Under the allure of freshly bloomed cherry blossoms and springtime warmth, Holiness Tabernacle Church Of God In Christ celebrated its annual Spring Revival, April 17-19th. The guest revivalist and speaker was Elder Robert Chambers, assistant pastor of the St. George Beth El Church Of God In Christ in Flint, Mich.
Not one to sugarcoat or dilute what the Lord has revealed to him, Elder Chambers declared the need for “Rediscovering Your Passion” and “Spiritual Maturity”. He began in Revelation 2:1-5. As he read the account of the Lord Jesus’ words to the Church of Ephesus, he pointed out that the Lord was very complimentary to the people, praising their doctrinal discernment, hard working hands and willingness to withstand evil for the sake of His name.
“However”, Elder Chambers continued, “What does Jesus then say to them? I have an issue with you!” After reading on, he pointed out that Jesus wanted passion from the church at Ephesus. “When people lose passion, they lose drive and quit”, he said. Passion – affection, love, and care – was of the utmost importance to Jesus. While He commended their deeds, He could not overlook their loss of love. In that same respect, the Lord still calls for His people to love today. The Lord calls His children to both love Him and love those around them (Matt 22:35-40).
With a shift to Revelation 3:14-16 and 19, Elder Chambers described what can happen when people attempt to hide their loss of passion. They either become hard-hearted or lukewarm, refusing to simply ask God for help. Elder Chambers counted this as a mistake because “Jesus tells them ‘I know your deeds!’. You cannot hide from God in the crowd.”
Using Jesus’ words to the Church of Laodicea, Elder Chambers described how the Lord feels about lukewarmness or phoniness. “He says ‘I will spit you out’. Hot drinks and cold drinks do something for people,” he stated. “No one wants lukewarm coffee”.
As he preached on, Elder Chambers spent the rest of the night exhorting the church to take notice of whether lukewarmness applied to any of them, reminding the membership that Jesus gives a solution: repentance. “If it’s you, repent. Repent and rediscover your passion for God,” he urged. “God is so powerful that He can give you a taste and fill you up with just the taste.”
On the next night, Elder Chambers transitioned from the topic of passion to spiritual maturity. He reminded the church that everything evil, everything sinful, and everything unholy is a result of the curse. In so doing, Elder Chambers made an appeal for more believers to recognize that those who continue to live in sin are not beneath believers, as all have fallen short.
As a result, believers should engage everyone and love them – have passion toward them. He mentioned that many believers are too often more concerned with appearances than with loving someone enough to share the gospel with them. “That shows a lack of maturity”, he said.
Being greatly aware of the hardships that come with opposing the status quo, Elder Chambers urged the congregation to pursue faith. “Seek faith to deal with the persecution that comes with going against the culture.”
Elder Chambers then moved into a time of prayer. “I want to pray for the young people. I don’t want to forget about them”, he said. As he communicated with the Father, Elder Chambers prayed that the young people of Holiness Tabernacle would know God in their youth.
Upon finishing the prayer, Elder Chambers praised Pastor Eddie B Pruitte’s continued hospitality. He also praised the Holiness Tabernacle congregation for being a house of prayer, a direct reflection of Pastor Pruitte’s personal commitment to upholding God’s command to pray continually.
Although some time has passed since Elder Chambers headed home for Michigan, the words he spoke on behalf of the Lord still remain: Rediscover Your Passion for God.