Sacred Assembly - Research

Sacred Assembly Research

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.

Service Elements by Claude V. King, Co-Author of "Experiencing God" Est. Duration: 1 - 2 hours Scripture does not provide a specific agenda for a sacred assembly, so ask the Lord to guide you in preparing for this service. Below I've suggested some elements that might be part of a sacred assembly. Customize a service for your church or group - you have great latitude in what the service is like. Include the elements you sense would be most helpful. Choose from the following elements to design your service or plan your own activities as God guides you. Music and Singing: If you use music at all, sing hymns or provide special music related to God's holiness, God's provision for our sin, forgiveness and cleansing, repentance and so forth. Scripture Reading: Read Scriptures related to the same topics. Include others that may call for members to deal seriously with specific sins. Consider responsive readings of Scriptures also. Message: If you choose to preach, use a brief message on the nature and importance of repentance or on the place of a sacred assembly in returning to the Lord. Keep in mind that the focus of this service is on response to the Lord not just teaching and learning. Use the message to call for response and reserve most of your time for responding to the Lord. Prayer: Provide for a variety of prayer experiences interspersed with Scripture reading or times for public response. - Provide soft music for a time of silent prayer and meditation. - Break into smaller groups of 4 to 8 (preferably members of the same sex). Invite members in each group to ask the question, "How may we pray for your spiritual needs?" Then have one or two in the group pray for each request. - Provide opportunity for people to come and share a need or confess a sin and pray with a pastor, a minister, elder, deacon, ministry team member, or intercessor. If appropriate, share some of these needs with the congregation and invite some members to come and surround the person with prayer. Public Confession: The general guideline for public confession of sin is to confess the sin as broadly as the offense. Reserve public confession for sin that has become publicly known or sin that is against the church or many of the members. I recommend that the pastor personally screen each person's desire for public confession and make sure it is appropriate. Those receiving people for prayer should agree on a procedure to follow regarding public confession. Following a public confession of sin, guide the congregation to express their forgiveness, invite the person to pray aloud and ask God for forgiveness, invite some members to gather around him or her and pray for mercy and victory, or in some other way respond to the request for forgiveness. Reconciling Relationships: Review the list of sins that may cause an offense. Then encourage members to go to each other to ask forgiveness or to be reconciled over offenses God has identified. Provide soft music. Ask those who are not sensing a need to reconcile to pray for their fellow church members who are needing to forgive and be reconciled. Don't rush this time. You may want to share guidelines similar to these: - If you are the offender, acknowledge your sin and say, "Please forgive me." Don't give excuses or try to justify your actions. Don't imply or make accusations about wrong on the other person's part. That is their responsibility. - If you sense a broken relationship exists and don't know what is wrong, say, "I sense that there may be a broken relationship between us, but I'm not sure I know why. Help me understand what I need to do to be reconciled with you." - If you miss getting to reconcile with anyone, contact him or her after the service. Testimonies: Invite individual testimonies about ways God has been working in lives during the service including experience of God's love and grace, a spiritual breakthrough, a victory over a besetting sin, reconciled relationships, confession of newfound faith in Christ, and so forth. Invitation to Receive Christ: Often in history, people have been converted during a time of sacred assembly. With the uncertainty in our land and the threats being made, some may sense a new or special urgency to reconcile with God. Extend an invitation for those who want to place their faith in Christ and provide a place with counselors who can assist those who respond. Open-ended Closing: As you close the service, invite members to continue responding to the Lord as long as needed. They may want to remain for prayer, continue seeking to reconcile relationships, or to seek out prayer with one of the leaders.

© 2007 by Claude V. King. Permission is granted to distribute the following unchanged and in it's entirity for non-commercial purposes only. It may be translated and adapted for use in churches and with other Christian groups. Major exerpts have been taken from Come to the Lord's Table: A Sacred Assembly for the Church by Claude King, (Murfreesboro, TN: Final Command Resources). Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible: New International Version, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Scriptures marked KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible. Underlining, italics, and bold face type in Scripture quotations are used by the author for emphasis and are not a part of the original Scripture text.

Background for Sacred Assemblies

by Claude V. King, Co-Author of "Experiencing God"

In 1989 Richard Owen Roberts of Wheaton, Illinois, introduced me and other leaders in my denomination to the biblical pattern for corporate repentance-the solemn assembly (or "sacred" assembly in the New International Version).1 We began to study sacred assemblies in Scripture to see their connections to revival. Sacred assemblies were occasions for God's people collectively to worship Him, to repent of personal and corporate sin, to remember His special blessings on them, and to anticipate future blessings. The prescribed sacred assemblies (or holy convocations) for Israel included the Sabbath (Lev. 23:3) and seven other days of sacred assembly: the first (Passover) and seventh days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Lev. 23:4-8), the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost, Lev. 23:15-21), the Feast of Trumpets (Lev. 23:23-25), the Day of Atonement (Lev. 23:26-32), and the first and eighth days of the Feast of Tabernacles (Lev. 23:33-36).

Sacred assemblies were times for God's people to confess and repent of their sins. They were times to renew the covenant relationship with the Lord and return to Him in faithful love and obedience. They were times for worship and sacrifice, feasting and fasting. Even with these regular opportunities to renew fellowship with God, His people tended to depart from Him and from obedience to His commands. Spiritual leaders knew that the sacred assembly was a time for corporate repentance in the face of God's righteous judgments (see Joel 1-2). A number of national revivals in the Old Testament occurred in response to a sacred assembly.

The term "sacred assembly" is not used in the New Testament. However, Jesus and His disciples celebrated the Last Supper on one of God's prescribed sacred assemblies-the Feast of Passover. The first disciples were celebrating a sacred assembly when the Holy Spirit was poured out at Pentecost. The church of our day also needs regular opportunities for individuals and the church to renew their relationships with the Lord-to remember and renew the New Covenant relationship they have with Him. In light of the current crisis, we need to bring God's people together for an emergency sacred assembly to hurry back to the Lord.

Examples. The following are some examples of sacred assemblies in Scripture:

• Jacob assembles his family, Genesis 35:1-15
• Moses consecrates Israel, Exodus 19:10-19
• Joshua seeks the Lord following defeat at Ai, Joshua 7
• Samuel guides Israel to return to the Lord, 1 Samuel 7:2-13
• King Solomon and Israel celebrate Tabernacles and dedicate the temple, 2 Chronicles 5-7
• King Asa guides an assembly, 2 Chronicles 15:1-15
• King Jehoshaphat calls a fast, 2 Chronicles 20:1-30
• King Hezekiah celebrates the Passover, 2 Chronicles 30
• King Josiah renews the Covenant, 2 Chronicles 34:14-33
• Revival under Ezra and Nehemiah, Nehemiah 8-10
• Nineveh repents after the message from Jonah, Jonah 3

Multiple Leaders. Multiple leaders were characteristic in Old Testament revivals. I'd recommend you enlist other staff, elders, deacons, or other spiritually sensitive persons to assist you in planning and guiding the sacred assembly. If this is all new to you, you will find yourself walking by faith-and that is a good way to walk. Trust the Lord to guide you.

Who should come? In the Old Testament sacred assemblies they invited all who could understand. Older children, youth, and adults would certainly be included. Even younger children can benefit by seeing adults taking their faith and relationships with Christ and His church seriously. Call people to come for an open-ended period of time. You may want to hire some childcare workers for babies and preschoolers so every adult member can participate in the service. Or you may provide space in the back of your meeting room for parents to care for children and still be able to hear and participate.

Fasting. Fasting was commonly a part of the call to an emergency sacred assembly. The focus was perhaps three-fold: (1) deny self to seek the Lord, (2) don't waste time eating when more important matters must be dealt with, and (3) emphasize the seriousness of the time. Encourage fasting the day of the sacred assembly for those who are physically able to fast.

Pray. Seek the Lord's directions as you plan for and conduct a sacred assembly. Enlist intercessors to pray for you as you prepare.