>Addressed to Pastors:
“…God has caused you [the Pastor] to become Pastor to some souls here who are as valuable to Him as any in the world – your quiet persistence will be a sign that you believe God has a purpose of grace for this people, and that this purpose of grace will be promoted, not by gimmicks, or stunts, or new ideas, but by the Word of God released in preaching by prayer.
There will soon be evidence that God is at work – and the devil will rouse himself too! The first sign will be that believing folk who may have grown cold and worldly, will begin to loosen their purse strings out of thankfulness to God for His living Word, and the finances will improve. This is the least of the signs, but it is almost always the first to appear in the reviving of a church.
Then this becomes a witness to the nominal in the midst, the materially minded, that a faithful ministry pays financial as well as spiritual dividends. There will be opposition, and you may be surprised at where it comes from – …. Those whose daily lives do not match up to their profession will begin to be disturbed. Those who maintain class distinctions, social or intellectual, in the congregation, and all who put up with the fulminations of a young minister as long as he does not seriously interfere with their status quo, will begin to panic. Amidst all this, consciences will be stirred and lives will be searched, home life, business, church activities examined. People will begin to take sides, objections to you and what you preach, and how you preach it, will become increasingly plausible (but quite irrational when you consider them). Your manner, length and style of preaching, etc. will be torn to pieces.
Withal, there will be a nucleus of responsive souls all very imperfect; some perhaps quite objectionable, and possibly, alas, without a good witness in the church and community; some toadying to the new man [minister] and to the new found livingness of his message in the hope that, siding with you, they may escape the searchingness of the Word, and put themselves in your good books. But a nucleus will appear, of whom several will be seen to be truly devoted to God, and bound together by ties of holy love. These will honour you for your faithfulness to God. God will even provide you a suitable comforter, someone to care for you in the upheaval, and you will begin to see the church taking apostolic shape before your eyes. You will see the Word changing and exposing lives, and you will marvel and tremble and rejoice and fear all in one. You will be bowed in profoundest humility before God when you see that He has called you to follow in the train, however far behind, of the first Apostles, and the prophets, teachers and martyrs of the centuries.
In this work we must not be afraid of upset. We must not go out of our way to create it; we don’t look for trouble, but seek peace. But if we are going to be faithful to God and to men, there will be upset. The great thing to know is that God is at work creatively, through His Word, in answer to the prayers of His people. There is not a greater task a man can perform in the whole world than this, that he is being used to release the all-searching Word of God upon a company of needy souls. It is the most amazing thing. It works! God works. His Word works. Prayer works. The Spirit works.