Prophetic Word for BC

Prince Kudolo gave a prophetic word for the church at the second service yesterday.  This was taken from Jeremiah 30:19 but to look at the verse in context we need to read v18 as well:


18 "This is what the LORD says: 'I will restore the fortunes of Jacob's tents and have compassion on his dwellings; the city will be rebuilt on her ruins, and the palace will stand in its proper place.
¹⁹ From them will come songs of thanksgiving and the sound of rejoicing. I will add to their numbers, and they will not be decreased; I will bring them honor, and they will not be disdained."  (NIV)


The whole chapter of Jeremiah 30 is about God's promised restoration to Israel from captivity.  Israel was ravaged by the Assyrians (northern kingdom) and the Babylonians (southern kingdom of Judah) due to their idolatrous worship, when they forsook the Lord. They were taken captives by the foreign powers to undergo reprogramming, among whom we have Daniel and his three friends.  Inasmuch as God brought judgment to His people, His mercies still shines through in this chapter.  There will come a day when God would bring the captives back to their homeland.  This happened during the reign of the Persian king, Artaxerxes, who issued a decree to allow the Jews to return back to their homeland to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem.  Later Nehemiah followed to rebuild the city.  And in 1948, the nation of Israel was reconstituted.


Applying the word to our contemporary context, it would mean that God desires to bless our church with increase in numbers.  We have seen minimal growth for the past few years despite the efforts put in to organise evangelistic outreaches. God is aware of the discouragement faced by His people and that's why this word was given to motivate and encourage us to press on with the work.  The verses above tell us that it is His prerogative to restore and to add to our numbers.  I believe that as a church we need to continue to pray for the fulfillment of His good word to us; that God would bring back those who have left us and that new ones would come in.


At the same time, I believe we need to build on our character as a church - to be a warm and inviting church that really cares for our people inasmuch as we care for the community.  Do we call up people whom we know have left us to find out how they are?  There are many reasons why people leave a church; more often than not people do not leave an organisation, rather they leave people.  As people of God, we need to be mindful of the way we carry ourselves in public; often times our tone and mannerism can put people off.  The attractiveness of a church is seen in the way we interact with each other, exhibiting the both the gifts and fruit of the Holy Spirit.  The good news is that God has forgiven us of our sins (past) and desires to take us into His glorious future, to shape and mould us into the image of His Beloved Son. 


May God continue to favour us as a church as we yield ourselves to His Spirit's leading and conviction in our lives.