The Lord has me up early again this morning seeking Him. As I drove to the church the sign outside said it all, “Shake the City Revival Continues.” The church staff gathered yesterday afternoon to pray about what we were supposed to do concerning extending the revival. Many people thought it was over since we had planned on ten days. We actually planned for eleven days since that meant ending on a Wednesday night instead of a Tuesday night. After meeting with the staff we met with the deacons to discern what the Lord was saying to us. The direction shared by all is that God is not through.
We started the service for day eleven like we have the rest calling out to God in prayer. Last night our focus was to seek the Lord if we were to continue the meetings and to ask the Lord if the Atens were to be invited back to join us in this great move of God. Sean felt we should. Many came to the altar crying out for God to show us clearly what to do. This was followed by another baptism of a teenage boy.
I cannot over exaggerate how God has anointed Sean Decker to lead us in worship after taking the baton from Sherman and Tammy Aten last Saturday. He lead us in two songs last night the Holy Spirit used to redirect the message. As we sang “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” and “My Chains are Gone” I was stirred to preach not one but two messages. The first message was a reading of the crucifixion story from Matt 27. I followed that with looking at Rom 5:8-9 and Rom 2:4-5. The message was not long. I preached the pure and simple gospel. I gave an invitation for people to be saved. Five responded by raising their hands. I asked them to promise they would make their decision public after the second message which they did.
While seated during the music seeking God I felt Him directing me to minister to the church through [Gal 6:9] in the second message. This verse is, “Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.” That had been the message the Lord put on my heart all day long. I felt clearly in my heart we were to extend the revival and at the same time the church needed some encouragement.
I know people are tired. I am tired. What the Lord continues to do here is beyond words. Last night there were people in attendance from Andrews, Lamesa, and Lovington, NM. How do you explain that? Only the Lord could extend a revival meeting to eleven days and not see a drop in the attendance. His power has been on display. Only He could draw people from other communities to come. Despite all God is doing around us, I felt in my spirit that people are tired. I know my family is tired. We seldom get home from the meetings until 9:00-9:30 p.m. The services are lasting anywhere from an hour and a half to as long as two and a half hours. People are physically, emotionally, and spiritually spent. Last night I sensed the Lord wanted to encourage His church to press on.
The direction we went in the second message encouraged people to not lose heart. In the Greek that means to not become weak, weary, or spiritless. That verse also exhorts not to grow weary but to trust we will reap in due time. The reaping in my mind includes more people being saved. In the Greek the phrase “not grow weary” means do not give up, do not quit, do not faint, do not relax, do not become weakened, or exhausted.
The second message was not long. What I sensed the Lord calling me to do included asking the sound people to come to the altar to be prayed over. I invited the video volunteers to come down as well to be prayed over. I asked the television workers to leave the TV room to come in for prayer as well as the praise team and those who play instrunments. The front was jammed packed with those volunteers who have given so much of themselves over the past eleven days. So many came to pray over them I could not get off the stage. A beautiful sight unfolded before my eyes as the body of Christ ministered to one another.
What happened next caught me by surprise. People stepped up on the platform and began praying for me. This proved to be very humbling. The way God has bonded my heart to these people is nothing short of supernatural. We are still two weeks away from being here a solid year. One lady in particular really touched my heart. Her name is Amber Decker. She is Sean’s wife. She came up to pray for me with tears in her eyes. Her prayer touched me deeply. I am honored and blessed to get to pastor this church.
I announced to the church when things settled that we would extend the revival through Sunday and determine after that what to do next. If God wanted to put an exclamation point on the evening He did it in large fashion. Jase came near me after the end of the service motioning something large had happened. I made my way over to him but in no way was prepared for what he told me.
Somehow a student from Lovington, NM heard what God has been doing here. I have never been to Lovington but people told me it is about an hour from here. This student invited some friends to drive over with him to attend the revival. Two of those friends trusted Christ for salvation! This is an answered prayer. I have been asking the Lord if He wanted to extend this revival to draw people from other towns to come. My thoughts were towns like Seagraves, Denver City, and Loop. It never crossed my mind God would draw people from New Mexico.
A UPS driver told me on his route in every city he delivered to, which included Seagraves, Denver City, and Loop, people are talking about what God is doing in Seminole. This amazes me that people who live twenty miles away are hearing about the powerful move of God. Another man reported how he had gone to the Seminole Post Office to get his mail. When he opened his mailbox he heard postal workers talking about what the Lord is doing in the revival. Another commented how God’s work in this revival was the hot topic at a men’s coffee table.
God is Shaking this City. He still has more shaking He wants to do. I sit back awed by all the Lord is doing. I know I may never again see anything like this in my lifetime and therefore renew my dedication to seeking the Lord. I see the vision coming to fruition the Lord showed me back in the spring when He called me to this revival. I see the move of God spilling into the streets of Seminole and beyond. I see in the near future the crowds will overflow the church. The Lord showed me this would happen. He also showed me back then the revival would be extended and that it would spread over West Texas. Little by little I am seeing all these things coming to pass before my eyes. Revival continues. Where and when it ends only God knows. I will not become weary in doing good or lose heart. This is the time to reap the harvest.
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