SACRED ASSEMBLY EXPLAINED

This is a call for a SACRED ASSEMBLY.

Sacred Assemblies were called for a number of reasons such as the four feast days in Leviticus or the Day of Atonement. All people were called to gather at the Tabernacle or the Temple.

Consecrate a fast, call a sacred assembly; gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord. Joel 1:14

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. Blow the trumpet in Zion, consecrate a fast, call a sacred assembly; gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children and nursing babes; Joel 2:12,15-16

In Joel, the reason for the Sacred Assembly was for REVIVAL. 

All people were called to assemble together at the Temple.

The reason for this SACRED ASSEMBLY, like the one in Joel, is for REVIVAL.

All people are called to gather in the HOUSE OF THE LORD.

THE PRAYER

There is a SACRED ASSEMBLY prayer.

The prayer comes from SCRIPTURE.

It is WORSHIP & REST in silent stillness in the HOUSE OF THE LORD.

WORSHIP comes from us. The other part, REST, comes from the Lord.

WORSHIP & REST in silent stillness is described and explained -

·      On the Prayer Card

·      On the web site www.silentprayerofwitness.com – the WORSHIP & REST tab.

OUTCOMES

The principle outcomes of making the WORSHIP & REST prayer a habit in this SACRED ASSEMBLY are:-

·      WORSHIP & REST

·      BEING STILL

·      WE ARE ONE

·      HOUSE OF THE LORD

·      PASTURE

·      COMPASSION FOR LOST SHEEP

These set the scene, well more than a scene, more like an ecosystem, for two eventualities: -

·      A thread running through all the outcomes of a sense of PEACE, REST and JOY wrapped in LOVE.  These are not superficial and up and down. They are a deep and steady experience of the heart.

·      There is the BLESSING of an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, like at Pentecost, which empowers REVIVAL.

OUTCOMES EXPLAINED

WORSHIP & REST

He [the Lord Almighty] says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10

Come to me and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28

My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant Luke 1:46-47

The soul magnifying and the spirit exalting / rejoicing, and lowly state is the heart of this prayer. Jesus gives you rest.

BEING STILL

Be still, and know that I am God; Psalm 46:10

So, He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed. Luke 5:16

Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while. Mark 6:31

In stillness you know God, you experience God. You swap the world and its distractions, particularly intrusive noise for quiet. How important in the hustle and bustle of today it is for us to find the space to be still.

WE ARE ONE

…that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me … that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. John 17:21-23

… endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. Ephesians 4:3-5

When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. Acts 2:1

So, continuing daily with one accord in the temple … Acts 2:46

There is no division in the HOUSE OF THE LORD. Jesus prayed we may be ‘one’, ‘one in Us’ [the Trinity], and ‘perfect in ONE’. In Ephesians Paul reminds us we are ONE BODY in the unity of the Holy Spirit. In Acts they were all with one accord when the outpouring of the Holy Spirit happened. As to the importance of being ONE we need look no further than Jesus’s ‘Prayer for all Believers’ in John 17. We are ONE that the world may believe and know Jesus. We are ONE that REVIVAL will happen.

HOUSE OF THE LORD

…around the throne … every creature … saying: “Blessing and honour and glory and power … be to Him. Revelation 5:11-13

I am the door. If anyone enters [the sheepfold] by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. John 10:9

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:1

The Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple. Ezekiel 43:5

Now, therefore, you are … fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, … Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone … you … are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. Ephesians 2:19-22

The HOUSE OF THE LORD is richly described in Scripture - around the throne, the sheepfold, the Secret Place of the Most High, the Temple of Ezekiel, the temple of living stones with Jesus as the cornerstone.

The HOUSE OF THE LORD is a spiritual temple, the dwelling place of the Lord, and this is where we meet.

PASTURE

Along the bank of the river, on this side and that, will grow all kinds of trees used for food; their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. They will bear fruit every month, because their water flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for medicine.” Ezekiel 47:12

I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. John 10:9

Pasture is a gift of God to us. Pasture infuses the world but is not of the world. It is a spiritual place. It is a way of life and an attitude of being, you are the be-attitudes. You come out of the HOUSE OF THE LORD and find PASTURE. PASTURE comes from the living water which flows from the Temple.

COMPASSION FOR LOST SHEEP

Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Matthew 11:28-29

Coming to Jesus for rest is part of the prayer for the Sacred Assembly. When we take Jesus’s yoke upon us we share with Him all our burdens and cares, but He shares what is on His heart with us too. He gives us compassion for the lost sheep.

My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray; They have turned them away on the mountains. They have gone from mountain to hill; They have forgotten their resting place. Jeremiah 50:6

And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd. Mark 6:34

Jesus has great compassion for lost sheep. Like the father in the parable of the Prodigal Son, the Father is looking out for us to return to Him.

Jesus simply gives us compassion for the lost sheep. A deep desire is placed on our hearts.

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. John 13:34-35

Every local church cultivates the seven areas described in Acts 2:38-47, both to be a witness, and to be a home for lost sheep.

GETTING INVOLVED

The commitment to the SACRED ASSEMBLY is to immerse yourself in the WORSHIP & REST prayer on a regular basis. Many of you will recognise this as something you probably do any way. What could be more natural than to praise God in a quiet place in silent stillness?

Please see the web page, ‘GET INVOLVED’.