Vanishing men’s breakfasts, shrinking children’s classes, and plummeting worship attendance often drive local church members to despair and then to complaints. They assert that their church would be growing if only their leaders were more relevant, if their fellow members would do more, and if their facilities were nicer. In short, they complain because they believe the solution to their church’s woes lies in the power of other men and women.

How God Worked in Ezra

Though such thinking pervades local churches, it does not align with the realities of Ezra chapter one. The book about the restoration of faithful worship after seventy years of desolation attributes that revival of true worship to the stirring of the Lord. Ezra 1:5 reports, “Then rose up the heads of the fathers’ houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up to rebuild the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem.” God brings about and expands worship through his sovereign call.

What was true of temple worship proves true of new covenant church worship. God builds his church through the stirring of his people to action. Commenting on his church planting and evangelistic ministry, the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 3:6: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.”

Pray for Stirrings

When church attendance sags and ministries dry up, men and women should first and foremost take their concerns to the Lord. Instead of complaining to their friends or attempting to guilt the bottom tier of the church’s roles into action, believers should implore the Lord to stir them, their fellow church members, and their unsaved neighbors to action. As J.I. Packer notes, “This is the universal rule, in evangelism as elsewhere. God will make us pray before he blesses our labors in order that we may constantly learn afresh that we depend on God for everything.” In other words, Christians should pray that the Lord would stir the lost out of Babylon and into their local church through the waters of baptism. Christians should pray that the Lord would stir their fellow church members to be done with pornography, greed, and anger. They should ask the Lord to raise up the elders and deacons that the church needs to care for the saints. They should ask the Lord to stir up older women to disciple younger women, to stir up men to evangelize their neighborhoods, and to stir people of all ages to serve in the nursery. They should pray to the Lord who builds his church.

At times the growth will be slow and almost unnoticeable. The nation of Israel waited seventy years for their restoration. Our prayers too may have to span generations. But the Lord will answer. The gates of hell will not prevail. Though our local churches may come and go, the great church triumphant will never disappear and will be forever renewed in local assemblies until all are gathered to Jesus in the unending worship of the new heavens and the new earth. Pray for the Lord to stir, for he will not abandon his church.

Act on the Stirrings

Second, church members should follow the Lord’s stirring. Those who long to see their churches revived must join with the Jews of Ezra’s day and go rebuild their church as they are able. They must respond to the Lord’s stirring and put sin to death when their consciences convict them. Following the Lord’s leading, they should pursue righteousness and knowledge so that they can be qualified to lead their church and to disciple their brothers and sisters in Christ. They should follow the Lord’s stirring and invite their neighbor over for dinner and begin a relationship that will facilitate the sharing of the gospel. Those who are stirred to see more children in the church should begin volunteering in the nursery or teach a children’s Sunday school class. Those stirred to give to the church should increase their tithe and support of gospel ministry. Those who truly long to see their church grow and the worship of the Lord expand will ask the Lord to stir and also act on his stirring.

Test the Stirring

However, not every idea that pops into a believer’s head should be equated with the Lord’s divine leading. To determine an idea’s or a stirring’s source, the believer must ask and answer two questions. First, he should ask, “Does this idea or desire align with the clear teaching of Scripture?” The Lord stirred the Jews toward Jerusalem because he had promised to bring them back to Jerusalem after seventy years of desolation (Jer. 25:11–12; Dan. 9:1–2). Consequently, the man stirred to confess his sins to a trusted mentor should do so and turn from his sins. The woman stirred to divorce her husband because she finds him boring has not been stirred by the Lord and should not act on those stirrings.

Secondly, the believer should ask, “Has the Lord given him the skills, the station in life, and the resources needed to accomplish this stirring?” When God sent the Jews to Jerusalem, he sent them with the resources needed to accomplish the rebuilding of the temple. As Ezra 1:6 notes, “And all who were about them aided them with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, with beasts, and with costly wares, besides all that was freely offered.” Consequently, if a man feels called to go on a mission trip that will cost him his job and his ability to provide for his family, he should not go. He lacks the resources. But if the man feels stirred to have his neighbor over for dinner to share the gospel, he should work with his wife to put that dinner on his calendar. Similarly, if a woman feels called to give a large sum of money to her church’s building fund but would have to take out a loan to cover her gift, she should not follow that stirring. The Lord has not blessed her with the ability to wisely fulfill her desire. Conversely, if she receives an unexpected bonus and is stirred to give some of that as a special offering to her church, she can and should give in accordance with her resources. God provides his people with the resources they need to follow his stirring.

Final Thoughts

Though Christians can be tempted to view the rebuilding or revitalization of their church as the work of others, Ezra 1 presents a different narrative. The Lord rebuilds his church through the stirring of his people to action. Those who long to see their church renewed so do two things: pray that the Lord stirs his people and then follow the stirring of the Lord. The Lord must build the house.

Does Jesus Still Speak?

Were it an option, I suspect all of us would happily purchase a ticket to the next transfiguration. But Jesus does not offer us or even the other disciples this opportunity. Jesus no longer invites us to climb mountains. Rather, Jesus instructs us to read the Scriptures. Speaking of his experience on the mountain and of the centrality of the Scriptures to all future Christian experience, Peter writes, “And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (1 Pt 1:19-20).” God’s glory does not abide permanently upon the mountain but in his revealed Word.

Least we think Peter has gone rogue and replaced the glorious revelations of Jesus with the boring binding of a book, we should recall Jesus’s words in John 14:26. The ideas found in 1 Peter have their genesis in Jesus who said, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” Jesus always intended for his earthly ministry teaching ministry to give way to the completion of the Scriptures. Thus, as John Piper often says, if we want to hear the voice of God, we need to read the Scriptures out loud. To commune with Jesus, we must listen to his Word.

Today’s Mountain Tops

As we submit our lives to the Scriptures, we should expect to experience moments of joy, euphoria, and inspiration. Just as Jesus led the disciples atop the mountain, Jesus through his spirit continues to expose his children to the glories of his presence. We can experience such moments on walks while reciting scripture, at church while the service weaves its way through prayers, songs, and sermons, and at home while reading the Bible in the quiet of the early morning.

And when they do occur, we like Peter can be tempted to think that our next idea (especially if it has a religious bent to it such as going on the mission field) is of the Lord. Why yes, I should start an orphanage, travel to the South pacific, marry that girl, preach that sermon, or give that donation. While we should praise the Lord for such impulses, we still must stop and listen to Jesus before we act. We must ensure that our newly discovered desires line up with Scripture and our spiritual gifts and competency. Perhaps you should start an orphanage but maybe you should not because you lack organizational skills. Perhaps you should go to the mission field in time, but if you leave college now, you will break your promise to finish school that you made with your parents whom you are to honor (Eph 6:2; Ex 20:12). Perhaps you should be a preacher or a missionary, but you first need to stop sleeping with your girl-friend and earn the support of your local church (1 Tim 3:1; 1 Thess 4:2-8). Yes, the desire for marriage is a good desire, but that boy is an avowed atheist and not someone a faithful Christian should marry (2 Cor 6:14; 1 Cor 15:33). And yes, God does love a cheerful giver, but he also calls you to pay your bills and would not be glorified by you defaulting on your rent so that you can meet that need (2 Cor 9:6-7; Jas. 5:4,10).

Before we act, we must check our desires and motives against the Scriptures. A profound spiritual experience does not guarantee that all that comes out of our mind has been sanctified or redeemed. Though God’s Word is always true, our hearts are not. We must take time to listen to the Son, trusting that he will provide us with the skills, resources, and opportunities to fulfill all that algins with the Scriptures.

What if We Spoke?

Though the Father calls us to listen to his Son, all of us at some point or other have inserted our foot into our mouth along with the apostle Peter. We have made a commitment, headed off to seminary, started a job, begun an adoption, or even entered a marriage without considering God’s revealed word. We have awoken to the disaster of a stressed schedule, a unhealthy work environment, a low GPA, a dysfunctional family, and an unbelieving spouse.

But even if we have acted foolishly and endured great hardship because we spoke before we listened, we should not lose hope. God will not cut us off from his grace. When Jesus speaks to Peter at the end of the Transfiguration narrative, our Lord offers his impetuous and foolish disciple mercy. Matthew writes, “But Jesus came and touched them, saying “Rise, and have no fear (Mt. 17:7).” Those who have trusted in Christ do not have to fear that their foolishness will forever separate them from the goodness of God. Jesus died for our sins and stands ready to help us. He came precisely because he knew that we have far more in common with the apostle Peter than we wish to admit. And the Jesus who lifted Peter from the ground will enable us to be more than conquerors through his Spirit who sanctifies us through his Word. Jesus will forgive us and walk with us. Hear the words of Jesus: “Rise and have not fear!”