Invitation to the 2006 Northbrook Conference

Dear Saint, 

Have you ever wondered what it means that as a believer in Jesus you are indwelt by the Holy Spirit? If we think on this for a moment, it is beyond what we have even dared to dream—God dwells in those of us who believe. Does this have cash value in your life? 

What about your church? Where two or three gather he is among us, and Paul calls the church God’s temple, the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. Is this relevant for the way you prepare to gather for worship? If you are a pastor, does this influence what you preach and teach? No church is holy like God is holy, which means that every church is going to have to practice church discipline. Are you obeying the instructions of the Lord Christ regarding church discipline? 

We are in desperate need of revival and reformation in our day. I am praying that God will do beyond what we can ask or think in local churches across the land. When we speak of revival we are speaking of a dramatic increase in concern for the things of God among the people of God: Christians trusting God through whelming floods, hungry for the word of God, thirsty for righteousness, zealous for the truth, giving their lives away in heroic self-denying neighbor-loving service, and, most of all, fearless proclamation of the good news that those who confess with their mouths that Jesus is Lord and believe in their hearts that God raised him from the dead will be saved. 

Real revival doesn’t only pertain to Christians being consumed with the things of God, it also refers to astonishing numbers of new converts. We want to see multitudes of people born again, regenerated, made alive in Christ Jesus. It is the Spirit who gives life. May the Lord bring revival! 

If the Lord gives us a revival, awakened and renewed people will seek to re-shape all of society. This is what we mean by reformation. If individuals, families, churches, schools, and whole communities become radically committed to the glory of God through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, everything will be transformed. A transformation of society that results from healthy churches full of zealous Christians obeying the word of God is the kind of reformation we need. Would you join me in praying that God will save so many people that the whole culture will be re-formed around his word? 

I believe all of this can start one church at a time, and I believe that understanding what God has called the church to be as his temple, the dwelling place of the Spirit, can set a church on the path to revival and reformation. Would you prayerfully seek the Lord about joining us for The Northbrook Conference this fall? 

For Christ and his church,

Jim Hamilton