Synod delegates and visitors concerned for the state of the church, the nation, and their own souls gathered at Marion Reformed Presbyterian Church in Marion, Ind., on the Monday evening just prior to Synod, to hear God’s Word proclaimed and then to seek corporately the face of Christ together. A season of prayer was engaged for renewal of hearts and revival of true piety in the branches of Christ’s true church, beginning with our own.
Pastor Rom Prakashpalan (Dallas, Texas RPC) preached a blunt and sobering sermon entitled “The Cost of Revival” based on Psalm 85. He called all listeners to evaluate the spiritual apathy of the culture, of our churches, and of our own souls.
A Portrait of Revival
The minister spoke of the need of God Himself to come down into His church, and how God’s grace in the church is what overflows into the world. He reminded the ministers present that the church is by definition a community saturated with God. Longing for God. Reflecting the glory of God in a profane and heartless world. A revived church will be a church singularly focused on God’s holiness. We were reminded that the work of the Spirit—when he comes—reproves the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment (John 16:8). In a revived community individuals know that “I have with my own iniquities pierced the hands and feet of the Lord Jesus” (Zech 12:10).
Our Need for Revival
Psalm 85:4 reminds us that God is a restoring God, and that He has restored and reformed and revived his church again and again throughout the ages. Yet we must lament the true state of religion in our day, and within the RPCNA to own and admit and confess our sins. Should we not bear any cost in pleading for times of refreshing to come from and with the presence of the Lord (Acts 3:20)? A key element of authentic revival is the commitment to speak openly about sin, longing to “turn back that our sins might be blotted out” through the faithful application of redemption by Jesus Christ Himself.
Means and Exertions unto Revival
The renewal and refreshment of revival comes only at a cost, and it is a cost the church must consider. We must be willing to spend and be spent for the sake of Christ’s Bride. When our perspective is renewed by the Spirit, we can see our great privilege is suffering with Christ. The minister concluded with seven ways the church will be called to pay the cost of true and authentic revival.
The rigors of prayer and the prayer meeting.
The promiscuous preaching of Christ as the Cross-bearer.
The cost of preaching against sin.
The need for regular visitation.
Real reformation. In Mal. 3:7 the Lord rehearses how the church turned aside from His ordinances. Conformity to Scripture’s commands will cost you your pride.
The humiliation necessary for corporate repentance.
Bear the cost of revival through sacrificial giving.
Following the preaching of God’s Word the congregation sought Lord together in confession of sin, pleading the grace of the Cross, and seeking Christ as the source of the church’s only blessing.
You can hear a sermon from the first Covenanter Prayer meeting in 2022 at CovenanterPrayer.com.