The Responsibilities of Prophecy ...continued

The Pastoral Responsibility - Building an Altar of Repentance

It is important that if we create an environment where people have the freedom to make mistakes, that in that environment we also build a place where people can acknowledge their mistakes. It is important that we confess our mistakes, although I am not comparing wilful sin and mistakes in the administration of spiritual gifts but maybe the principle is the same.

Leadership should build into the life of the church the means for people to openly confess their mistakes without condemnation but not without consequence. Although we do not have the time to explore this fully, I do believe that repentance, restitution and restoration are closely linked and that more often than not some form of restitution is necessary before restoration.

I remember giving a word towards the end of the meeting. It was "I believe that God has given someone a song to close the meeting with. Would they please come forward and tell the musicians." No-one moved, there was silence for what seemed like 2 hours but was more accurately 2 minutes. I broke the silence by apologising to the congregation and then apologised to God publicly in prayer and gave the musicians a song to close the service with. After the service had closed three people came to me and said that I should not have apologised as it was them who God had given the song to. I explained that I had apologised because I was wrong; if I had been correct then they would have been able to share the song with the musicians, and that it was good to apologise publicly if you were leading the service and made a mistake. I also explained that they had learnt that God could speak to them in this service and that they had a role to play in the body of Christ. It was a learning curve that we all experienced. The interesting thing was that all three people came separately and individually and each had been given the same song.

Why is it so hard to say sorry?

We live in a world where people laugh at and depreciate the weak and it is considered a weakness to be wrong. Therefore, it is not surprising that people cover up their mistakes rather than reveal them and say sorry. This type of covering up can be the seedbed for pride.

Richard Sibbes (5) says, "The way to cover our sin is to uncover it by confession".

Church leaders should enable people to confess their mistakes in a safe place quite contrary to the ways of the world.

An anonymous quote from "Gathered Gold" (5) by John Blanchard says "There is no spirit in man more opposed to the Spirit of God than the spirit of pride."

There is no place for a spirit or attitude of pride in the person moving in the prophetic gift.

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