“The Lord stirred up … the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and did work in the house of the Lord of hosts, their God,” Haggai 1:14.
The idea of a faithful remnant who completes God’s work against overwhelming odds grew out of Israelite history. In one long-remembered incident, the Midianites covered the plain like a plague of locusts. But 300 faithful and true men defeated them.
If God’s people waited until their numbers matched those of their opponents, they would never act for God. Yet, so many of us do nothing. “I’m the only Christian at my work.” “Everyone around me worships differently.” “No one wants to hear about God anymore.”
The term “force majeure” has been used, which means, “the threat of superior,” and holds others in check. Satan would have us think that he has the superior force; God rules otherwise.
God stirs up the spirit of the remnant through the unexpected opportunity of a sudden threat. If there are 100,000 people in your city knocking at the church’s door, we must answer the stirring of the Spirit. If God can add a thousand every day to His Church, then the time has come for action.
In the face of a small band of dedicated people, the so-called superior force may suffer defeat. Only a comparatively small band of people continued their trust in prophetic truth following 1844 and its disappointment. But, they were enough for God’s purposes. Out of that small band has grown the globe-encompassing judgement-hour message.
Feeling small and isolated places us under a tyranny of fear. As we have taken on a five-year strategy that includes multiplying our membership through reconnecting with them, providing mentorship for younger church leaders, developing enhanced media for the propagation of the Gospel, planting new churches, and structuring additional support for Christian families in our Union jurisdiction from 2022 to 2026, we — through the accompaniment of the Holy Spirit — will suffocate the tyranny of the evil one. To overthrow this tyrant, we will look to the Spirit of God, who will give us powers we never imagined.
Pentecost turned a remnant into a city-shaking force. Prayer and the Spirit can do it again where we are, alone or few though we may be.
In the plan of God, a faithful remnant will not only preserve His name on the Earth, but will witness to the whole world. The operative word is faithful, not remnant. The faithful believe that God can accomplish wonders. Because He has done it for them, He can do it in the world, in the community, at home.
I invite you to place your hands on deck with the hundreds of thousands of other members within the Southern Union, to reconnect with our prodigal sons and daughters who have been circumstantially displaced. As a deer pants for the brook of water, let us ask God for the burning desire to bring them home. We have more numbers from glory on our side than we may be able to see.
“God is always a majority,” The Acts of the Apostles, p. 590. –RCS
Southern Union | August 2022
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