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Call a Sacred Assembly
by Claude V. King, Co-Author of “Experiencing God”
In the Book of Joel, God’s people had experienced great destruction from swarms of locusts. As a spiritual leader, Joel knew the remedy was to call God’s people to return to Him in a sacred assembly. When the people responded, God heard, forgave, and restored the land (Joel 1-3). Brothers and Sisters, now is the time to call God’s people in the United States and in our churches to repentance.
“Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, O house of Israel?’” (Ezek. 33:11).
Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming. It is close at hand (Joel 2:1).
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.
Alas for that day! For the day of the LORD is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty (Joel 1:14-15).
“Even now,” declares the LORD, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.”
Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. Who knows? He may turn and have pity and leave behind a blessing- grain offerings and drink offerings for the LORD your God.
Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly. Gather the people, consecrate the assembly; bring together the elders, gather the children, those nursing at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her chamber. Let the priests, who minister before the LORD, weep between the temple porch and the altar. Let them say, “Spare your people, O LORD. Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’” (Joel 2:13-17).
If you sense, as I do, that God’s people must cry out to the Lord at a time such as this and seek His mercies, call the people you lead to a time of sacred or solemn assembly- a holy convocation. If you sense a need for help in guiding God’s people to repent in a time of crisis like we face, I’ve prepared the following suggestions to assist you. Most of the following is abreviated and adapted from my book Come to the Lord’s Table: A Sacred Assembly for the Church. This book is a three or four week study to guide God’s people in returning to Him in preparation for Communion or the Lord’s Supper. But we may not have that much time to return to the Lord. Consequently, I’m providing the following suggestions to assist you in guiding an emergency sacred assembly to prepare the church for the crisis we are facing.
Call a Solemn (Sacred) Assembly
Step-by-Step Guidelines
