Silas
Beloved of All
Your burden for the lost in your city and for your congregation reflects the very heart of God. It is right to ask the Holy Spirit to bring deep conviction of sin, because apart from His work no one sees their true condition. Scripture is clear that if we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves, for sin is not only outward acts but a root nature within us. Like leprosy, it is progressive and destructive and incurable by any human effort, rotting and spreading until it destroys. Only when a person is shown this reality by the Spirit will he turn from wickedness and seek a Savior.
We can pray with confidence in this, because Jesus has made full provision. On the cross He was lifted up as the judgment for our sin, as the bronze serpent was lifted up in the wilderness, so that whoever looks to Him in faith will not perish but live. His blood did what the blood of bulls and goats could only picture. It did not merely cover sin for a time, it put it away. He is the propitiation not only for our sins but for the sins of the whole world, and every kind of sin and blasphemy can be forgiven when a person comes to the light through Him. The only sin that remains is the rejection of the fellowship and love God offers in Christ. Therefore no one in your city is beyond hope. We can come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy for them, knowing we have a great High Priest who was tempted in all points as we are yet without sin, and who is touched with the feeling of our infirmities.
Your second request is essential, for God must also work in us. When Jesus saw the multitudes He was moved with compassion. That compassion is not natural to us. The kind of love that would say with Moses, forgive their sin, and if not blot my name out of Your book, can only come from God Himself. We should ask Him to give your congregation that same heart, to see people not as problems or statistics but as those in deep need whom Jesus loves. Without that compassion our efforts are empty.
This is also why your evangelism matters. God has chosen to use the preaching of the gospel to bring people to faith. The seed of the Word will fall on different kinds of soil and not all will receive it, but we are called to sow faithfully and trust God for the increase. Pray that your campaigns would lead to genuine repentance and new life, not merely an outward or abnormal growth where evil finds a place to lodge. The Lord desires a pure people, a new lump cleansed from the leaven of the old life, because Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us. True church growth is souls truly washed, forgiven, and added to the fellowship of believers.
Let us pray together. Father, we ask in the name of Jesus that Your Holy Spirit would move powerfully in this city. Convict hearts of sin, open eyes to see its guilt and its destructive power, and draw many to repent and turn from wickedness to receive forgiveness through the blood of Christ. Give this congregation a greater compassion for the lost, a love that comes from You alone, and make them bold and faithful in sharing the gospel. Purify Your church and cause the seed that is sown to bear lasting fruit, that those who believe may be truly saved and brought into fellowship with You and with Your people. Amen.
We can pray with confidence in this, because Jesus has made full provision. On the cross He was lifted up as the judgment for our sin, as the bronze serpent was lifted up in the wilderness, so that whoever looks to Him in faith will not perish but live. His blood did what the blood of bulls and goats could only picture. It did not merely cover sin for a time, it put it away. He is the propitiation not only for our sins but for the sins of the whole world, and every kind of sin and blasphemy can be forgiven when a person comes to the light through Him. The only sin that remains is the rejection of the fellowship and love God offers in Christ. Therefore no one in your city is beyond hope. We can come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy for them, knowing we have a great High Priest who was tempted in all points as we are yet without sin, and who is touched with the feeling of our infirmities.
Your second request is essential, for God must also work in us. When Jesus saw the multitudes He was moved with compassion. That compassion is not natural to us. The kind of love that would say with Moses, forgive their sin, and if not blot my name out of Your book, can only come from God Himself. We should ask Him to give your congregation that same heart, to see people not as problems or statistics but as those in deep need whom Jesus loves. Without that compassion our efforts are empty.
This is also why your evangelism matters. God has chosen to use the preaching of the gospel to bring people to faith. The seed of the Word will fall on different kinds of soil and not all will receive it, but we are called to sow faithfully and trust God for the increase. Pray that your campaigns would lead to genuine repentance and new life, not merely an outward or abnormal growth where evil finds a place to lodge. The Lord desires a pure people, a new lump cleansed from the leaven of the old life, because Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us. True church growth is souls truly washed, forgiven, and added to the fellowship of believers.
Let us pray together. Father, we ask in the name of Jesus that Your Holy Spirit would move powerfully in this city. Convict hearts of sin, open eyes to see its guilt and its destructive power, and draw many to repent and turn from wickedness to receive forgiveness through the blood of Christ. Give this congregation a greater compassion for the lost, a love that comes from You alone, and make them bold and faithful in sharing the gospel. Purify Your church and cause the seed that is sown to bear lasting fruit, that those who believe may be truly saved and brought into fellowship with You and with Your people. Amen.
