This past weekend I had the privilege to go to the National Prayer Summit which was put on by the Free Methodist Church. For a while now I have felt a new call to pray in my own life, and perhaps remarkably I found I was not the only one and was even perhaps late to the game. God has been birthing a new desire in people all over the world, and in that new desire, God is doing new things all over the world.
You can see videos of the summit at http://fmcusa.org/nationalprayerministry/nps/
The thing that stood out to me was this, while He is doing new things all over the world, His presence is making it's greatest impact in the eastern world, while the western world seems silent. George Otis, the speaker from the Sentinel Group said this of the phenomena, "It is not for God's reluctance to send his Spirit to the western world, it is for our resistance."
This left a mark in my spiritual concrete, and I left with a desire to note the places where I am living in resistance. I do this because I have no desire to play church, but instead to be the church. If my actions are keeping God at bay in my life - then my actions need to change. So I am on a quest, a quest to rid myself of self. I do it to be a better man, a better husband and father, and finally a better pastor.
This morning I dived into the book of Joel. As I read text notes I realized something I had not seen before. Joel was written after God had sent a national calamity to the people that was purely supernatural. This was not the result of using men to bring discipline, but instead God used nature to bring discipline to His people. It appears that 3 swarms of locust infested Judah, each becoming progressively worse. The effect was not only seen in national hunger, but the devastation was so bad, it effected the means to worship. In short these people were out off from their 'daily bread' in that they had nothing themselves to eat, nothing to feed their livestock, nor the means to connect with God.
Joel 1 is simply Joel stating the obvious. "This is our lives ladies and gentlemen. What is God trying to teach us? What are we going to do with it?"
These are powerful questions. I have seen in our day tragedy and struggle come to America and sadly too often we do not take this approach, but look to government and policy to address the crisis. When will we as a Nation turn to God first? What is it going to take?
The prophet Joel lays out step one in todays verse that gave me pause:
"13 Put on sackcloth, you priests, and mourn; wail, you who minister before the altar. Come, spend the night in sackcloth, you who minister before my God; for the grain offerings and drink offerings are withheld from the house of your God.14 Declare a holy fast; call a sacred assembly. Summon the elders and all who live in the land to the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord" Joel 1:13-14
I saw a statistic that spoke of the decline of the role of pastor in the eyes of people. At one point it was a high and revered position, but today I often wonder if people even understand how the role should effect/influence their lives. It makes me consider the why question. Are we as pastors perhaps disregarded because the people are just ignorant, or are we disregarded because we are not leading the people properly before God? Should we lead them properly before God, would not the Lord validate our position?
Joel speaks first to the priests - the pastors of the era. I like how he makes the view very clear for them. He places the burden on them to come before God first. Cry out to God first. Be made right with God first.
Then present the call. It's time to pray. It's time that we cry out to God together and we will see Him change our land.
"14 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 I will forgive their sin and will heal their land" 2 Chron 7:14.
Comments
Post a Comment