Sacred Assembly by Ps. Sean Prasad

Joel 1:14
Declare a holy fast;
call a sacred assembly.
summon the elders
and all who live in the land
to the house of the Lord your God,
and cry out to the Lord.

Joel 2:15
Blow the trumpet in Zion,
declare a holy fast,
call a sacred assembly



-we are called to be a peculiar people not familiar
-peculiar -->weird, strange to the world
-the church must be a sacred assembly
-prophets are strange people but they are God's people
-The call is to form a strange sacred assembly

-the church cannot be like the world
-we are in this world but not of the world

..our dressing, our speech, our behaviour, our lifestyle, us as Christians..
does it reflect God or the world??



-we are to be made holy, to be different
-holy -->Hagious [Greek]
-Hagious --> consecrated, separated, dedicated
-in order to be holy, we have to walk before God always



..Blow the trumpet in Zion..
the trumpet is blown because there is a call to form a sacred assembly set apart for God's purpose and promises.

To form a Sacred Assembly :


.::. Repent With All Your Heart .::.



Joel 2:12
"even now," declares the Lord,
"return to me with all your heart,
with fasting and weeping and mourning."

...return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning..[repentance]

-repent completely and continually every single moment of our lives.
-repent in every area of our lives
-let not one part of us get away with sin and wrong-doing
-keep your heart soft and mind strong [not the other way round]
-it must be of true repentance not just a mere feeling of remorse and regret
-true repentance must be of 100% not 99.9999%
-forgive those who have hurt us in any way
-if we don't, we will kill our spiritual life
-hurt --> bitterness --> hatred --> damnation to our souls
-learn to forgive as the Father forgives us


.::. Rend Your Heart .::.



Joel 2:13
Rend your heart and not your garments.
Return to the Lord your God,
for he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love,
and he relents from sending calamity.

-break your heart, tear it before God
-God do not reject a heart that is broken
-God desires a heart that is soft and sensitive to Him
-don't ever harden your heart towards Him
-God wants to do a spiritual surgery on your heart
-God was broken so you will be blessed
-only when you are broken, you cannot be moulded into His image
-until and unless God destroys the old, He cannot build a new one
-until and unless He kills the old, He cannot bring forth life
-until and unless He wounds the old, He cannot heal



.::. Return To God With All Your Heart .::.



Joel 2:13
Rend your heart and not your garments.
Return to the Lord your God,
for he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love,
and he relents from sending calamity.

-Remember God always as your first love
-Remember the day when you first experience His love
-Remember the day when you were all fired up for God
-walk together with Him in all circumstances
-His spirit will convict our spirit and we have to respond


Matthew 22:37
Jesus replied: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment

Joel 2:12
"even now," declares the Lord,
"return to me with all your heart,
with fasting and weeping and mourning."

until and unless we repent with all our heart, we cannot love God with all our heart