Pastoral Vision (26)
“…for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Luke 19.10
But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. 2 Timothy 4.5
Jim Kennedy once said to me, “You know, T. M., the more you evangelize, the more you evangelize.” The opposite of that is also true: The less you evangelize, and so forth.
There can be no revival without seeking the Lord in prayer for it. And there can be no revival without seeking the lost to proclaim Jesus to them.
When revival comes, evangelism is widespread. Jonathan Edwards implied as much in his sermon, Distinguishing Marks of a Work of the Spirit of God: ““When the operation is such as to raise their esteem of that Jesus who was born of the Virgin, and was crucified without the gates of Jerusalem; and seems more to confirm and establish their minds in the truth of what the gospel declares to us of his being the Son of God, and the Saviour of men; is a sure sign that it is from the Spirit of God.”
We don’t raise the esteem of Jesus or confirm and establish others in Him apart from the work of evangelism.
Shepherds should be especially diligent to pursue this work, as Paul directs, for it is an important aspect of how we fulfill our ministries.
The Rev. Charles J. Brown, Minister of New North Kirk Parish in Edinburgh in the revival years of the early 1800s, also encouraged a vision for seeking the lost: “The next fruit of revival which I mention – namely, zeal for the conversion of others, and especially of relatives and domestics…Ah! In dead churches it is deemed the business of ministers to ‘pluck men as brands from the burning.’ Private members will rather leave them there to perish than put their hands to the work. It is not their business, forsooth!... of nothing, my friends, am I more firmly convinced than this, that that silence about God and divine things, which in dead churches is deemed the result of prudent and sober discretion, is in the vast majority of cases, the result of nothing but an unworthy shame, a mean worldly policy, a base fear of man bringing a snare; and, worst of all, a cold and heartless indifference and apathy and unbelief.”
Ouch!
Many have observed that our generation of “evangelicals” has left off the work of “evangelism”. We are not seeking the lost to save them, and we are not evangelizing the lukewarm in our churches. Instead, we set up our churches to make them appealing to any who may be seeking so that they might stumble into our midst and perhaps hear something of interest—if not saving interest, at least enough interest to keep them coming back for more.
This “come/see” model does not in the least resemble the “go/tell” model which we find in the New Testament. When we and our churches begin seeking the lost and evangelizing the listless, we will know revival, renewal, and awakening. And then the Spirit of God will exalt Jesus even more.
Resources for Shepherds: Revival, renewal, and awakening
Resources are available to help you in leading your church to revival, renewal, and awakening.
What does it mean for a church to be revived? Our book Revived! addresses that question and marks out the path that can lead to revival. Learn more and order your copy by clicking here.
The psalms are a great source for leading us to pray for revival. Our book Restore Us! shows you how to use the psalms in seeking the Lord for revival, renewal, and awakening, and how to lead others to do so as well. Order your copy by clicking here.
Finally, not persuaded that your church needs revival? Then at least you can pray for those which are so captive to contemporary culture and winds of false doctrine, that they might be set free to seek revival, renewal, and awakening. Our book The Church Captive can help you in praying for churches worldwide. Order your copy by clicking here. Or order it in a free PDF here.
Order any one of the above books, and we’ll send you a free copy of Preparing Your Church for Revival. Learn more about this book by clicking here.
Men we invite you to join one of our many prayer groups seeking the Lord for revival, renewal, and awakening via Zoom. For a complete list of available groups, send me an email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
From the Celtic Revival
From a recent issue of Crosfigell, our twice-weekly teaching letter featuring excerpts from the Celtic Revival:
Everyone should call upon and beseech the Lord of heaven and earth
to stir up fear and love of Him within his heart; for until the fear
of God enters his heart, one is but lukewarm.
When fear is weak, repentance is weak.
When repentance is weak, religion is weak.
For he who does not fear God will not love Him.
- Colmán mac Beógnai, Aipgitir Chrábaid, Irish, 7th century[1]
Perhaps if we feared God more our “religion” would be stronger and we would be moved more consistently to seek the lost and evangelize the lukewarm. When we fear God, love for Him grows. And when we grow in love for God, we love the things He does. And the salvation of sinners ranks high on that divine to-do list.
You can subscribe to Crosfigell and all our other teaching letters by clicking here.
New in the Bookstore
We are pleased to announce two new PDF books in our bookstore. To Judge the World considers the role of God’s people in bringing truth to light in all the niches, nooks, crannies, and arenas of our world. Winds of Doctrine looks at 21 different ill winds that can blow us off our course with the Lord and shows us how to “trim our sails” to keep on course. Download these new books to your e-reader and share them with your friends. Get a group together for study and discussion.
T. M. Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[1] Carey, p. 234.
