assembly. The first chapter is a
reprint of the pamphlet by Richard Owen Roberts, The Solemn Assembly. It also includes appendices which
contain calls to repentance issued by church leaders and government bodies from mid-seventeenth century to
mid-eighteenth century.
Roberts, Richard Owen. The Solemn Assembly. Wheaton: International Awakening Press, 1989. This pamphlet
is the standard work on the biblical solemn assembly. We are indebted to Roberts for reintroducing this much
needed process to the church. It explores the relationship of the solemn assembly and revival among the
people of the Old Testament, and throughout church history. The ten practical suggestions concerning the
solemn assembly today are also very helpful.
Roberts, Richard Owen. Repentance: The First Word of the Gospel. A definitive work on biblical repentance.
A challenging message for the pastor who longs to live in purity and preach with power.
Smellie, Alexander. Robert Murray McCheyne: A Burning Light. Christian Focus, 1995. Includes extracts
from the diary of McCheyne’s personal friend Jessie Thain. Also provides Rev. Alexander Cumming’s account of the revival in Dundee.
Spurgeon, Charles Haddon. Lectures to My Students. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1982. A
strong emphasis on effective prayer in the minister’s life and ministry both publicly and privately.
Spurgeon, Charles Haddon. Only a Prayer Meeting. Pasadena: Pilgrim Publications, 1973. Forty addresses
delivered at prayer meetings. The first six addresses deal specifically with prayer and the prayer meeting.
Spurgeon, Charles Haddon. The Pastor in Prayer. Carlisle: Banner of Truth Trust, 2004. Twenty-six of
Spurgeon’s prayers which were prayed prior to his sermons. Provides insight into the depth and breadth of his
praying.
Tozer, A. W. Fellowship of the Burning Heart: A Collection of Sermons by A. W. Tozer. Orlando: BridgeLogos, 2006. Includes biographical essays on the life and ministry of Tozer, and excerpts from a biography by
James L. Snyder entitled, In Pursuit of God. Sermons by Tozer include: How to Pray for Revival, Prepare by
Prayer, He Must Increase, and others. It also includes an audio CD of a sermon by A. W. Tozer.
Tozer, A. W. Rut, Rot or Revival: The Problem of Change and Breaking Out of the Status Quo. Camp Hill:
Christian Publications, 1993. This is a book of Tozer’s sermons compiled by James L. Snyder. Sermons
include: Awakened Out of Sleep, The Church in a Rut, Dealing with Spiritual Problems, The Voice of God
Speaking, and others.
Woolsey, Andrew. Duncan Campbell. London: Faith Mission, 1974. This biography presents Duncan
Campbell, an instrument in the Hebrides Revival of 1949-1952, as a man of prayer who surrounded himself
with people of prayer.
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Our Lord’s Life of Prayer
This manual is a study of the life of prayer that Jesus lived as recorded in the Gospel according to Luke. Unit
topics include: The Pinnacle of Prayerfulness, The Places Where Jesus Prayed, The Model Prayer and the
Model Life, Jesus the Intercessor. Dr. Bill Tolar states: “Every Christian would benefit from studying it and
following its guidelines. Every church would be tremendously blessed if it would learn and practice what this
manual teaches.”
Prayer Meeting First Aid Kit
The Prayer Meeting First Aid Kit is a sourcebook that will assist the local church in reclaiming its prayer
meeting. It explores the spheres of prayer in the initial chapters of the Acts of the Apostles, and includes over
350 corporate prayer exercises to be utilized in the weekly prayer meeting. Dr. Ken Hemphill states: “This
book is not simply a call to prayer, it is a workbook on how to lead in kingdom centered praying... I
recommend it to anyone who is concerned to advance God’s kingdom, by His power, and for His glory.”
Praying When It Hurts
This manual focuses on twelve lessons painful prayer can teach us. Topics covered in this manual include:
• Devastation: When Your Heart Is Broken
• Impossibility: When You Don’t Know What to Do
• Depression: When You Are Running On Empty
• Submission: When the Father’s Will is Tough to Swallow
• Frustration: When You Can’t Find the Words to Pray
Blow the Trumpet In Zion: The Local Church Solemn Assembly
This manual is a practical tool that will assist the pastor in guiding his church in the solemn assembly process.
Disclaimer: “The solemn assembly is not just another program. It is a biblical process. The local church
solemn assembly introduces the congregation to biblical corporate repentance, and initiates the journey of
whole-heartedly returning to God. It is in the solemn assembly that the people of God experience the rhythm
of revival in a renewed intimate walk with God. Therefore, if you are looking for a quick-fix-easilyimplemented-denominational-franchise-cookie-cutter program, you should definitely look elsewhere.
However, if you desire to lead your congregation to explore the depths of brokenness and repentance which
will enable them to embark on the adventure of pursuing the heart of God, it is our prayer that this manual is a
key that helps unlock that door.”
All I Can Do Is Pray
This is a novelette about the unlikely friendship of a young pastor and a nursing home resident. Many lessons
about prayer are shared between them. You might be surprised as to the identity of the prayer mentor.
His Way to Pray
A one-year daily journey through Jesus’ walk with the Father. Each day includes prayer prompts and Scripture
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Blow the Trumpet in Zion: Calling the People of God Back to Him
•
•
•
•
Session One: When God Withholds His Blessing
Session Two: Why Does God Call His People Into Solemn Assembly?
Session Three: Pastoral Leadership in the Solemn Assembly
Session Four: Corporate Confession in the Solemn Assembly
Praying When It Hurts: 12 Lessons Painful Prayer Can Teach Us
• This seminar explores the relationship between pain and prayer.
• It focuses on twelve lessons that we can learn from painful prayer.
• Topics Include: Brokenness, Depression, Detours, Desperation, Devastation, Disobedience, Forgiveness,
Frustration, Impossibility, Opposition, Submission, and Suffering
Keys to Christlike Prayer
•
•
•
•
Session One: Contrast our problem of prayerfulness with Jesus' prayerfulness.
Session Two: Explore the places where Jesus prayed, and His specific prayer focus in each place.
Session Three: Learn how God can use you to touch the world through the ministry of intercession.
Session Three: Become a catalyst for assisting your local church in rediscovering its God-given identity as
a house of prayer
The Model Prayer and the Model Life
• Session One
✦ Explore how Jesus not only taught the Model Prayer, but He also lived the model life.
✦ Daily Bread - Expand your faith as you consider Jesus’ trust in the Father’s provision.
• Session Two: The Father’s Will - Learn how Jesus lived a life of submission and surrender to the Father.
• Session Three
✦ Forgiveness - Immerse yourself in the Father’s forgiveness and the power of its overflow.
✦ Temptation - Examine how Jesus overcame temptation, filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit.
House of Prayer Upgrade
This seminar will assist you in guiding strategic biblical corporate prayer in prayer meeting, worship services
or small groups. It is also designed to enable you to implement the practical tools found in the Prayer Meeting
First Aid Kit.
• Session One: The Spheres of Prayer in the Acts of the Apostles
• Session Two: The Dynamics of Corporate Prayer
• Session Three: Guiding Effective Corporate Prayer
For more information visit us online at www.prayeridigm.com or call (936) 545-5660

The Solemn Assembly - Baptist Convention of New England

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