Pastoral Vision (23)

Now it shall come to pass in the latter days
That the mountain of the LORD’s house
Shall be established on the top of the mountains,
And shall be exalted above the hills;
And all nations shall flow to it. Isaiah 2.2

On the top of the mountains? Exalted above the hills? All nations flowing into it?

This is Isaiah’s (and, by the way, Micah’s, too: Mic. 4.1-8) vision of what the Church would be “in the last days”.

Well, as Peter pointed out, we’re now living in the last days (Acts 2.14-17), and while we can certainly look back through the history of the Christian movement and see how this vision was fulfilled in previous generations, it’s hard to find much evidence of this in our day, at least, in our country.

Are we suffering from a too small vision of the Church? John Bonar argued, “such a revival of true religion meets the darkness and deadness which comes over the Church in times of decay. In such times the designs, desires, and doings of the Church are apt to become to a lamentable extent low set. Contented with things as they are, she stretches not forward to the things that are before. The Spirit seems gone; and even the things which remain are ready to die” (Ministers of Scotland: Lectures on Revival). 

Most of our churches are not those envisioned by the prophet Isaiah. People are not flowing up to us, hungry to be taught the Word of God. We are not sending God’s people out into the world to live and proclaim His Law, so that their neighbors come to faith and begin seeking the Lord.

For many churches the vision they pursue is that of perpetuating the status quo indefinitely into the future. But if we want God to come and revive us and stretch us beyond where we’ve ever been before, we must dare to think it possible, and then be bold to ask (Eph. 3.20).

We need revival, a revival of our confidence in what God can do and of our souls to say, like Isaiah, “Here am I, send me.” Only God can cure us of a ministry which is content to be lamentably “low set.” Pray that He will begin to do great and mighty things such as we have never known before (Jer. 33.3).

Resources for Shepherds: Revival, renewal, and awakening
Resources are available to help you in leading your church to revival, renewal, and awakening.

What does it mean for a church to be revived? Our book Revived! addresses that question and marks out the path that can lead to revival. Learn more and order your copy by clicking here.

The psalms are a great source for leading us to pray for revival. Our book Restore Us! shows you how to use the psalms in seeking the Lord for revival, renewal, and awakening, and how to lead others to do so as well. Order your copy by clicking here.

Not persuaded that your church needs revival? Then at least you can pray for those which are so captive to contemporary culture and winds of false doctrine, that they might be set free to seek revival, renewal, and awakening. Our book The Church Captive can help you in praying for churches worldwide. Order your copy by clicking here. Or order it in a free PDF here.

Order any one of the above books, and we’ll send you a free copy of Preparing Your Church for Revival. Learn more about this book by clicking here.

Men we invite you join one of our many prayer groups seeking the Lord for revival, renewal, and awakening via Zoom. For a complete list of available groups, send me an email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Finally, Dr. Mark Richardson and I would like to invite any men who are writers or aspiring writers to join our discussion of Corey Latta’s book, C. S. Lewis and the Art of Writing. Here are 50 chapters, based on Lewis’ writings from childhood on, to help us understand why his writing works so well. Each chapter includes a writing exercise, which we will share in our time together. We’ll just get through the first several chapters this fall, meeting every other Thursday beginning September 12 until December 12 at 4:00 pm. Interested? Send me an email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

From the Celtic Revival
Have mercy upon us,
O Almighty God, Jesus Christ, Son of the living God!
O true Light of love, that enlighteneth every darkness,
O guiding Light,
O Sun of righteousness,
O Morning star,
O Brightness of the Deity,
O Radiance of the eternal brightness,
have mercy upon us!

  - Mugrón, Litany of the Trinity, Irish, 14th century[1]

Mugrón’s prayer from the afterglow of the Celtic Revival reflects the high view of Jesus which motivated and delighted the great saints from that period. We’ll unpack this excerpt from his lengthy prayer in tomorrow’s installment of Crosfigell. You can subscribe to Crosfigell and all our other teaching letters by clicking here.

New in the Bookstore
We are pleased to announce two new PDF books in our bookstore. To Judge the World considers the role of God’s people in bringing truth to light in all the niches, nooks, crannies, and arenas of our world. Winds of Doctrine looks at 21 different ill winds that can blow us off course from the Lord and shows us how to “trim our sails” to keep on course. Download these new books to your e-reader and share them with your friends. Get a group together for study and discussion.

T. M. Moore

If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).

Support for Pastor to Pastor comes from our faithful and generous God, who moves our readers to share financially in our work. If this article was helpful, please give Him thanks and praise.

And please prayerfully consider supporting The Fellowship of Ailbe with your prayers and gifts. You can contribute online, via PayPal or Anedot, or by sending a gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, P. O. Box 8213, Essex, VT 05451.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

[1] Plummer, Litanies, pp. 81, 83.