Praying for Revival!

I Have Moved to Wordpress

2009-12-29T11:57:00.001-06:00

This will be my last post on this site.

I have started on new site called: "Pray for Revival!"

Thank you for praying for spiritual revival!

The Link's Player Devotional on the Use of Our Eyes...

2009-09-08T08:51:00.001-06:00

LINKS DAILY DEVOTIONAL

The Links Daily Devotional is available at this site Monday through Friday each week. The devotional is also available via e-mail, where it is sent right to your e-mail Inbox. To receive the Links Daily Devotional via e-mail, please subscribe at the right.

Monday’s devotion (9/7/2009)

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

LOOKIE HERE

I will set before my eyes no vile thing. (Psalm 101:3, NIV)

Not too many people follow a shank with their eyes. Rather, the moment the ball comes off the club, they drop their head and wince. It’s just too hard to look at something that ugly!

If only we could control our eyes in all circumstances like this.

When David wrote that he would set his eyes on no vile thing, his context was simple: he wanted his house to be a blameless one. And he wanted to be the leader of that blamelessness. This means he had to be prepared to deny access to anything that would defile his home.

Certainly we make every attempt to do this against those who would steal our possessions or do us physical harm. Some folks install elaborate alarm systems; others keep a gun available for self-defense. Our doors have peepholes that allow us to see who is on the other side before we throw those doors open to potentially harmful strangers. Some live in gated communities, where a guard in the shack keeps an extra eye on things. In so many ways, we employ protection.

And yet, we often forget to be so diligent with our souls. What enters our minds can enter our souls quite quickly if our defenses are not in place. And what enters our minds comes through only two avenues: our eyes and our ears.

Which makes it imperative that we ask two questions with great regularity:

- What am I allowing my eyes to see?

- What am I permitting my ears to hear?

A psalmist wrote elsewhere of lifting his eyes to the hills, seeking the help of the Lord (Psalm 121:1). It is a powerful suggestion, that God’s beauty leads us to God. Our normal mode of operation is to let our eyes wander through the world with little discernment, figuring that God can win out over any trash that “happens” to make its way into our brain.

This is not the choice David was seeking to make in his own life. He wanted to establish a proactive defense against the things that would threaten his soul and the souls in his care. We know, sadly, that David was not always successful in this defense, and that he paid a dear price for his unguarded moments. But that is all the more reason to learn from his example, both in its positive and negative aspects.

We cannot always govern what comes knocking on the door of our mind—but we can make the decision now to shut our eyes and our ears from things that would tear us from right relationship with God.

--

Jeff Hopper

September 8, 2009

Copyright 2009 Links Players International

The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.

Our Prayer Book

2009-08-25T12:18:00.001-06:00

The Love Christ is my prayer book

Gerhard Tersteegen (quoted in The Hidden Life of Prayerby D.M. M'Intyre

Expository Preaching is Crucial for Revival

2009-08-16T16:29:00.002-06:00

Desiring God Blog

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God’s Word, Good Exposition, Great Joy, Much Strength

Posted: 15 Aug 2009 11:03 PM PDT

(Author: John Piper)

Here's another reason I am joyfully committed to expository exultation, that is, preaching.

Look at this amazing statement of what biblical exposition is like when it's done well—in the power of God's Spirit and riveted on biblical texts.

Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people.... [T]he Levites helped the people to understand the Law.... They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.... And all the people went their way...to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them. (Nehemiah 8:5-8,12)

First, there was a reader of the word of God. Then there were those who explained the words. Then there was true understanding in the minds of the people. Then there was great rejoicing "because they hand understood the words."

It is astonishing to me how many pastors apparently don't believe in pursuing the joy of their people in this way. Evidently they think it doesn't work. I'm sure there are many reasons for this abandonment of biblical exposition.

But I simply want to wave the flag and say: There was joy then. And there is joy today when God's people see real, divine meaning in texts that they had not seen before.

If you want to see a strong church, keep in mind that it is no accident that in this very context the writer says, "The joy of the Lord is your strength" (Nehemiah 8:10).

What joy? The joy of verse 12: "All the people went their way...to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them."

God's truth followed by faithful, Spirit-anointed exposition, leads to great joy, which is the strength of God's people. So give the sense, brothers. Give the sense!

David Livingstone Died on His Knees

2009-08-15T16:05:00.001-06:00

Worldwide Missions
Missionary Biographies

David Livingstone
Africa's Great Missionary and Explorer
by Galen B. Royer

Born at Blantyre, Scotland, March 19, 1813.
Died at Ilala, Africa, May 1, 1873.

1. Parents. Niel Livingstone, whose ancestry came from Ulfa Island, of the Staffa group of Great Britain, first as a tailor and then as a tea merchant, made a moderate living in Blantyre. Quick temper, warm and tender heart, deep and noble convictions; a great reader of good books, a member of the Congregational Church; family worship morning and evening, regular attendance at church and strict observance of the Sabbath, were marked characteristics of his life and home. His wife, Agnes Hunter, to whom he was married in 1810, shared fully in the high ideals of her husband. To them were born five sons and two daughters, two sons dying in infancy.

David Livingstone2. Early Life. David, the second son, was born on March 19, 1813. From childhood he showed unusual love for nature, and through great perseverance, which always characterized his life, gained prizes and excelled his playmates in many ways. At ten he made his own living in the cotton mills while spending his evenings in night school. Through reading Dick's "Philosophy of the Future State" he was led to confess Christ; the life of Henry Martyn, first modern missionary to Mohammedans, and Charles Gutslaff, medical missionary to China, fixed his life purpose. "It is my desire to show my attachment to the cause of Him Who died for me by devoting my life to His service." Contact with Robert Moffat, pioneer missionary to Africa, prompted Livingstone to offer his services to this needy field. Ordained as a missionary in Albion Street Chapel, London, on November 8, 1840; only one night's visit home and that an all night's conference about missions, closed in the morning by David reading Psalms 121 and 135 at family worship, and this future missionary and explorer was walking towards Glasgow on his way to Africa. He was accompanied by his father to Broomiclaw, where they parted; never to meet again.

3. First Experiences in Africa. On December 8, 1840, Livingstone sailed for Africa. Going by Cape Town and Algoa Bay he was soon in the interior where Moffat was at work in the Bechuana territory. On the way thither he was incensed at the unkind treatment of the natives by Europeans. Mingling freely among them, healing their diseases, disarming their hostilities by interesting them in something unusual, he soon reached the conclusion that a noble and true heart was a better mainspring to overcome and direct raw natives than the abuse heretofore given them. His intense desire that all natives should have an opportunity to embrace Christianity, and his decided preference to labor where no white man had worked, led him to locate at Mabotsa, northward in the interior. This locality was infested by lions; and one day one which the natives had wounded sprang out of the bushes, seized Livingstone at the shoulder, tore his flesh and broke his arm. Ever after he could not raise his gun to shoot without great pain.

4. Marriage. In 1844 he was united in marriage to Mary Moffat, oldest daughter of Robert and Mary Moffat. To them six children were born, one dying in infancy. Few couples enjoyed living together better than this one; but for the sake of Africa they deprived each other of association a great part of their lives. Thoughtless and unfriendly remarks about their separation caused them much heartache.

5. First Explorations. In 1845 the Livingstones moved to Chonuane, and later to Kolebeng, where Sechele, the chief of the tribes, became his first convert. These moves were but the first steps of this daring man's life. Each letter home ended with the words, "Who will penetrate the heart of Africa?" He sickened at heart when he heard of well-fed Christians at home engaged in hair-splitting discussions over doctrinal themes when millions were dying without the Gospel where he was. At last he began a tour, passed over Kalahari Desert, where for days no water could be found, and overcoming almost insurmountable difficulties, discovered Lake 'Ngami. The chief, Sevituane, welcomed him, but on account of the unhealthy conditions the country thus found did not prove suitable for a mission station.

6. Self-Denial and Losses. Livingstone conceived the idea that, if a way were opened from the interior to the coast, Christianity, civilization and commerce would move freely to these benighted people. But the undertaking involved fearful hardships and much self-denial. It was about this time that he wrote, "I place no value on anything I have or possess except in relation to the kingdom of Christ." Taking his wife and children to Cape Town, where amidst many tears and heart struggles he saw them sail for England on April 23, 1852, he set his face to this new purpose. But he found many obstacles. The Dutch Boers, who had robbed and subjected the natives to the worst slavery, opposed his efforts to the extent of destroying his home and carrying away his household goods. Undaunted, however, by any opposition, exploring the regions round about preparatory to the greater task of reaching the coast, preaching, teaching and healing, -- making notes and observations of a geographical and scientific nature and forwarding the same to England, -- thus he sought to do the Father's will as he wrote, "As for me, I am determined to open up Africa or perish."

7. The Horrors of the Interior. About the middle of 1853 Livingstone reached Linyanti, on the Zambesi. Here Chief Sekeletu rendered him all the aid he had for the journey, and the missionary explorer, with a few tusks, coffee, beads, etc., and accompanied with twenty-seven Barotse men and some oxen, threw himself into the heart of Africa on November 11, 1853, and after seven months of untold hardship, reached St. Paul de Loanda, on the west coast. During the journey he had thirty-one attacks of intermittent fever; towards its close these were accompanied by dysentery of the most painful type. Often he was destitute of food and especially of the kind needed for his condition. The horrors of polygamy, incest and cannibalism were appalling. The cruelties of slavery, seen in families broken up, gangs chained, bodies of those that perished from indescribable brutalities, lying by the wayside or their skeletons hanging from trees, while others were floating in the river until at night they interfered with the paddles of his boat,--such manifestations of the infamous slave trade constantly drew mightily on the tender heart of the noble missionary.

8. An Heroic Return. At St. Paul de Loanda, because no one expected him to arrive, there was no mail. A boat offered him passage to England; but though needing to rest and regain his health he started for the interior with his men after a short rest, because he had promised to return them to their chief, Sekeletu. When the news that he was alive reached England, astonishment and admiration filled the minds of the people. The Royal Geographical Society awarded him its highest honors, a gold medal.

9. New Discoveries. A journey of two thousand miles was before Livingstone as he began his return trip from the west coast eastward on September 24, 1854. Many hostile tribes had to be met and tactfully handled; many dangers were found in the way. After arriving at Linyanti on September 11, 1855, he went down the Zambesi River and discovered the famous, beautiful Victoria Falls and two longitudinal elevations where Europeans could live free from fever and the fly. His map and observations were of greatest value to the Royal Geographical Society. On May 20, 1856, he reached Quilimane on the east coast and thus covered a territory never before traversed by a white man.

10. First Visit Home. After sixteen years of absence Livingstone made his first visit to England, arriving December 9, 1856. Had he risen from the grave he could not have been looked upon with more interest or loaded with more honors. Societies, colleges and others vied with each other in doing him honor. Mrs. Livingstone, who had heard the unfriendly criticism about their prolonged separation and her husband's exploring instead of doing regular missionary work, and who had endured the long, lonely months of waiting, stood by his side through all this flood of honor. Lord Shaftesbury on one occasion "paid her equal tribute with her husband and all England said 'Amen.'"

11. Results in England. While at home, Livingstone wrote his first book, "Missionary Travels," a great success in sales and awakening interest in Africa. On this trip a very serious matter, which had absorbed the attention of those interested, was settled. The London Missionary Society which sent him out felt that it was not right to use his time in exploring the country. Livingstone had a strong conviction that "the end of the exploration is the beginning of the enterprise." At last, because so many looked upon his work as not missionary, he withdrew from the Board and engaged with the Royal Geographical Society and went out as the Queen's consul.

12. Extensive Explorations. On March 10, 1858, Dr. and Mrs. Livingstone, with their son Oswell, sailed from England. At Cape Town Mrs. Livingstone became so ill that she had to remain behind, and did not rejoin her husband till several years after. He explored the mouth of the Zambesi, made three trips on the Shire River and at last discovered Lake Nyassa. In 1860 he visited his old friend, Sekeletu; in 1861 he explored the river Rovuma and assisted in establishing the Universities Mission. Through all these years he was establishing sites for missions, preaching the Gospel, healing the sick, and contributing religious and scientific articles to periodicals in England. His accounts of the atrocities of the slave-trade stirred the whole world.

13. Mrs. Livingstone Dies. After spending a year at the Cape, Mrs. Livingstone returned to England and placed her children in school. In 1862 she joined her husband in Africa, but was not with him over three months when, from the banks of the Shire, she went to be with her Lord. In all of life's hardships and trials nothing called forth words from our hero like these, -- "For the first time in my life I want to die."

14. Last Visit to England. The following year, while exploring the region about Lake Nyassa, he was asked home by the government. He returned with the purpose of exposing the slave-trade and to obtain means to open a mission north of the Portuguese territory. His new book, "The Zambesi and Its Tributaries," 4,800 copies of which sold the first evening it was on the market, awakened deep interest in Africa and stirred up great indignation against the Portuguese because of its revelations of their treatment of the natives.

While at home, Livingstone with his aged mother and his children, save one, had a family reunion. Robert, the absent one, had first gone to Africa to find his father. Failing, he sailed for America, enlisted in the Federal army, was wounded, taken prisoner, died in a hospital, and was buried in the National Cemetery at Gettysburg. Thus, while the father was giving his life for the liberty of the black man in Africa, the son gave his life for the freedom of the same race in America.

Livingstone declined to return to Africa at the direction of the Royal Geographical Society simply to determine the watershed of the continent, though every inducement was offered him, and to accomplish this would have been the crowning achievement of his explorations. To preach, heal and help the African, and not to give up his missionary purposes, was still the impelling motive of all his efforts.

15. Reverses. His equipment upon his return to Africa by way of Bombay was not as good as it should have been. Many reverses met him. His helpers proved of little help; some of his people were ill behaved, and had to be dismissed; old scenes about Lake Nyassa haunted him and disappointed hopes preyed on his mind; the inhuman cruelties of the slave trade were a constant nightmare to him. For a time he turned his attention to the watershed question, but found many hindrances. It was at this time that Musa, with some followers, forsook him and reported the explorer dead. In spite of all this he pressed forward. His medicine chest, so essential to him, disappeared; he reached Lake Tanganyika; discovered Lake Moero; afterwards Lake Bangweolo; suffered greatly from sickness, and returned to Ujiji to find his goods all gone.

16. Hardships Indeed. The next two years, July, 1869, to October, 1871, were spent in a journey from Ujiji to the river Lealaba and return, and were perhaps the saddest years of his life. He beheld the thousand villages about which Moffat told, and which caused him to give his life to Africa. He, himself, preached to thousands and tens of thousands of natives. But his strength failed him in 1871. Feet sore from ulcers; teeth falling out through sickness; weary of body and sick of heart, he lay in his hut for eighty days, longing for home, now far beyond his reach. His sole comfort and help was his Bible, which he read through four times during this period, and upon the flyleaf of which he wrote these significant words: "No letters for three years. I have a sore longing to finish and go home, if God wills." Supplies and letters had been sent, but were intercepted by the Portuguese. The Royal Geographical Society had sent out a search, but found him not.

17. The Discoverer Discovered. Just at this moment of mystery about Livingstone's whereabouts, James Gordon Bennett, of the New York Herald, sent Henry M. Stanley to locate the explorer "at any cost." Almost marvelous was Stanley's effort. Once he wrote, "No living man shall stop me. Only death can prevent me; but death, -- not even this. I shall not die; I will not die; I cannot die. Something tells me that I shall find him. And I write it larger, find him, FIND HIM." At last after forced marches he met Susi, who came to meet Stanley, and then soon the explorer himself. "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?" said Stanley, as he lifted his hat. "Yes," replied the pale, weary, grey-haired missionary. "I thank my God I am permitted to see you," said Stanley; and to this came the reply, "I feel thankful that I am here to welcome you."

18. Overjoy. It was a glad day for Livingstone. Letters and supplies were abundant and appreciated. He forgot his ailments and became overjoyed in this Good Samaritan act. Together the men spent four months exploring Lake Tanganyika. Stanley became a hero worshipper of his companion. Once he wrote, "I challenge any man to find a fault in his character... The secret is that his religion is a constant, earnest and sincere practice."

19. "Forward." Once in his early life Livingstone said, "Anywhere, providing it is forward." Thus he was impelled even in old age. For, instead of returning with Stanley, as he well might have done and was urged to do, he made new resolve to locate the watersheds, secured new men and pressed into the interior. On March 19, 1872, when fifty-nine years old he wrote, "My birthday! My Jesus, my King, my Life, my All. I again dedicate my whole self to Thee." But the grey-haired, footsore explorer and missionary this time went forward thru swollen rivers and dismal swamps, every day of the march being marked with dysentery and most excruciating pains. At every convenient place he would have his carriers stop and let him rest. April 29 was his last day of travel. He had reached the village of Chitambo, in Ilala, on Lake Bangweolo. Here, sick unto death, he made observations, carefully brought his journal up to date, drew maps and gave orders. How heroic was the spirit in him to the last!

20. Victory. He rested quietly on the 30th; but at four on the morning of May 1,1873, the boy who slept at Livingstone's door wakened, beheld his master, and fearing death, called Susi. "By the candle still burning they saw him, not in bed; but kneeling at the bedside, with his head buried in his hands upon the pillow. The sad, yet not unexpected truth soon became evident; he had passed away on the furthest of all his journeys, and without a single attendant. But he had died in the act of prayer, -- prayer offered in that reverent attitude about which he was always so particular; commending his own spirit, with all his dear ones as he was wont, into the hands of his Savior; and commending Africa, his own dear Africa, with all her woes and sins and wrongs, to the Avenger of the oppressed and the Redeemer of the lost."

Words can never do justice to the noble course which his faithful servants, led by Susi, now took. They removed the heart from the body of their dead leader and buried it under a tree near where he died. They dried the body in the sun, tied it to a pole and after nine months' march reached the coast and shipped it to England. On April 18, 1874, the remains were laid to rest, amidst greatest honors, in Westminster Abbey, London.

21. Some Results. The news of Livingstone's death quickened the pulse-beat of the world and roused many thousands to accept his interpretation of his own efforts, "the end of the exploration is the beginning of the enterprise." Africa became at once the favored field for missionary enterprise of almost every denomination. The Congo Free State, through the efforts of Stanley, upon whom Livingstone's mantle fell, was agreed to by hundreds of native chiefs, and the "Great Powers at Berlin framed and ratified a constitution for the Free State, carrying out almost every principle for which Livingstone had contended."
Chronology of Events in Livingstone's Life
1813 Born at Blantyre, in Lanarkshire, Scotland, March 19.
1833 Real conversion took place in his life.
1836 Entered school in Glasgow.
1838 Accepted by London Missionary Society, September.
1840 Ordained missionary in Albion St. Chapel, November 20
Sailed on H.M. Ship "George" for Africa, December 8.
1841 Arrived at Kuruman, July 31.
1842 Extended tour of Bechuana country begun February 10.
1843 Located at Mabotsa, August.
1844 Marriage to Mary Moffat of Kuruman.
1846 Located at Chonuane with Chief Sechele.
1847 Moved to Kolobeng.
1848 Sechele, first convert, baptized, October 1.
1849 Lake 'Ngami discovered, August 1.
1850 Royal Geographical Society awarded royal donation, 25 guineas.
1851 Discovered the upper Zambesi August 3.
1852 Mrs. Livingstone and four children sailed from Cape Town April 23.
1853 Journey from Linyanti to west coast, November 11 to May 31, 1854.
1854 French Geographical Society awarded silver medal;
University of Glasgow conferred degree LL.D.;
Journey from west coast back to Linyanti, September 24 to September 11, 1855.
1855 Journey from Linyanti to Quilimane on east coast, November 3 to May 20, 1856;
Royal Geographical Society awarded Patron's Gold Medal.
1856 Arrived in London on first visit home, December 9.
1857 Freedom of cities of London, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and many other towns; Corresponding Member of American Geographical and Statistical Society, New York; Royal Geographical Society, London; Geographical Society of Paris; K.K. Geographical Society of Vienna; Honorary Fellow of Faculty and Physicians of Glasgow; Degree of D.C.L. by University of Oxford; elected F.H.S.; appointed Commander of Zambesi Expedition and her Majesty's Consul at Tette, Quilimane, Senna
1858 Returned with Mrs. Livingstone to Africa, March 10.
1859 River Shire explored and Lake Nyassa discovered, September 16.
1862 Mrs. Livingstone died at Shupanga, April 27;
Explored the Yovuma River.
1864 Arrived in Bombay, June 13; London, July 23.
1866 Arrived at Zanzibar, January 28.
1867 Discovered Lake Tanganyika April.
1868 Discovered Lake Bangweolo, July 18.
1869 Arrived at Ujiji, March 14.
1871 Reached Nyangwe, March 29; returned to Ujiji a "living skeleton," October 23.
Henry M. Stanley found him October 28.
1872 Gold Medal by Italian Geographical Society.
1873 Died in his tent at Ilala, May 1.
1874 Body buried with honors in Westminster Abbey, London, April 18.

Copied by Stephen Ross for WholesomeWords.org from Christian Heroism in Heathen Lands by Galen B. Royer. Elgin, Ill.: Brethren Publishing House, 1915.

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Should We Pray For Revival? By Jay West

2009-08-05T22:41:00.001-06:00

Should we pray for revival, look for revival, anticipate revival, live for revival, journal for revival, read about revival or just plain let it happen - can we step out in faith and go for revival in our churches and see what might happen - if God might show up -or do we have to take a passive stance and wait - is it faith to wait or faith to step out and begin having revival services and see what the Lord might do? I have often thought that if a pastor would just step out and say - we are going three nights or five nights and then see what God might think or how He might respond - would God honor that and demonstrate himself strong and would those who are there experience a fresh touch and His manifested presence - I believe He would and that they could -

I so long and hunger for revival and transformation - something that brings people to Jesus - and demonstrates the power of the Kingdom, and also is not centered on one individual, but has a pluralistic aspect of leadership to it, in other words something that is not personality driven and also something that intentionally reaches out and touches lives outside of the church building where the revival may be happening - where ministry happens in the street - and at the marketplace, in schools and government - steadier than even what we hear from Bill Johnson's church, and something that is much more frequent - where people experience the supernatural power and presence of God in public places -

But also where the ministry of helps is extended so that food, clothing, supplies, are provided for along with houses being painted, cars repaired, yards spruced up, and people's lives are repaired and strangers are genuinely helped- much like in the book of Acts where they sold their possessions and shared with those who had a need -where marriages are restored, and children come home, and adults get off drugs and other addictions, multitudes of folks get right with God, and abuse drops significantly because Jesus has walked into their lives - through the personal touch of folks like you and me.

And as a result the Kingdom is advanced, the enemy is pushed way back, crime goes down, poverty goes down, education improves, social problems decline, unwed mothers is a foreign term, abortions won't be performed, primarily because there isn't a demand, many clubs and bars close but those who owned them are now gainfully employed elsewhere with business activity that assists, promotes and helps others for the common good,...

And a city and an area begin to change and the real deal of the Gospel comes out and not only does the city change, but people in political realms take notice, and begin to search out what is happening, and local leadership challenges state leadership, and state leadership challenges national leadership - and people begin to link arms instead of packing a side arm wondering who they might hurt next - and they actually begin to minister without even knowing what they are doing...

so much so that what they previously thought was normal is now outdated and reorganized by an anointed move of God - and the church in that town or city which was once barely tolerated is now so appreciated that the public sector would gainfully use the church in many major decisions and the media which previously gave the church perhaps 30 seconds of news, would now spend the majority of it's broadcasts dealing with issues that God was influencing through the lives of His people who are on fire and experiencing personal revival.

Prayer moves to the forefront, and arguments are dropped, the complainers and whiners begin to change their confession to one of positive reinforcement as they encounter Jesus and the Kingdom of God no longer takes a back seat, but like Rosa Parks, the Kingdom moves to the front of the bus - and the Holy Spirit is now the driver and all who are on the bus go where the Holy Spirit takes us - not caring anymore about personal belongings, or having our name on a plaque or seeing our name in the newspaper, but now denying themselves and taking up their cross and daily following Jesus while recognizing and working towards a unified goal of simply lifting up the name of Jesus so that He can and will draw all people to himself.

That's what I am looking for - Please don't tell me it can't be done - my bible says that all things are possible with God and that we can indeed do all things through Christ who strengthens us - and that those who know their God will do great exploits and take great action -

and so I am counting on Jesus to influence a pastoral leader who will say - lets go a few nights and see what God might do.

Jay W. West
Anointed 2 GO MdM
Seek first the Kingdom of God
I don't want to miss out - how about you?

"And so after he had patiently endured,
he obtained the promise"
Hebrews 6:15

A Quote from Tersteegen

2009-07-29T10:40:00.002-06:00

Who? Gerhard Tersteegen

He said...

"The love ofChrist is my prayer-book"

All Glory to God!

2009-06-16T10:01:00.002-06:00

That is what life is all about!

Let us pray that we followers of Jesus love and worship Him day in and day out!

Bryan

Great Francis Schaeffer Quote on Prayer

2009-04-01T21:54:00.001-06:00

If I woke up tomorrow morning and found that all that the Bible teaches concerning prayer and the Holy Spirit were removed (not as a liberal would remove it, by misinterpretation, but really removed) what difference would it make in practice from the way we are functioning today? The simple tragic fact is that in much of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ–the evangelical church–there would be no difference whatsoever. We function as though the supernatural were not there. -

Francis A. Schaeffer (True Spirituality).

Beth Moore on the Privilege of Prayer

2009-03-27T06:20:00.005-06:00

Beth Moore offers this on the "Privilege of Prayer"

The privilege of prayer is the flagship proof that God created man to participate in His kingdom agenda and not just dangle from His fingers like a puppet. That a sovereign God welcomes mere human beings to touch His heart and affect His work is nothing less than stunning. A fresh read of Abraham’s intercession for Sodom in Genesis 18 ought to leave us reeling with the privilege and responsibility of divine access.

“What if there are 50 righteous people, Lord? Would You spare the city of the judgment it has earned?” “Or five less than 50?” “What about 40 people, Lord?” 30? 20? 10?

Scripture calls Abraham by one of the most intimate titles in Holy Writ—“the friend of God.” The freedom such closeness had granted him is illustrated nowhere more remarkably than in Abraham’s intercession. He drew near to God the way God esteems most.

Figuratively speaking, Abraham approached the Maker of heaven and earth balanced on two knees: one of humility (“I who am but dust and ashes,” v. 27, NKJV) and one of boldness (“I will speak but once more,” v. 32). Without both knees pressed firmly to the ground, the intercessor tumbles in the dust with the first harsh wind of worldly resistance.

“The Judge of all the earth” will indeed do right. He cannot do otherwise. But He honors nothing more highly in all creation than a people who willingly align themselves with His agenda through the wonder of prayer.

John 1:12 tells us that “as many as received Him ... He gave the right to become children of God.” By His sovereign authority, every child of God has been assigned certain inalienable rights and responsibilities. Chief among them is prayer.
Over and over God invites us on the pages of Scripture to “Ask!” Humbly. Believingly. Persistently.

To feel caught in the psychological trap of powerlessness is the furthest cry from the position we’ve been given as children of God. No matter what befalls us as a nation, at no time are we victims of a system. We are no further from change than the space of our knees to the ground.

Prayer penetrates doors we will never be privy to enter. Prayer breaks hearts that have been hardened by even the most ruthless pursuit of position. Prayer bridges the gap between the modest den of the meek and the highest places of government, where laws are made and bills are signed and officials wrestle against impossible odds.

Make no mistake. We are not powerless. We are not too remote and removed to make a difference. And we are not a few. If we would but get over our own quarrels and come together on our knees, seeking forgiveness for ourselves first and our country second, dust would fly. Change would come. And to us first.

God is enlisting people like Abraham today. People He can call friends of God. People who are willing to adopt His interests and put their reputations—even their lives—on the line for what is right.

God is enlisting men and women willing to take courage when they’re mocked, willing to love when they are hated and willing to bless when they are cursed. God is calling individuals who grasp the fact that He is more concerned about a change of heart than a change of circumstance.

Indeed, sometimes He appoints circumstances to remain unchanged until hearts move. The veil is still open to the holy of holies through the wonder of prayer. There is still grace and mercy to be found in our desperate time of need. Let the thunder of a million knees quake the earth for good.

Beth Moore, founder of Living Proof Ministries, is the author of numerous well-known books and Bible studies, including Breaking Free, Believing God and The Patriarchs, which have been read and studied by women around the world. She appears weekly on Life Today with James and Betty Robison.

Blind Us To All But Christ

2009-03-22T14:17:00.001-06:00

This is taken from Kingdom People

Blind us to all but Christ

O Father, make known to us the glory of your Son!
O Spirit, shine the light of the knowledge of the glory of Christ Jesus into our hearts!
Blind us to all but him.
Captivate us with his splendor,
that we, like Moses, might say not to the passing pleasures of sin.
Help us to rest in Christ alone
as the treasure greater than all earthly rewards.

- Sam Storms, The Hope of Glory: 100 Daily Meditations on Colossians

There is Nothing Better Than Conversing With God

2009-02-18T09:39:00.000-06:00

"There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful than that of a continual conversation with God."

Brother Lawrence

A Quote Taken from a Friend's Blog!

2009-02-06T10:46:00.001-06:00

DashHouse.com
A Theologian's Job

Posted: 05 Feb 2009 08:30 AM PST

J.I. Packer in A Quest for Godliness:

"Theologians are called to be the church's water engineers and sewage officers; it is their job to see that God's pure truth flows abundantly where it is needed, and to filter out any intrusive pollution that might damage health."

I am back!

2009-02-04T10:28:00.002-06:00

Good morning.

I have been working hard the past year or so on my Doctor of Ministry thesis. Much of the work has focused on a blog site (see post below) about the impact of Dietrich Bonhoeffer on twenty-first century preaching and preachers.

I will be defending my thesis on March 28, 2009. Praise the Lord!

I will try to work on two blog sites now. So to get us started, here is a simple quote on pray by John Wesley...

“Prayer is where the action is."

I am working on my Bonhoeffer blog

2008-02-20T08:36:00.002-06:00

Good Morning

I will be putting less time into this blog because I have developed a blog on the impact that Dietrich Bonhoeffer can have on twenty-first century preachers and pastors. It is a blog that will hopefully help me complete my thesis-project for my Doctor of Ministry Degree through Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.

Please visit the blog at...

http://bonhoefferblog.wordpress.com/

Bryan

The Impact of Revival

2008-02-17T15:58:00.003-06:00

When revival hits America, the impact will be profound. Marc Dupont said it well..

"Revival in its fullness will see neighborhoods, schools, work places and cultures changed and healed."

Praying for Revival!

Bryan

Are You Praying for Revival?

2008-02-15T21:53:00.002-06:00

It is a simple question.

ARE YOU PRAYING FOR REVIVAL?

TAKE INVENTORY

We have said the only hope for America and the world is revival. Our churches have so little life. Why is there no real conviction of sin? What are we doing about it?

.Revival will not come by wishing, sighing, or whining?

.Are you willing to respond in prayer? Are you willing to personally seek God for revival? It is time to pray!

."Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come and rain righteousness upon you. (Hosea 10:12)

.If you mean to break up the fallow ground of your heart, you must begin by looking closely at your own life. Examine and note the state of your walk with God. Don't play games.

.Do not be in a hurry. Begin to take inventory. Write down on a sheet of paper those sins that so easily beset you from running the race.

.Then seek God in prayer and believe for a cleansing. Let the Holy Spirit begin to do a work in your heart. Remember, God's voice is a "still small voice," and is not the nagging, scolding, badgering, and accusations which one receives from the devil.

rest of article...

Do We See the Impossible When We Pray?

2008-02-14T11:47:00.001-06:00

For revival to come, we must dream big and then pray big prayers. Dick Eastwood put it this way:

"Only those who see the invisible can attempt the impossible."

Praying for that "impossible" revival to come!

Bryan

Revival is the Last Hope of the Church

2008-02-12T18:53:00.000-06:00

Reflecting on the Welsh Revival of 1904-05, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, has said publicly, and has written in his books, that "the last hope of the church in our day is revival"

The Church Must Get Back to Normal!

2008-02-10T19:47:00.000-06:00

Perhaps the best quote of revival is by Vance Havner

He said, "Revival is the saints getting back to normal."

Brothers and Sisters in Jesus, we need to get back to normal. Perhaps, we have never been there!

Bryan

Revival: What is it and Who Needs it?

2008-02-09T10:19:00.001-06:00

Derek Gentle has written a wonderful article on the revival. Revival: What it is and Who Needs it

Revival is certainly a word in the Baptist vocabulary. In Baptist life, it is usually used to describe a series of worship services in which a visiting preacher, and sometimes a visiting choir director, come to a church to lead special worship services. These services have a special emphasis placed on leading people, who do not yet have a relationship with Him, to Christ. The church members often help out by doing such things as singing in the "revival choir," bringing their friends to "pack a pew night," or serving pizza to teenagers before the service on "youth night." Sometimes the services are preceded by "cottage prayer meetings," where the members go to a member's home to pray together for the services. This is pretty much what the word meant as as we heard it growing up. Because of this tradition, there remains a "terminological inexactitude" (to borrow a phrase from Churchill) among many Baptists concerning the meaning of the term, revival.

Evangelism is not that to which the word revival refers. Revival is what God sends, not to the lost, but to His own people, the church. The dead can not be revived; they require resurrection. In revival, God does a fresh work in those who have life, yet who have grown weak through sin or neglect. It is true that evangelism will inevitably flow out of revival. Evangelism is important! But in terms of methodology, more and more, we are having to learn how to do that work outside the walls of the church. Unbelievers are not going to come and hear as often as they did in earlier generations. We are having to learn to share the faith in natural ways with those with whom we have relationships.

Here are some better definitions of revival; these will be found to be more consistent with biblical teaching:

"Revival is that sovereign work of God in which He visits His own people, restoring and releasing them into the fullness of His blessing." - Robert Coleman

"Revival is a return to spiritual health after a period of decline into sin and broken fellowship with God... Revival is for God's people when they need to be forgiven and restored to life, spiritual health, and vitality" -Blackaby & King (Fresh Encounter, Lifeway, 1993)

"Revival is an extraordinary work of the Holy Spirit producing extraordinary results." - Richard Owen Roberts

Look in the Bible. Notice how many times it says, "me" or "us" when speaking of revival. Here are some examples:

Psalm 119:156: "Great are Thy mercies, O Lord; Revive me according to Thine ordinances"

Psalm 119:37: "Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity, And revive me in Thy ways."

Psalm 119:88: "Revive me according to Thy lovingkindness, So that I may keep the testimony of Thy mouth"

Psalm 85:6: "Wilt Thou not Thyself revive us again, That Thy people may rejoice in Thee?"

Habbakuk 3:2: "Lord, I have heard the report about Thee and I fear. O Lord, revive Thy work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy"

Like the old song says, "It's me, it's me O Lord, standing in the need of prayer."

When is revival needed among God's people? When they have their left first love. God's people need to be revived when they find themselves going through the motions, having "a form of godliness but denying its power" (2nd Timothy 3:5). God's people need revival when they are wallowing in sin, perhaps regretting their sins, but unwilling to thoroughly repent of them. God's people need revival when they are neglecting their relationship with Christ. Revival is needed when we are low on zeal and have grown lukewarm.

J. I. Packer lists five Marks of Revival:
(1) Awareness of God's Presence
(2) Responsiveness to God's Word
(3) Sensitiveness to sin
(4) Liveliness in Community - A revived church is full of life, joy, and power of the Holy Spirit
(5) Faithfulness in testimony - an evangelistic and ethical overspill into the world.

We can all agree with Spurgeon as he described the kind of revival he wanted to see:

"We need a work of the Holy Spirit of a supernatural kind, putting power into the preaching of the Word, inspiring all believers with heavenly energy, and solemnly affecting the hearts of the careless, so that they turn to God and live. We would not be drunk with the wine of carnal excitement, but we would be filled with the Spirit. We would behold the fire descending from heaven in answer to the effectual fervent prayers of righteous men. Can we not entreat the Lord our God to make bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the people in this day of declension and vanity?"

Is there a "formula for revival"? Sometimes, you hear 2nd Chronicles 7:14 used as a recipe for revival:

"If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land."

But that's the whole deal, isn't it? Getting God's people to humble themselves, to pray, to seek God's face, and repent? It would seem that if all that is happening, you have revival! The condition being met in this passage leads to forgiveness and restoration; at least that's what it says after the word, "then".

So, should we pray for revival? Of course! That's what we see the Psalmist doing in the verses above. But can we reduce the work of a sovereign God to a man-dependent formula? No. Revival is the work of God. We pray for it because we are dependent upon Him to send it.

Limiting God in our Prayers

2008-02-08T06:37:00.000-06:00

Will God send revival? Millions of people are praying that he will. Maybe it is our prayers that are the problem. Andrew Murray (1828-1917)offers the following wisdom...

"Beware in your prayer, above everything, of limiting God, not only by unbelief, but by fancying that you know what He can do."

Prayer is a Scourge for Satan

2008-02-06T11:18:00.000-06:00

John Bunyan said that prayer is beneficial for many reasons...

"Pray often, for prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God, and a scourge for Satan"

Praying for Revival

Bryan

Do we labour in prayer?

2008-02-04T17:49:00.001-06:00

D.M. M'Intyre wrote a classic little book on prayer called "The Hidden Life of Prayer"

In it he wrote: "Do we know what it is to 'labour,' to 'wrestle.' to 'agonize' in prayer?"

Good question!

Praying for revival

Bryan

Focus and Prayer

2008-02-01T11:23:00.000-06:00

Let's kick off the month with a prayer quote by Oswald Chambers...

"We have to pray with our eyes on God, not on the difficulties."

Short and to the point.

Bryan

Why No Revival?

2008-01-30T20:11:00.000-06:00

Have you wondered why it has been over one hundred years since a revival swept our nation?

Dan Puckett, of Life Action Revival Ministries takes a very good stab at the answer...

"There are revival meetings—times when the church seeks the Living God of Heaven for spiritual renewal and a spiritual awakening among the lost. But why has not God answered in such a significant way that even the “nay-sayers” would have to admit a divine happening had occurred?

Revival is an undeniable intervention of God. The Old Testament book of Nehemiah records such an event in chapters 8 and 9.

There have been three divine interventions in the history of the United States: the first in the early to mid 1700’s, the second around the turn of the 19th century continuing into the 1840’s, and the third in 1857-1860. The work of God was so apparent during these times that the news reporters could not but assent that the happenings were of divine origin.

What about today? Where is the Lord God of revival?

The Old Testament book of Malachi was written after the return of Israel from Babylonian captivity just before the 400 years of silence, preceding the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. Malachi was a prophet of God and was rebuking the people for their lack of faithfulness. The people were practicing religion but with duplicity of heart. They were giving polluted offerings (Malachi 1:7), the priests were corrupt (2:8), people were not faithful to marriage vows (2:14-15), and they were not giving as much as God asked (3:8-9).

In all of these rebukes, God still extended mercy. He says in Malachi 3:6-7, “I am the LORD, I do not change; therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob. Yet from the days of your fathers you have gone away from My ordinances and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you.”

God’s presence in power, glory, and blessing is promised if the people will repent of their ways and return to God. God repeats their question in Malachi 3:7, “In what way shall we return?” And He gives the answer in verses 8-12.

“In what way shall we return?” was and is the question of the hour.

In the book of Malachi, God goes right after the people’s giving (or lack of it) in chapter 3, verse 8: “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me . . . in tithes and offerings.”

God did not go after the corrupt priests or marital infidelity, even though both were present; He went after the heart issue of selfishness and deceit. If a man robs God, what else will He do? If he cheats the One who sees all and knows all, what would keep him from taking bribes, playing favorites, or being unfaithful to his wife? Could it be that robbing God in tithes and offerings was and is the root issue that holds back the blessings of God in revival?

The giving level per member in current churches is said to be about three percent of income. A tithe is ten percent of income, plus offerings on top of that. It would appear that God has as much a case against us as He did against the people in Malachi’s time. There are many excuses we could give, but the fact is, our lack of giving is the greatest evidence of our corrupt faith.

God is not particularly practical, in our thinking, as He receives offerings. In Old Testament times the offerings were killed and burnt on the altar. The only benefit God received, other than seeing the sacrifice of the people and their trust in the Giver of all, is the smell of the offering as it wafted up to heaven.

God gave a promise in Malachi 3:10-12. He told the people that if they gave tithes and offerings as prescribed, He would “open for [them] the windows of heaven and pour out for [them] such a blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it” (Malachi 3:10). He summed up this promise in verse 12: “All the nations will call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land.”

Does that sound like revival? Could the key to seeing and experiencing the manifest presence of God in our day, in our land, be repenting of our churlishness and being biblical givers?"

Revival should thrill us!

2008-01-29T21:14:00.000-06:00

When there is talk of revival, the reaction from people will vary. There will be some who careless. Yet, as Christ-followers, we should be elated to dream and pray about the prospect of revival.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones put it this way: "I do not understand Christian people who are not thrilled by the whole idea of revival. . . . If you want a perfect exposition of 1 Corinthians 1:25-31, read books on revival."

Praying for and excited about revival

Bryan

Mondays and Revival

2008-01-28T07:47:00.000-06:00

Good morning. Mondays are always a good day to remind ourselves of what revival really is. Henry Blackaby and Claude King put it this way...

"Revival is a return to spiritual health after a period of decline into sin and broken fellowship with God... Revival is for God's people when they need to be forgiven and restored to life, spiritual health, and vitality"

Praying for revival!

Bryan

Turning Our Attention to the Unborn

2008-01-24T19:51:00.000-06:00

Let's turn our attention to the unborn. John Ensor submitted the following on the Desiring God site.

Pray for the Third Wave
Latinos and Blacks Join the Fray As Roe vs. Wade Turns 35

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By John Ensor January 22, 2008

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The end of abortion as a business is in sight when the prolife movement is not only joined by, but led by, the African-American and Latino Christian Community. I call it the Third Wave.

The First Wave of the modern prolife movement was the Catholic Church. In the late 60’s, as abortion “rights” were argued for in New York and California, many Catholic doctors, ethicists, and laypeople understood the horrifying truth of abortion and began to organize. They opened educational offices to explain fetal life; launched political efforts to elect prolife leaders and started “emergency pregnancy services” to help women struggling with pregnancy issues. The modern prolife movement was born. It was considered (disparaged as) a “Catholic” thing.

In the late 70’s, the Second Wave arose. The Evangelical Church joined the Cause. One rushing tributary formed when Francis Scheaffer and C. Everet Koop produced a book and film called Whatever Happened to the Human Race? Evangelical pastors and lay people were awakened to the biblical and historical call to cherish and defend innocent human life. Evangelicals flooded into the prolife movement as volunteers: writing, marching, electing, and starting neighborhood “crisis pregnancy centers.”

Now we are on the cusp of the Third Wave. A trickle of courageous Black and Latino Christian leaders are exposing the inhumanity of abortion and the pernicious racism of the abortion industry. There are quiet discussions and emerging plans among some leading black pastors concerning abortion. Pregnancy help centers (the “first response” for most churches answering the call to cherish and defend innocent life), as a movement, have learned how to “go medical” over the last dozen years. They have added ultrasound services and multiplied their life-saving impact dramatically. They are waking up and slowly mobilizing to “go urban.” This is the only way forward. Why?

Because over the last 35 years, as 2,000+ pregnancy help centers got established, mostly in white, suburban and small towns of America, the abortion business has consolidated into our nation’s cities. Over 90% of abortion facilities are now in urban neighborhoods. Black and Hispanic women suffer 56% of all abortions while representing only 25% of the female population. This means the abortion business is gorging itself on the blood of minority children all the while appearing as compassionate servants of the poor. It also means that the business of abortion cannot survive without the silent approval of the Black and Latino neighborhoods and the churches and pastors that lead them. It means that until our movement penetrates the heart of the Black and Latino church, there is little progress to be had. This is the wave of the future that leads toward progress.

But the hard truth is that Black pastors largely dismiss the prolife movement as a “white issue.” The majority of leaders resent the fact that the people now calling for the rights of pre-born children descend from people who dismissed the rights of African-American adults. This may be an unfair perception. It may be racial suicide. But it also means that when the Third Wave finally comes, abortion will be ousted from these communities and mortally wounded as a practice in America.

Therefore, as we pause to acknowledge the 35th year of legalized child-killing in America, pray for the third wave! God, in his all-wise providence, appears to have limited the progress of both the civil rights movement and prolife movement. Perhaps because he wants to make from two separate streams one mighty river: His summons to his people is: “Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the rights of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked” (Psalm 82:3-4).

Father, arouse and unite your people to be cross-bearers for child-bearers. Imbue our church leaders of every race with moral clarity and courage to name what is the clearest expression of the human indignity in our country: child-killing. Let reconciling grace flow like a river. Let humbling grace make possible Black and Latino approaches to the great work before us. Color our prolife ranks, marches, assemblies, conferences, and staffs with the richness of Black and Latino Christian servants. To them belong the honor of leading us to victory in the abolition of abortion, for the establishment of righteousness in the land and for the glory of your name.

John Ensor is the author of Answering the Call: Saving the Innocent One Woman at a Time. He is the Executive Director for Urban Initiatives for Heartbeat International, an organization dedicated to helping Christian communities establish pregnancy help centers for those at risk for abortion. He is currently working with Heartbeat of Miami.

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© Desiring God

Permissions: You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way and do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. For web posting, a link to this document on our website is preferred. Any exceptions to the above must be approved by Desiring God.

Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: desiringGod.org

What Does a Revival Do?

2008-01-21T09:17:00.000-06:00

Well, Billy Sunday gave a pretty answer to the above question:

"A revival does two things. First, it returns the Church from her backsliding and second, it causes the conversion of men and women; and it always includes the conviction of sin on the part of the Church. What a spell the devil seems to cast over the Church today!"

Corrie Ten Boom on the Importance of Prayer

2008-01-18T07:30:00.000-06:00

Good morning. A little snow is falling here in Omaha, NE. It will be bitter cold this weekend.

Corrie Ten Boom once said: "When a Christian shuns fellowship with other Christians, the devil smiles. When he stops studying the Bible, the devil laughs. When he stops praying, the devil shouts for joy."

Let's make the devil angry through praying.

Bryan

Pray Often...

2008-01-17T22:15:00.000-06:00

I am about to go to bed, but I will post the following quote on the importance of consistent prayer...

"Pray often, for prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God, and a scourge for Satan" (John Bunyan)

Good Night,

Bryan

Where Does Revival Begin?

2008-01-16T08:03:00.000-06:00

“Revivals begin with God's own people; the Holy Spirit touches their heart anew, and gives them new fervour and compassion, and zeal, new light and life, and when He has thus come to you, He next goes forth to the valley of dry bones…Oh, what responsibility this lays on the Church of God! If you grieve Him away from yourselves, or hinder His visit, then the poor perishing world suffers sorely!”

Andrew A. Bonar

It begins with us (followers of Jesus) and not those outside the church

2008-01-11T11:12:00.000-06:00

A basic truth about revival is that is begins with God's people within the church...

“Revivals begin with God's own people; the Holy Spirit touches their heart anew, and gives them new fervor and compassion, and zeal, new light and life, and when He has thus come to you, He next goes forth to the valley of dry bones…Oh, what responsibility this lays on the Church of God! If you grieve Him away from yourselves, or hinder His visit, then the poor perishing world suffers sorely!”

-Andrew A. Bonar

Do we agonize in prayer?

2008-01-10T13:38:00.000-06:00

I know that I should pray for revival often (and I do); but do I agonize in prayer for it? Does it make a difference. Yes!

Charles Spurgeon it this way...

“Shall I give you yet another reason why you should pray? I have preached my very heart out. I could not say any more than I have said. Will not your prayers accomplish that which my preaching fails to do? Is it not likely that the Church has been putting forth its preaching hand but not its praying hand? Oh dear friends! Let us agonize in prayer.”

Pleading for Revival!

Bryan

A Concert of Prayer at Harvey Oaks Baptist

2008-01-09T08:54:00.001-06:00

Good morning. This evening at Harvey Oaks Baptist Church, there will be a concert of prayer at 7 pm. This is in the middle of the annual week of prayer. Below is Jonathan Edward's classic article of prayer and revival. May God refresh us in 2008 with a powerful spiritual revival.

A Humble Attempt to Promote the Agreement and Union of God's People Throughout the World in Extraordinary Prayer For a Revival Of Religion And The Advancement Of God's Kingdom On Earth, According To Scriptural Promises And Prophecies Of The Last Time.by Jonathan Edwards

The Future Glorious State of Christ's Church

'This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Many peoples and the inhabitants of many cities will yet come, and the inhabitants of one city will go to another and say, 'Let us go at once to entreat the LORD and seek the LORD Almighty. I myself am going.' And many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the LORD Almighty and to entreat him'(Zech. 8:20-22).

In this chapter Zechariah prophecies of the future, glorious advancement of the Church. It is evident there is more intended than was ever fulfilled in the Jewish nation during Old Testament times. Here are plain prophecies describing things that were never fulfilled before the coming of Messiah, particularly what is said in the two last verses in the chapter where Zechariah speaks of 'many people and strong nations worshiping and seeking the true God,' and of so great an addition of Gentiles to the Church that the majority of visible worshipers consist of Gentiles, outnumbering the Jews ten to one.

Nothing ever happened, from the time of Zechariah to the coming of Christ, to fulfill this prophecy. It's fulfillment can only be in the calling of the Gentiles during and following apostolic times, or in the future, glorious enlargement of God's Church in the end times, so often foretold by Old Testament prophets, particularly by Zechariah. It is most likely that the Spirit of God speaks here of the greatest revival and the most glorious advancement of the Church on earth, the blessings of which will benefit the Jewish nation.

Indeed, there is great agreement on this point, between this prophecy of Zechariah, and other prophecies concerning the Church's latter day glory. Consider Isaiah 60:2-4,

'See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the arm.'

Without doubt, this entire chapter foretells the most glorious state of the God's Church on earth, as does Isaiah 66:8, Micah 4:1-3 and Isaiah 2:1-4:

'In the last days the mountain of the LORD'S temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and peoples will stream to it.'

'Many nations will come and say, 'Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.' '

'The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He will judge between many peoples and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.'

Nothing whatsoever has happened to fulfill these prophecies. Moreover, since the prophecy in my text (Zech. 8:20-22) and the following verse agrees with them, there is reason to think it addresses the same times. Indeed, there is remarkable agreement in the description given throughout this chapter with the representations of those times elsewhere in the prophetic books.

Though the prophet is at times referring to the future smiles of heaven on the Jewish nation, yet the Spirit of God doubtless refers to events far greater than these, of which these are but faint resemblances. The Jews had just returned from the Babylonian captivity, Chaldea and other countries, and resettled in Canaan where they were experiencing great increase of both numbers and wealth.

We find it common in the prophecies of the Old Testament that when the prophets are speaking of the favors and blessings of God on the Jews, attending or following their return from the Babylonian captivity, the Spirit of God takes the opportunity from there to speak of the incomparably greater blessings on the Church, that will attend and follow her deliverance from the spiritual Babylon, of which those were a type.

The prophet, in this chapter, speaks of God's bringing his people again from the east and west to Jerusalem (vs. 7-8), and multitudes of all nations taking hold of the skirts of the Jews. Although this prophecy literally refers to the Jews return from Babylon, its fulfillment cannot be seen there for no such things spoken of here attended their return. Therefore, it must refer to the great calling and gathering of Jews into the fold of Christ, and to them receiving the blessings of His kingdom, after the fall of the Antichrist and the destruction of the spiritual Babylon.

The Power of Prayer

In Zechariah 8:20-22 we have an account of how this future advancement of the Church should occur. It would come to fruition as multitudes from different towns resolve to unite in extraordinary prayer, seeking God until He manifests Himself and grants the fruits of his presence. We may observe several things in particular:

1. THE NECESSITY OF PRAYER.

Some suppose that prayer includes the whole of worship to God and that prayer is a part of worship during the days of the gospel when sacrifices are abolished. Therefore, this can be understood as a prophecy of a great revival of religion with true worship of God among His people, repentance from idolatry, and growth of the Church.

However, it seems reasonable to me to suppose that something even more special is intended regarding prayer given that prayer is not only repeatedly mentioned, but that this prophecy parallels many other prophecies that speak of an extraordinary spirit of prayer preceding that glorious day of revival and advancement of the Church's peace and prosperity. It particularly parallels what the prophet later speaks of the 'pouring out of a spirit of grace and supplications' as that which introduces the great religious revival (Zech. 12:10).

2. THE GOOD WHICH SHALL BE BROUGHT BY PRAYER: GOD HIMSELF.

Scripture says, 'They shall go to pray before the Lord, and to seek the Lord of Hosts.' The good that they seek for is 'The Lord of Hosts,' Himself. If 'seeking God' means no more than seeking the favor or mercy of God then 'praying before the Lord,' and 'seeking the Lord of Hosts' must be looked upon as synonymous. However, 'seeking the Lord' is commonly used to mean something far more than seeking something from God. Surely it implies that God Himself is what is desired and sought after.

Thus, the Psalmist desired God, thirsted after Him and sought after Him:

'O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee. My flesh longeth for thee, in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is, to see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary ... My soul followeth hard after thee ... Whom have I in heaven by thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee.'

The Psalmist earnestly pursued after God; his soul thirsted after Him, he stretched forth his hands unto Him. All of God's saints have this in common: they are those that seek God. 'This is the generation of them that seek Him.' 'Your heart shall live that seek God,' etc.

If this be the true sense of this phrase 'seeking the Lord of Hosts,' then we must understand that God who had withdrawn Himself, or, as it were, hid Himself, would return to His Church, granting the fruits of His presence and communion with His people, which He so often promised, and for which His Church had so long waited.

In short, it seems reasonable to understand the phrase, 'seeking the Lord of Hosts' means not merely praying to God, but seeking the promised restoration of the Church of God after the Babylonian captivity and the great apostasy occasioning it is called their 'seeking God, and searching for Him;' and God's granting this promised revival and restoration called His being 'found of them.' (See Jer. 29:10-14)

The prophets occasionally represent God as being withdrawn and hiding Himself: 'Verily thou art a God that hideth thyself, O God of Israel, the Savior. I hid me, and was wroth.' The prophets then go on to represent God's people seeking Him, searching and waiting for and calling after Him. When God answers their prayers and restores and advances His people, according to His promise, then He is said to come and say, 'Here am I' and to show Himself, and they are said to find Him and see Him plainly.

'Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I ...'

'But Israel will be saved by the Lord with an everlasting salvation ... I have not said to Jacob's descendants, 'Seek me in vain.' I, the Lord, speak the truth; I declare what is right.'

'The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. In that day they will say, 'Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the Lord, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.' We wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts.' (Isa. 58:9; Isa. 45:17,19; Isa. 25:8-9)

3. WE MAY OBSERVE WHO IT IS THAT WILL BE UNITED IN SEEKING THE LORD:

'the inhabitants of many cities ... yea, many people and strong nations.' Many people from all over the world will unite to seek the Lord.

From the the prophecy, it seems reasonable to assume that this will be fulfilled in the following manner: First, God's people will be given a spirit of prayer, inspiring them to come together and pray in an extraordinary manner, that He would help his Church, show mercy to mankind in general, pour out his Spirit, revive His work, and advance His kingdom in the world as He promised.

Moreover, such prayer would gradually spread and increase more and more, ushering in a revival of religion. This would be characterized by greater worship and service of God among believers. Others will be awakened to their need for God, motivating them to earnestly cry out to God for mercy. They will be led to join with God's people in that extraordinary seeking and serving of God which they see around them. In this way the revival will grow until the awakening reaches whole nations and those in the highest positions of influence. The Church will grow to be ten times larger than it was before. Indeed, at length, all the nations of the world will be converted unto God.

Thus, ten men, out of all languages and nations, will 'take hold of the skirt of' the Jew (in the sense of the Apostle), saying 'We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.' Thus will be fulfilled, 'O thou that heareth prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come.'

4. WE MAY ALSO OBSERVE THE MANNER OF THEIR UNITY IN PRAYER.

It is a visible and voluntary union that was first proposed by some of God's people with others readily joining in over time. Those who live in one city will declare to those of another city, 'Let us go' etc. Many of those who hear their declaration will not only join with them but will make the call for the unity in prayer known to still others. As a result, the movement will grow, prevail and spread among God's people.

Some suppose that the words, 'I will go also,' are to be taken as words spoken by the one making the proposal. He states this expressing his willingness and desire to do what he is asking his hearer to do. But this is to suppose no more than is expressed in the phrase, 'Come and let us go ...' itself. It seems more natural to me to understand these words as being the consent or reply of the one to whom the proposal is made.

This is much more agreeable to the flow of the text which represents the compliance of great numbers of people in this movement. And though if these words are thus understood, we must suppose something understood in the text that is not expressed: Those of other cities will say, 'I will go also.' Yet, this is not difficult to conceive of as such figures of speech are common in the Scripture (Jer. 3:22; Ps. 1:6,7).

5. NEXT, WE CAN OBSERVE THE MANNER IN WHICH THEY AGREE TO PRAY:

'Let us go speedily to pray,' or, as it says in the margin: let us go continually. Literally translated this means, 'let us go in going.' The Hebrew language often doubles words for emphasis (e.g., the holy of holies signifies that which is most holy). Such doubling of words also denotes the certainty of an event coming to pass. For example, when God said to Abraham, 'in multiplying, I will multiply thy seed,' God implies that He would certainly multiply his seed, and multiply it exceedingly.

6. FINALLY, THIS PROPHECY GIVES US A PICTURE OF THIS UNION IN PRAYER BEING AN INVITING AND A HAPPY THING.

We sense God's pleasure, and the results prove tremendously successful. From the whole of this prophecy we may infer that it is well pleasing to God for many people, in different parts of the world, to voluntarily come into a visible union to pray in an extraordinary way for those great outpourings of the Holy Spirit which shall advance the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ that God has so often promised shall be in the latter ages of the world.

An Example From History

Let me relate a brief history of what has happened in Scotland:

In October of 1744, a number of ministers in Scotland, considering the state of God's Church, and mankind in general, believed that God was calling those concerned for the welfare of the Church to unite in extraordinary prayer. They knew God was the Creator and source of all blessings and benefits in the Church so they earnestly prayed that He would appear in His glory, and strengthen the Church, and manifest His compassion to the world of mankind by an abundant outpouring of His Holy Spirit. They desired a true revival in all parts of Christendom, and to see nations delivered from their great and many calamities, and to bless them with the unspeakable benefits of the Kingdom of our glorious Redeemer, and to fill the whole earth with His glory.

These ministers consulted with one another on this subject and concluded that they were obliged to begin such prayer and attempt to persuade others to do the same. After seeking God for direction, they determined that for the next two years they would set apart some time on Saturday evenings and Sunday mornings every week for prayer as one's other duties would allow. More importantly, it was decided that the first Tuesday of each quarter (beginning with the first Tuesday of November) would be time to be spent in prayer. People were to pray for either the entire day or part of the day, as they found themselves disposed, or as circumstances allowed. They would meet in either private prayer groups or in public meetings, whichever was found to be most convenient.

It was determined that none should make any promises or feel under strict obligation to observe every one of these days without fail; for these days were not holy or established by sacred authority. However, to prevent negligence, and the temptation to make excuses for trivial reasons, it was proposed that if those who resolve to pray cannot take part on the agreed upon day, they would use the next available day for the purpose of prayer.

The primary reason for this cooperation in prayer was to maintain, among the people of God, that necessity of prayer for the coming of Christ's Kingdom, which Christ directed his followers to do. We are, unfortunately, too little inclined to pray because of our laziness and immaturity, or because of the distraction of our own worldly, private affairs. We have prayed at times, but without special seasons for prayer, we are, likely, to neglect it either partially or totally. But when we set aside certain times for prayer, resolving to fulfill this commission unless extraordinarily hindered, we are less likely to neglect it.

The return of each new season will naturally refresh the memory and will cause us to remember these teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the obligations we have as His followers. We will be renewed in the importance, necessity and unspeakable value of the mercy we seek from God, and by frequent renovation, the vision to pray will be kept alive in our hearts at all times. Therefore, those ministers from Scotland determined that such gatherings would help encourage greater prayerfulness among God's people for revival throughout the year. They also believed that the quarterly gathering would encourage and strengthen people to pray, especially if they knew that many other Christians in so many distant places were praying for the same things at a same time.

It was thought that two years would be a sufficient trial period, after which time would be given to evaluate fruitfulness of the endeavor. It was not known but thought best to allow some time to make some adjustments if necessary. The time period, though short, was thought sufficient to judge its fruitfulness. Those involved would have the opportunity to communicate their thoughts, and perhaps improve, on this manner of prayer.

As for promulgating this concert of prayer, the ministers decided to simply pass the word through personal conversation, and correspondence with others far away, rather than any formal advertisement in the press. At first it was intended that some formal paper outlining the proposal should be sent around for proper amendments and improvements, and then agreement. But after more thoughtful deliberation, it was concluded that this would only give rise to objections which they thought best to avoid in the beginning.

Great success seems to have met their labors for great numbers in Scotland and England, and even some in North America joined with them. As to Scotland, many people in the four chief cities, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Dundee joined. There were also many country towns and congregations in various other areas that participated. A Mr. Robe, of Kilsyth, stated that 'There were then above thirty societies of young people there, newly erected, some of which consisted of upwards of thirty members.'

The two years ended last November. Just prior to this, a number of ministers in Scotland agreed on a letter, to be printed and sent abroad to their brethren, proposing to them, and requesting of them, to join with them in continuing this concert of prayer, and in the endeavors to promote it. Almost five hundred copies of this letter were sent over to New England, with instructions to distribute them to the Massachusetts-Bay area, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Carolina and Georgia. Most were sent to a congregational minister in Boston along with a letter from twelve ministers in Scotland. Other copies were sent to other ministers in Boston, and some to a minister in Connecticut.

The proposal, dated August 26, 1746, opens with an explanation of the purpose and times for the concerts of prayer, and an entreaty to the ministers to communicate their opinions after the two year period had completed.

The ministers then go on to assure their Bostonian brethren that the concerts are not to be seen as binding; men are not expected to set apart days from secular affairs, or 'fix on any part of ... precise days, whether it be convenient or not.' Nor are they to be seen as 'absolute promises, but as friendly, harmonious resolutions, with liberty to alter circumstances as shall be found expedient.' Because of such liberty these prayer times cannot be judged to infringe upon those 'religious times' appointed by men.

The letter also asked ministers to consider composing and publishing short 'persuasive directions' regarding the necessity of prayer, either by particular authors or several joining together. Without such repeated reminders men are apt to become weary and begin to neglect their duty. Ministers are also asked to preach frequently on the importance and necessity of prayer for the coming of the Lord's Kingdom, particularly near or on the quarterly times.

The Boston ministers are to understand that these prayer concerts are not restricted to any particular denomination, but is extended to all who have 'at heart the interest of vital Christianity, and the power of godliness; and who, however differing about other things, are convinced of the importance of fervent prayer ...'

It was proposed that the prayer should extend for seven more years and the ministers agreed to this. However there was concern that zeal for spreading news of the concert would wane because of the length proposed. Nevertheless, it was agreed that the first period of time (two years) was too short.

If persons who formerly agreed to this concert should discontinue it, would it not look like that fainting in prayer Scripture so ardently warned against? Would this not be particularly unsuitable given the need of public reformation?

Those ministers in Boston said of this proposal: 'The motion seems to come from above, and to be wonderfully spreading in Scotland, England, Wales, Ireland and North America.'

Are We Hungry For Revival?

2008-01-07T09:06:00.001-06:00

I just finished reading the article below by Jill Austin.

Are You Hungry for Revival?
by Jill Austin

2 Chronicles 16:9 - For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him.

Revival is not born out of mass movements but out of a series of solitary decisions.

Over the last several years, I have traveled to more churches and nations than I can count. Many have gathered together and called others to pray, fast and walk in unity. First, the meetings are packed by the mounting momentum of trying out new ideas. Then, slowly, the meetings dwindle down; one or two intercessors are the sole watchmen left on the wall. The faithful few glumly look around at the empty rows of chairs.

We get discouraged when we don't see others manifesting the same enthusiasm for revival that we have. We worry, "How can our city be transformed unless the pastor of that major church is involved and all the meetings are filled?" But I tell you, beloved, God is not focused on the empty chairs!

Rather, He is focused on the chairs that are filled! You are there. He has drawn you there. He is going to begin His work with you. Revival starts today. Revival starts with you.

He has hand-chosen you, before the foundations of the world, to embark on a journey into the fullness of your destiny. Do you want to be His voice rather than man's echo?

If so, will you return to Him as your first love? Remember, God must first set our hearts ablaze with radical passion for Jesus. Intimacy is what ignites revolution.

Is the presence of the living God fully taking up residence in your heart? If that has not happened, then why are you expecting that to happen in some kind of public meeting? Revival starts with you! Personal transformation must precede city transformation. Let a revolution begin today-and may it begin with you!

Prayer: Oh Lord, I ask that You would radically revolutionize me. Cause revival to burn so deeply in my heart that others can't help but be changed! Oh Lord, You are truly all I want! I love You and I want to know You more. Tenderize my heart again. I want to return to You as my first love. Where my heart has drifted and gotten lukewarm, return me back to You. God, I give you permission to do whatever it takes to make me wholly Yours. Set me on fire.

Yes, Lord set me on fire!

Bryan

What is Hindering Revival?

2008-01-06T19:58:00.000-06:00

Millions of Christians are praying for revival to sweep our churches and communities. Yet, revival has not come. Why is that?

Well, Jonathan Goforth believes the reason is that we still depend on our own strength rather than the Spirit of God...

"If revival is being withheld from us it is because some idol remains still enthroned; because we still insist in placing our reliance in human schemes; because we still refuse to face the unchangeable truth that 'It is not by might, but by My Spirit."

Praying for Revival

Bryan

Does Revival "Thrill" Us?

2008-01-04T13:06:00.000-06:00

When we hear the word "revival", are our hearts and minds filled with the excitement of what God can do in our lives and churches and communities?

Martin Lloyd Jones said: "I do not understand Christian people who are not thrilled by the whole idea of revival."

Praying that God will excite us about the coming revival!

Bryan

Time is Precious

2008-01-02T10:25:00.000-06:00

As we begin this new year, we should remember that this may be our last year on earth. Thus, every moment and day is a gift. David Brainerd, who lived a short life from 1718 to 1747, wrote in his journal...

"Oh, how precious is time, and how it pains me to see it slide away, while I do so little to any good purpose. Oh, that God would make me more fruitful and spiritual."

Praying for Revival in 2008!

Bryan

Happy New Year

2008-01-01T13:05:00.001-06:00

Happy New Year! Below is today's Breakpoint article.

Reflections for New Year's Day
'Amazing Grace'

January 1, 2008

At the end of December 1772, an Anglican priest in the poor parish of Olney worked by candlelight on his New Year's Day sermon. He would preach on the text of 1 Chronicles 17, verses 16 and 17. That passage was David's response to God after Nathan informed him that his descendants would be enthroned forever as kings of Israel. David, the once poor shepherd boy, the man who would have repented of adultery and murder, responded to the news by saying, "Who am I, O LORD God, and what is my family, that you have brought me thus far?"

That pastor was John Newton, and those words struck a deep chord in his heart.

In those last days of 1772, Newton found himself running out of empty pages in his journal, a bound book of 300 pages holding 16 years worth of entries. As he came to finish that journal and start another, his mind was drawn to the pages of his past: the story of his life from his days as an unregenerate slave-trader to becoming a child of God.

Newton would have remembered when his rebellious spirit got him thrown off numerous ships, publicly flogged, and ousted from His Majesty's Navy. He would have remembered the shipwrecks and the mutinies—and then the transformation of his heart by the power of the Gospel. As Newton considered those days gone by, he would have asked as David did, "Who am I, O LORD . . . that you have brought me this far?"

As was his habit, Newton set to work composing a hymn to illustrate his New Year's Day sermon. In that hymn, he would tell his poor congregation of lace-makers and low-paid artisans about the dangers and snares he had faced. He would reflect on the amazing grace that had saved a wretch like him.

Those now-famous words of "Amazing Grace," first sung in the small parish of Olney on New Year's Day, 1773, lingered in obscurity for many years. Even as Newton counseled the young William Wilberforce and encouraged him to stay the course in the long battle against the slave trade, the words to "Amazing Grace" were little sung in England. But the Olney hymnal, later published by Newton, caught on in the Americas.

The words of "Amazing Grace" would surface again some 80 years later in a book that would change the course of this nation, Uncle Tom's Cabin. In it, the slave, Tom, at his lowest point, sings the words of "Amazing Grace." Two verses hardly sung today were sung by Tom: "And when this mortal life shall fail/And flesh and sense shall cease,/ I shall possess within the veil,/ A life of joy and peace." These words of the ultimate hope in God, even in the face of deep injustice, forever entwined the words of "Amazing Grace" with the plight of the slaves.

But it all began in that dark little study in the waning days of a year gone by, when one man took the time to reflect on God's goodness to him.

This New Year's Day we would all do well to pay tribute to Newton by imitating his gratitude to God and his heart for the lost. We would do well also to set aside some time to reflect on what God has done in our lives—how He has delivered us from slavery to sin. And we would do well to consider how we, in this new year of 2008, can sing God's praise with our lips and with our lives.

As we end this year...

2007-12-29T14:21:00.001-06:00

As 2007 winds down and 2008 is just around the corner, it would be good to take to heart the words of David Brainerd...

"Oh, how precious is time, and how it pains me to see it slide away, while I do so little to any good purpose. Oh, that God would make me more fruitful and spiritual."

Bringing in the new year

Bryan

Some of the Results of Revival!

2007-12-27T21:45:00.000-06:00

What can we expect when God sends a revival to a local church? Jonathan Edwards shares first hand knowledge...

"The assembly were in tears while the Word was preached; some weeping sorrows and distress, others with joy and love, others with concern for the souls of their neighbors."

Let us Keep Praying for Revival!

Bryan

Revival and Holiness

2007-12-26T19:09:00.000-06:00

A.W. Tozer pointed out that holiness will result from revival...

"I contend that whatever does not raise the moral standard of the church or community has not been a revival from God."

Praying for Revival

Bryan

Christmas as the End of History

2007-12-25T19:56:00.000-06:00

On December 20, 1981, John Piper preached the following sermon. It can be found on the Desiring God site. Merry Christmas!

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This is my tenth and final message in this series on the history of redemption. What I would like to do this morning is to pull it all together and show how God's work in history comes to a climax—and in a sense comes to an end—in the coming of his one and only eternal and divine Son into the world.

From Creation to Christ
The first thing that had to be proclaimed about God was that through the agency of his eternal Son, and by the word of his power, God created out of nothing all that is not God, in order to display the fullness of his glory among men and among all the hosts of heaven. And he sustains and holds in existence moment by moment the whole universe, so that by virtue of creation and providence God owns all things and has absolute right to do with creation as he pleases. There is no higher court before whom we can appeal his decisions. There is no other law than his word. There is no other maker behind the Maker of all. He is simply and awesomely Absolute: no beginning, no ending, no becoming. Everyone, without exception, will have to reckon with this God sooner or later. And there are only two possibilities: we can rebel against his absolute authority over us creatures, or we can bow in lowly adoration and do his bidding.

But the second thing proclaimed in the history of redemption is that our first human parents fell prey to a deception and chose the path of rebellion. The deception for which they fell was that if they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they would be like God. Which means: if you stop depending like little children on God to tell you what is good and bad for you, and start making those choices yourself, then you will be like God and much happier. The Fall, therefore, was the desire and effort of man to be self-determining and self-reliant. And as a result God withdrew his special sanctifying grace, so that since that first sin, all people have come into the world bent on rebellion. The essence of sin which presses for control in every one of us is the intense distaste of surrendering all authority to God and becoming like little children in dependence on him. The early history of mankind stands under this sentence from Genesis 6:5: "The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."

But the third thing that had to be proclaimed about God in the course of redemptive history was that his purpose to be glorified through the obedience and joy of his creatures was not to be frustrated. Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, God chooses one man, Abraham, and makes him a promise: "I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great so that you will be a blessing . . . and by you all the families of the earth shall be blessed (Genesis 12:2, 3). We must learn from redemptive history that it is God's way to pursue great ends through small beginnings. (Is not one of the most captivating things about Christmas that the cosmic business of Christ began with a babe in a manger? God always seems to act that way, lest anyone should boast and give man the glory.) God aims to reclaim the rebellious creation. And he begins his grand plan of reclamation with one obscure, imperfect Aramean whose wife is barren.

From that man and woman came a great people, the people of Israel, named after Abraham's grandson whose children were the twelve tribal patriarchs. And God begins to go to work on this people to make them the lesson-book for the nations about how salvation is to be found. After centuries of bondage in Egypt he displays the unbridled glory of his power in their deliverance through the Red Sea.

Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today, for the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be still. (Exodus 14:13)
With a few changes those could have been the very words that the angel spoke to the shepherds on the night Jesus was born. And that is no mere coincidence, because God intends for everything in his dealing with Israel to point to the righteousness that comes from faith, and finally to the Christ.

When the people come to Mount Sinai and the law is given through Moses, the basic reason is to show the people how they should act if they have faith in the God of the Exodus (Exodus 20:2). The law is a description of the obedience of faith for that time. The law did not demand that the people try to earn their salvation through works. It did not offer blessing only to perfection. It demanded that people put their hope in the mercy of God (Exodus 34:6), it called for the obedience of faith, and it provided a ritual of atonement so that sacrifices could be offered for sins. All of this—the call for faith and the provision of sacrifices—points to a coming redeemer whose death will fulfill all sacrifices and who will be received by faith alone.

In the wilderness wanderings God showed that he could spread a table for his people where there was not food and that, therefore, they should trust him. The manna that he provided was a prefiguring of the true Bread that comes down from heaven (John 6:32–55), Jesus Christ. When Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness for the people's healing (Numbers 21:9), it was a foreshadowing of how Christ would be lifted up on the cross for our salvation (John 3:14). And all the tests of faith in the wilderness (Deuteronomy 8:2, 16) pointed ahead to the time when Christ himself would be tempted in the wilderness, but without sin.

When Israel crossed the Jordan and conquered the promised land and dwelt in it and had rest, it was a partial fulfillment of the promise to Abraham. But since the rest was imperfect, sensitive readers of the Old Testament saw this too as a type of something yet to come: there is still a promised land in the future for God's people, a "better country" (Hebrews 11:16), a "city which is to come" (Hebrews 13:14), a Sabbath rest for the people of God (Hebrews 4:9), in the kingdom of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Then came the establishment of the monarchy in Israel—sought for evil motives, but turned for good by the grace of God. Through this very line of kings God promises to bring the Savior towards whom everything has been pointing. All the history of Israel is a great lesson-book for the nations to read. And the lesson the book teaches is this: God the creator owns and rules the world; his aim is to subdue its rebellion and be glorified through an obedient and joyful people who forsake self-reliance and put their faith and hope in him alone. They cannot attain righteousness through "works of the law" (Romans 3:20) but must count entirely on the mercy of God who will raise up for David a righteous Branch whose name will be "The Lord is our righteousness" (Jeremiah 23:5, 6).

Christmas and the River of History
The next thing God did to bring redemptive history to a climax took almost everybody off guard. Only those few people who were most sensitive to the heart of the Old Testament could begin to fathom what God did next. He split the coming of the Messiah into two comings, separated by some 2,000 years. This was incomprehensible to the Jews of Jesus' day. The Old Testament prophets had not been told by God how some of their prophecies fit together in time. 1 Peter 1:10, 11 says (literally): "The prophets who prophesied concerning the grace coming to you sought out and searched out about this salvation, searching into which or what sort of time the Spirit of Christ was revealing to them as they testified beforehand about the sufferings of Christ and the glories after them." In other words, some of the prophets foresaw that the Messiah would suffer (e.g., Isaiah 53) and that he would also be revealed in glory. What they did not see was how the sufferings and glory of the Messiah fit together, namely, that there would be two comings of the Messiah, once to suffer and a second time to gather his people into his kingdom and judge unbelievers. The prophets, and all Israel with them, looked forward to one great Day of the Lord when the Messiah would come, defeat his enemies, sanctify his people, establish his kingdom, and rule in peace and righteousness forever over a joyful and obedient people. The coming of Messiah meant the end of this age and the beginning of the age to come; it meant the establishment of the eternal kingdom of God on earth; it meant the fulfillment of all God's promises.

Is it any wonder, then, that the disciples were dismayed into speechlessness when they confessed Jesus as the Messiah and heard him respond, "Yes, and the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed" (Mark 8:31). How can you defeat your enemies and establish the kingdom and fulfill the promises, if you are rejected by Israel and killed like a criminal? It took three years of instruction from Jesus, numerous resurrection appearances, and the anointing of the Holy Spirit before the apostles could grasp that it was precisely through his rejection and death that Jesus defeated his enemies, inaugurated the kingdom, and fulfilled the promises.

The meaning of Christmas was a great blur for well over thirty years until the apostles broke through to the insight that this event was the first half of the final act of redemptive history, and that the second half remains for the future. When they finally saw that, they were prepared to interpret the meaning of Christmas for us. And they have done it in the writings of the New Testament.

In all that they wrote there is a kind of trademark which tips us off that these men once believed there would be only one coming of the Messiah, and that this coming would mark the end of the age. God has seen fit to preserve this trademark for us because there is a very important truth in it, which I think could give a new dimension of joy and expectancy to our Christmas celebration this year. The trademark is this; even though the apostles looked forward as we do to a second appearance of Christ, yet they still say that the first coming happened in the last days or at the end of the age. They do not treat Christmas as just one more bend in the river of redemptive history. With Christmas comes the end. For example, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:11 that the events of the Old Testament "happened to them as a warning, but they were written down for our instruction upon whom the end of the ages has come." When the apostle Peter stood up on Pentecost to interpret for the crowds the meaning of what was happening, he said, "This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 'And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh"' (Acts 2:16, 17). These are the last days. The apostle Peter also wrote that Christ was "destined before the foundation of the world, but was made manifest at the end of the times for your sake" (1 Peter 1:20). The appearing of Jesus Christ at Christmas marked the end of the times (or as Paul said, "the end of the ages").

And one other text shows that this apostolic trademark is preserved even where the future second coming is explicitly in view, Hebrews 9:26–28:

Christ has appeared once for all at the end of the age to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for men to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.
What this text shows is that even though time had elapsed between Christ's first coming and the writing of this book; and even though the writer looks ahead to an unknown future lapse of time before Christ comes a second time, nevertheless he does not give up the apostolic trademark: Christmas marks the end of the age. And I believe there is a very profound reason why the Holy Spirit has preserved this trademark for us, even though 2,000 years have passed since that first Christmas. I believe the Spirit preserved this trademark for us to keep us from trivializing Christmas.

Creation out of nothing was an awesome event. Imagine what the angelic spirits must have felt when the universe, material reality of which they had never imagined, was brought forth out of nothing by the command of God. The fall was an awful event, shaking the entire creation. The exodus was an amazing display of God's power and love. The giving of the law, the wilderness provisions, the conquering of Canaan, the prosperity of the monarchy—all these acts of God in redemptive history were very great and wonderful. Each one was a very significant bend in the river of redemptive history, bringing it ever and ever closer to the ocean of God's final kingdom. But we trivialize Christmas, the incarnation, if we treat it as just another bend on the way to the end. It is the end of redemptive history.

And I think the analogy of the river helps us see how. Picture the river as redemptive history flowing toward the ocean which is the final kingdom of God, full of glory and righteousness and peace. At the end of the river the ocean presses up into the river with its salt water. Therefore, at the mouth of the river there is a mingling of fresh water and salt water. One might say that the kingdom of God has pressed its way back up into the river of time a short way. It has surprised the travelers and taken them off guard. They can smell the salt water. They can taste the salt water. The sea gulls circle the deck. The end has come upon them. Christmas is not another bend in the river. It is the arrival of the salt water of the kingdom of God which has backed up into the river of history. With the coming of Christmas, the ocean of the age to come has reached backward up the stream of history to welcome us, to wake us up to what is coming, to lure us on into the deep. Christmas is not another bend in the river of history. It is the end of the river. Let down your dipper and taste of Jesus Christ, his birth and life and death and resurrection. Taste and see if the age to come has not arrived, if the kingdom has not come upon us. Does it not make your eyes sparkle?

But scoffers will say—they have always said—2,000 years is a long river delta! Too long to believe in. Christmas was just another bend in the river. The salty taste in the water must have been done by some chemical plant nearby. Who can imagine living in the last days for 2,000 years? To such skeptics I say, with the apostle Peter, "Do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day" (2 Peter 3:8). As far as God is concerned the incarnation happened last Friday.

I want us to think of Christmas this year not as a great event in the flow of history, but as the arrival of the end of history which happened, as it were, but yesterday, and will be consummated very soon by the second appearing of Christ. Let me make one last effort to help you see it this way. Most of you probably know someone who is 90 years old or older—probably a woman. I want you to imagine 22 of these ladies standing here in front, side by side, facing you, each one still alert and able to remember her childhood and marriage and old age. And then instead of seeing them side by side as contemporaries, have them turn and face sideways so they form a queue, and imagine that each one lived just after the other. If the one on my far left were alive today, do you know when the one on my far right would have been born? At the same time Jesus was. Jesus was born just 22 ladies ago. That is not a very long time. Just 22 people between you and the incarnation. In comparison to the size of the ocean of the age to come, the mouth of the river of redemptive history is small. The delta is not long. It is short.

My prayer for us all this year is that we might see ourselves living between the first and second appearances of Jesus Christ, which together, are the end of redemptive history. That we might see these two appearances united by the overflow of the glorious ocean of the future kingdom of God into the present; and ourselves borne along no longer by the forces of history, but by the power of the age to come. May we feel the undertow of the eschaton and yearn to be there with the Lord forever. Even so come quickly, Lord. Amen.

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© Desiring God

Permissions: You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way and do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. For web posting, a link to this document on our website is preferred. Any exceptions to the above must be approved by Desiring God.

Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: desiringGod.org

What will revival do to the local church?

2007-12-22T10:42:00.000-06:00

Robert Coleman made the following observation on the Asbury Revival...

"Church altars which for years had been nothing more than pieces of furniture now became hallowed places where men met God, and brother was reconciled with brother."

Praying for Revival!

Bryan

How Much Prayer Does it Take Before Revival?

2007-12-20T12:06:00.000-06:00

How much prayer is required for revival?

Well, D.M. McIntyre gives a historical example...

"Before the great revival in Gallneukirchen broke out, Martin Boos spent hours and days and often nights in lonely agonies of intercession. Afterwards, when he preached, his words were as flame, and the hearts of the people as grass."

How much prayer is needed?

Much

Bryan

Are We Jealous For God's Glory?

2007-12-19T08:49:00.000-06:00

Good Morning. Leonard Ravenhill simply sums up what revival is all about...

"Are we jealous for God’s glory? To me that is what revival is all about."

Praying for revival!

Bryan

Pray for a Sweeping Revival

2007-12-15T12:08:00.000-06:00

Adrian Rogers made this observation on revival...

"Study the history of revival. God has always sent revival in the darkest days. Oh, for a mighty, sweeping revival today!"

The days are spiritually dark around us. Therefore, let us pray for a sweeping revival!

Bryan

A Simple Reminder

2007-12-14T09:51:00.000-06:00

Today, let us get back to one of the basics about revival. Matthew Henry reminds us to not only pray for revival, but to be ready to be moved by God to pray...

"When God intends great mercy for His people, the first thing He does is to set them a-praying."

Let us not ignore the promptings of the Holy Spirit to pray.

Praying for Revival!

Bryan

One more persepctive on the mall shootings...

2007-12-13T09:54:00.000-06:00

Good Morning. It has been one week and one day since the tragic shooting at the Westroads Mall. A pastor in Omaha posted his thoughts on the day of the shooting. Here is a portion of it...

One day there was a tragedy with a similar story as the one that we have today. Many folks died and the people questioned how they should react to it. Jesus answers was amazingly short and profound. He said, “Unless you repent you too will perish” (Luke 13.3).

This is the message in this tragedy. Yes this is horrible. Yes it hurts. But, the greater tragedy is to turn away from such things without repenting, or turning from sin. Tragedies such as this become a merciful divine declaration that God is angry with sin. To make it personal, God is angry with us. I do not deserve to live one second in rebellion from him, much less enjoy this world that he made. Days like today remind us that we need to turn from sinful rebellion and bow before Jesus Christ as the glorious king of heaven and the savior of the world. For it is Jesus Christ alone who has the power to defeat death and provide hope. Yes Jesus Christ is the only one to conquer death and rise from the dead. Jesus Christ is the only one who declares that if you believe in him you will never see death (Jn. 8.51).

Do you see how powerful these words are on a day like today?

If you are not trusting in Jesus this very hour for your standing of forgiveness before the righteous and holy judge of heaven and earth then this tragedy is a gracious gift of God whereby he says to you, “Repent, or you too will perish!” Yes this is the ultimate tragedy. There is one who has defeated death, he can give hope, he gives life; his name is Jesus. To reject him is a tragedy. For it is Jesus who says, “do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matt. 10.28)

More on the Westroads Shootings...

2007-12-10T10:02:00.000-06:00

Good Morning. All over Omaha yesterday, pastors (including myself) preached messages that addressed the terrible shooting last week at the Westroads Mall. The Lord has provided for the city of Omaha a window of opportunity to either turn or return to the Lord Jesus. The city of Minneapolis also had an opportunity last summer when the bridge collapsed. Here is what John Piper wrote...

Putting My Daughter to Bed Two Hours After the Bridge Collapsed

What Do Tragedies Like This Mean for Us?

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By John Piper August 1, 2007

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At about 6 PM tonight the bridge of Interstate 35W over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis collapsed. I am writing this about three hours after the bridge fell. The bridge is located within sight of Bethlehem Baptist Church. Most of us who minister at the church cross this bridge several times a week. At this point I don’t know if any staff was on the bridge. Desiring God offices are about a mile from the bridge.

There are no firm facts at this point about the total number of injuries and fatalities. When we crossed the bridge Tuesday on our way out of town, there was extensive repair work happening on the surface of the bridge with single lane traffic. One speculates about the unusual stresses on the bridge with jackhammers and other surface replacement equipment. This was the fortieth anniversary of the bridge.

Tonight for our family devotions our appointed reading was Luke 13:1-9. It was not my choice. This is surely no coincidence. O that all of the Twin Cities, in shock at this major calamity, would hear what Jesus has to say about it from Luke 13:1-5. People came to Jesus with heart-wrenching news about the slaughter of worshipers by Pilate. Here is what he said.

There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."

Jesus implies that those who brought him this news thought he would say that those who died, deserved to die, and that those who didn’t die did not deserve to die. That is not what he said. He said, everyone deserves to die. And if you and I don’t repent, we too will perish. This is a stunning response. It only makes sense from a view of reality that is radically oriented on God.

All of us have sinned against God, not just against man. This is an outrage ten thousand times worse than the collapse of the 35W bridge. That any human is breathing at this minute on this planet is sheer mercy from God. God makes the sun rise and the rain fall on those who do not treasure him above all else. He causes the heart to beat and the lungs to work for millions of people who deserve his wrath. This is a view of reality that desperately needs to be taught in our churches, so that we are prepared for the calamities of the world.

The meaning of the collapse of this bridge is that John Piper is a sinner and should repent or forfeit his life forever. That means I should turn from the silly preoccupations of my life and focus my mind’s attention and my heart’s affection on God and embrace Jesus Christ as my only hope for the forgiveness of my sins and for the hope of eternal life. That is God’s message in the collapse of this bridge. That is his most merciful message: there is still time to turn from sin and unbelief and destruction for those of us who live. If we could see the eternal calamity from which he is offering escape we would hear this as the most precious message in the world.

We prayed during our family devotions. Talitha (11 years old) and Noel and I prayed earnestly for the families affected by the calamity and for the others in our city. Talitha prayed “Please don’t let anyone blame God for this but give thanks that they were saved.” When I sat on her bed and tucked her in and blessed her and sang over her a few minutes ago, I said, “You know, Talitha, that was a good prayer, because when people ‘blame’ God for something, they are angry with him, and they are saying that he has done something wrong. That’s what “blame” means: accuse somebody of wrongdoing. But you and I know that God did not do anything wrong. God always does what is wise. And you and I know that God could have held up that bridge with one hand.” Talitha said, “With his pinky.” “Yes,” I said, “with his pinky. Which means that God had a purpose for not holding up that bridge, knowing all that would happen, and he is infinitely wise in all that he wills.”

Talitha said, “Maybe he let it fall because he wanted all the people of Minneapolis to fear him.” “Yes, Talitha,” I said, “I am sure that is one of the reasons God let the bridge fall.”

I sang to her the song I always sing,

Come rest your head and nestle gently
And do not fear the dark of night.
Almighty God keeps watch intently,
And guards your life with all his might.
Doubt not his love, nor power to keep,
He never fails, nor does he sleep.

I said, “You know, Talitha, that is true whether you die in a bridge collapse, or in a car accident, or from cancer, or terrorism, or old age. God always keeps you, even when you die. So you don’t need to be afraid, do you.” “No,” she shook her head. I leaned down and kissed her. “Good night. I love you.”

Tonight across the Twin Cities families are wondering if they will ever kiss a loved one good night again. Some will not. I am praying that they will find Jesus Christ to be their Rock and Refuge in these agonizing hours of uncertainty and even loss.

The word “bridge” does not occur in the Bible. There may be two reasons. One is that God doesn’t build bridges, he divides seas. The other is that usually his people must pass through the deadly currents of suffering and death, not simply ride over them. “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you” (Isaiah 43:2). They may drown you. But I will be with you in life and death.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life . . . will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:35-38)

Killed all day long. But not separated from Christ. We go through the river. Not over it. He went before us, crucified. He came out on the other side. He knows the way through. With him we will make it. That is the message we have for the precious sinners in the Twin Cities. He died for your sins. He rose again. He saves all who trust him. We die, but because of him, we do not die.

Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” (John 11:25)

Talitha is sleeping now. But one day she will die. I teach her this. I will not always be there to bless her. But Jesus is alive and is the same yesterday today and forever. He will be with her because she trusts him. And she will make it through the river.

Weeping with those who weep, and those who should,

Pastor John

Psalm 71:20 You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again.

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© Desiring God

Permissions: You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way and do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. For web posting, a link to this document on our website is preferred. Any exceptions to the above must be approved by Desiring God.

Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: desiringGod.org

Let us Pray for the Family Members of the Victims in Omaha

2007-12-06T11:04:00.000-06:00

Omaha is in a state of shock after the tragedy at the Westroads Mall. When I was in high school, I worked at Bishop's Buffet there and then spend most of my paycheck at the arcade! Now, when I think of the Westroads, I will think about what happened there yesterday. Here is an email I sent out to the church family at Harvey Oaks Baptist Church this morning...

"Dear Family at Harvey Oaks Baptist Church:

Let us continue to pray for the family and friends of those who were killed or injured at the Westroads Mall yesterday.

As you may know, I am a volunteer chaplain for the Omaha Police Department. Yesterday afternoon, I sat in my office listening to the live news feed on Internet. It was reported that nine people were killed and five injured. I also heard that a family center had been set up at the Hampton Inn across the street from the mall. At that point, I called the Head of the chaplains and asked if I should head down to the Hampton Inn. He said “yes.” So I called Clint Frank and Randy Eastwood to let them know of the situation and that I would probably not be at the Bible Study and Prayer time.

When I arrived at the Hampton Inn, the room was filled with people waiting for the news of their loved ones. I was the third OPD chaplain to arrive. I spent the next couple of hours talking and praying with several in the room. The Red Cross also was there. They provided food and support.

Later, a police representative asked me to follow him. I was lead to a hotel room where family members of one the victims were. The victim was a wife and mother of three children. She worked in gift wrapping at Von Maur. The husband and children were actually at home waiting for the news. The people in the room were family members and one close friend.

After spending a few moments there, we headed to the home of the family. I rode in a relative’s car and others were in a police cruiser with one officer. When we arrived at the home, the father had already received the news. He was talking to a detective in a car outside the home. A few moments later, the oldest daughter came and she quickly realized what the news was.

Then we went inside the home. I was with the family for about an hour. The hardest part was telling the youngest child that her mother was killed. The father asked me to do that. Please pray for this family. It is a close-knit and loving family that now has to deal with this awful tragedy.

I am thankful for all your prayers. I felt very inadequate, yet God’s grace and strength was evident.

This certainly puts life into perspective. Life is short and the days are evil. Thus, as the followers of Jesus, let us make every moment count.

Pastor Bryan"

Praying with Serious Effort

2007-12-05T09:36:00.000-06:00

Good Morning. There are flurries falling here in Omaha. And it is cold! But it is winter. Tonight, we will gather together at Harvey Oaks Baptist Church for Bible study and prayer. May God visit us in power!

"When the Church sets itself to pray with the same seriousness and strength of purpose that it has devoted to other forms of Christian effort, it will see the Kingdom of God come with power."

- Report of The Edinburgh Missionary Conference

We Must Rely on Prayer

2007-12-04T19:37:00.000-06:00

In our local churches, what are the things we depend on in order to accomplish things for God? It is possible that we trust the wrong things according to A.C. Dixon...

"When we rely upon organization, we get what organization can do; when we rely upon education, we get what education can do; when we rely upon eloquence, we get what eloquence can do. But when we rely upon prayer, we get what God can do."

Praying for Revival!

Bryan

Do We Have Clean Hands When we Pray for Revival?

2007-12-03T11:02:00.000-06:00

The Lewis Awakening in 1949 began in a prayer burden

I believe this gracious movement of the Holy Spirit - The Lewis Awakening in 1949 - began in a prayer burden; indeed there is no doubt about that. It began in a small group who were really burdened. They entered into a covenant with God that they would "give Him no rest until He had made Jerusalem a praise in the earth". They waited. The months passed, and nothing happened, until one young man took up his Bible and read from Psalm 24: "Who shall stand in His holy place? He that hath clean hands and a pure heart… He shall receive the blessing from the Lord." The young man closed the Bible and, looking at his companions on their knees before God, he cried: "Brethren, it is just so much humbug to be waiting thus night after night, month after month, if we ourselves are not right with God. I must ask myself - "Is my heart pure? Are my hands clean?"

Duncan Campbell, quoted A.Wallis, In the Day of Thy Power

How Serious Are We About Revival?

2007-11-28T17:12:00.000-06:00

Here is a good question?

HOW SERIOUS ARE WE ABOUT REVIVAL?

Well, check out the article by Conrad Lampan...

A few moments ago I read an email that quoted from Evan Roberts, the revivalist God used to spark the 1904 Welsh Revival:

“Evan Roberts prayed after seeking God 13 years for revival in Wales, "Lord, the altar is built, the sacrifice is laid upon. We await the fire from heaven to ignite the flames of revival." WE ARE AT THIS STAGE OF REVIVAL IN AMERICA AND THE WORLD. GET READY! GET READY! GET READY!”

Reading the above quote one question explodes in my mind: can we seriously declare that “we are ready”? Can we, looking at ourselves with all honesty declare that we are “oh, so ready?” We need to take another look in the direction of the Throne. When Isaiah saw the Lord on His lofty throne he did not shout out “oh how ready I am” rather he cried out: “Wow is me!” and only after that he was sent by Lord. This is the readiness we need, an encounter with the most High that will leave us “without strength” like Daniel; or “as a dead man at His feet” as John in Revelation; or an encounter that will set us off the horse like Saul. Every man God used first had an encounter with God that left them undone.

HOW UNDONE ARE WE?

Our “undoneness” is the most accurate measure of our readiness.

What was the sacrifice that was “laid upon the altar”? Evan Roberts himself. He also said “I have reached out and touched the flame; I am burning and waiting for a sign” We can read all the books, and visit all the places, and be prayed for by every anointed preacher, yet until we are ready to surrender it avails for nothing, yet until we ourselves are burning no fire of revival will ever burn. Wesley said when asked about what he did to have revival: “I set myself on fire and people come to see me burning”.

CUSTOM MADE REVIVAL

Revival is not a side dish to the main meal of our plans. There is no way that we can have a “custom-made” revival. I have heard many people praying for a Welsh revival, or yet others pray for an American revival. Do not pray for a Welsh revival, rather pray for revival in Wales; not an American revival, pry for revival in America. Revival is not a controlled fire in the chimney to keep us comfortably warm while in the safety of our sheltered submission.

Many people are complaining and in many cases leaving their churches because -as they put it- the church has failed. Without entering into an argument now, I would say only that no church will ever go any further than its individuals. We have to admit that the church will never go deeper or higher than its individuals.

I brought up the above example because it is true also about revival. Revival will no go any deeper or spread any farther than individual commitment, and it will not touch people any more that it has touched us. No revival will revive my church more than I myself am revived.

DESIRE WITHOUT RELATIONSHIP

The level of desire should match the level of surrendering. Evan Roberts experienced that submission that comes from knowing God so intimately that there is no room for self; that point where no strength is left and we can only go on if we depend totally on the Holy Spirit.

Revival is like a child: we cannot possibly conceive a baby just out of desire alone! A baby is conceived out of relationship. No matter how much you desire to have a baby if you do have an intimate relationship with your spouse all what you will get is an unfulfilled desire. It does not matter if you declare that you are going to have a baby, it is not going to happen by just declaring it. You can visit as many maternities as you wish, and see other’s babies, but you will not have one until you do what you have to do.

IF IT IS NOT SUBMISSION IT IS MANIPULATION

Any intent on tapping on God’s power without first knowing Him to the point of total submission, any intent to “move” God into bringing forth a revival without experiencing our wills submitted to His will hundred percent might actually verge on manipulation.

Revival will really come when enough people have surrendered; when enough people are crying “wow is me”; when enough people are on their faces literally melting their own will, and plans, and desires in God’s furnace.

Our nation will be revived when “My people” humble themselves. When “My people” are revived then the nation will be revived. “My people” is not some ethereal, undefined nebulae to which we belong. “My people” is you and me and all who form the church. Ergo, we can expect revival in the nation when the church in that nation has been revived, and the church will be revived when we individuals have died and been revived by the Power of His Holy Spirit.

(http://www.intercessorshouse.net/library/articles/serious.html)

Praying for Revival!

Bryan

Praying for Revival Must be Regular

2007-11-27T14:40:00.000-06:00

Hi. Is it worth it to persevere in prayer? Well, read on please...

HOW A CHURCH WAS STARTED AS A ONE PERSON MEETING

Meeting with the Holy Spirit, that is. Which on second thought then it was a two person meeting. Oh well, isn't that the kind of meeting where all heaven comes? I think the angels come to see what is going on when one person is pouring his or her heart before the Holy Spirit.

Pastor Paulette, in the middle of her loss (she had lost her husband and daughter in an accident caused by a drunk driver) would come, persistently, consistently, every morning to the tiny place they had for office. There was no comfort, no air conditioning. It was just the place many people would not consider coming to and much less spending time praying there. But because of this it was the most appropriate place to meet with the Holy Spirit knowing that hardly anybody would bother to come bother.

For years, this woman of God, met with her God. Every morning. For hours on. For years on.

When you drive into Porterville in Southern California, if you come from Route 99 on Olive Ave. you will see it on your left on a corner there stands this big sanctuary with the looks of a barn, built on purpose with that barn style because of the harvest the church is expecting. Right across the street, on your right you will see it. There stands the original small office where the church across the street was birthed. Those wooden walls are witnesses -oh if they could only speak!- of countless hours of deep intercession, and those floors absorbed the tears shed in those long hours of travailing for a move of God.

Landmark Christian Center is there to show that prayer is effective. It stands there not only as a testimony of the past prayers, but also as a living body that is affecting the community in many ways. And it also stands as an advanced witness to the future, shouting that revival is possible, that a harvest is expected because they have sowed their own lives into that hard soil.

Tommy Hick, the man that God used to spark the massive revival in Argentina in 1954, also prophesied that Porterville is the site of such massive revival in the now not far away future. There are people in Porterville that believe it. Pastor Blaylock and Landmark Christian Center are some of them who sowed their life into the vision.

(http://www.intercessorshouse.net/library/clues/landmark.html)

Background to the 1904 Revival in Wales

2007-11-26T10:10:00.000-06:00

Good morning. As we continue to pray for revival, we can be encouraged that in the past, God has answered the pleas of his people for spiritual renewal. One notable example of this is the revival in Wales a little over a century ago...

A century ago Wales experienced the last National Religious Revival, a revival that brought in an extra 100,000 new converts according to the estimates of the time, and a movement that quickly spread to the 4 corners of the World. Yet that great move of the Spirit had very small beginnings. Beginnings that didn’t always involve the great preachers of the day – erudite and educated as they were, but instead included, for instance a young teenager from New Quay, Cardigan – Florrie Evans – who in a youth meeting in February 1904 declared publicly that she loved the Lord Jesus with all her heart. With these words the Spirit seemed to fall on the meeting and the fire quickly spread to other young people in the Cardiganshire area.

In September of the same year, an Evangelist Seth Joshua was addressing a Convention which included these young people at Blaenanerch just 5 miles north of Cardigan. Seth himself had been praying for years that God would raise up a young man from the pits to revive the churches – little did he know that on Thursday September 29th 1904 his prayer was to be answered in a life changing experience for one 26 year old student, Evan Roberts.

For years Evan had been a faithful member of Moriah Calvinistic Methodist church at Loughor, he was a Sunday School Superintendent, a consciencious reader of the main theological works of his day, and more than that he had been praying for revival for over 11 years. Having been converted as a young teenager, he continued to pray regularly that God would visit again the nation in Revival Power. Determined to do his part, he felt compelled to go into the Calvinistic Methodist Ministry and on September 13th 1904 he became a pupil of the Newcastle Emlyn Grammar School to prepare for Trefecca Theological College

It was only 2½ weeks after arriving that he found himself at Blaenanerch – and at a crossroads in his spiritual experience. A spiritual experience which would lead him back to the young people of his own church Moriah Loughor where he shared his experience and encouraged them to be open to God’s Spirit. Within two weeks the Welsh Revival was national news and before long, Evan Roberts and his brother Dan and his best friend Sidney were traveling the country conducting Revival Meetings and they were meetings with a difference. Meetings which broke the conventional and bi-passed the traditional – often the ministers just sat down unable to preach or even to understand what storm had arrived in their usually sedate temples.

This was a Revival with youth on fire – young men, yes and women. After the first stirrings amongst the young women of New Quay, young women continued to play a part in the Revival work – young Florrie went on a team to North Wales with her friend Maud – others used their voices as instruments of God’s message and amongst the most well known was Annie Davies Maesteg who accpomanied Evan Roberts on his missions.

Yes a storm had hit the churches yet for so many it was a storm of love and power which completely transformed their lives.

(http://www.welshrevival.com/)

Revival means to revive what was almost dead

2007-11-24T11:47:00.000-06:00

Good Morning. Below is an article entitled, "What is Revival?" by C.H. Spurgeon...

THE word "revival" is as familiar in our mouths as a household word. We are constantly speaking about and praying for a "revival;" would it not be as well to know what we mean by it? Of the Samaritans our Lord said, "Ye worship ye know not what," let him not have to say to us, "Ye know not what ye ask." The word "revive" wears its meaning upon its forehead; it is from the Latin, and may be interpreted thus—to live again, to receive again a life which has almost expired; to rekindle into a flame the vital spark which was nearly extinguished.

When a person has been dragged out of a pond nearly drowned, the bystanders are afraid that he is dead, and are anxious to ascertain if life still lingers. The proper means are used to restore animation; the body is rubbed, stimulants are administered, and if by God's providence life still tarries in the poor clay, the rescued man opens his eyes, sits up, and speaks, and those around him rejoice that he has revived. A young girl is in a fainting fit, but after a while she returns to consciousness, and we say, "she revives." The flickering lamp of life in dying men suddenly flames up with unusual brightness at intervals, and those who are watching around the sick bed say of the patient, "he revives."

In these days, when the dead are not miraculously restored, we do not expect to see the revival of a person who is totally dead, and we could not speak of the re-vival of a thing which never lived before. It is clear that the, term "revival" can only be applied to a living soul, or to that which once lived. To be revived is a blessing which can only be enjoyed by those who have some degree of life. Those who have no spiritual life are not, and cannot be, in the strictest sense of the term, the subjects of a revival. Many blessings may come to the unconverted in consequence of a revival among Christians, but the revival itself has to do only with those who already possess spiritual life. There must be vitality in some degree before there can be a quickening of vitality, or, in other words, a revival.

A true revival is to be looked for in the church of God. Only in the river of gracious life can the pearl of revival be found. It has been said that a revival must begin with God's people; this is very true, but it is not all the truth, for the revival itself must end as well as begin there. The results of the revival will extend to the outside world, but the revival, strictly speaking, must be within the circle of life, and must therefore essentially be enjoyed by the possessors of vital godliness, and by them only. Is not this quite a different view of revival from that; which is common in society; but is it not manifestly the correct one?

It is a sorrowful fact that many who are spiritually alive greatly need reviving. It is sorrowful because it is a proof of the existence of much spiritual evil. A man in sound health with every part of his body in a vigorous condition does not need reviving. He requires daily sustenance, but reviving would be quite out of place. If he has not yet attained maturity growth will be most desirable, but a hale hearty young man wants no reviving, it would be thrown away upon him. Who thinks of reviving the noonday sun, the ocean at its flood, or the year at its prime? The tree planted by the rivers of water loaded with fruit needs not excite our anxiety for its revival, for its fruitfulness and beauty charm every one. Such should be the constant condition of the sons of God. Feeding and lying down in green pastures and led by the still waters they ought not always to be crying, "my leanness, my leanness, woe unto me." Sustained by gracious promises and enriched out of the fullness which God has treasured up in his dear Son, their souls should prosper and be in health, and their piety ought to need no reviving. They should aspire to a higher blessing, a richer mercy, than a mere revival. They have the nether springs already; they should earnestly cover the upper springs. They should be asking for growth in grace, for increase of strength, for greater success; they should have out-climbed and out-soared the period in which they need to be constantly crying, "Wilt thou not revive us again?"

For a church to be constantly needing revival is the indication of much sin, for if it were sound before the Lord it would remain in the condition into which a revival would uplift its members. A church should be a camp of soldiers, not an hospital of invalids. But there is exceedingly much difference between what ought be and what is, and consequently many of God's people are in so sad a state that the very fittest prayer for them is for revival. Some Christians are, spiritually, but barely alive. When a man has been let down into a vat or into a well full of bad air, yea do not wonder when he is drawn up again that he is half-dead, and urgently requires to be revived. Some Christians—to their shame be it spoken!—descend into such worldly company, not upon such unhallowed principles, and become so carnal, that when they are drawn up by God's grace from their backsliding position they want reviving, and even need that their spiritual breath should as it were be breathed into their nostrils afresh by God's Spirit.

When a man starves himself, continuing for a long time without food, when he is day after day without a morsel of bread between his lips, we do not marvel that the surgeon, finding him in extremities, says, "This man has weakened his system, he is too low, and wants reviving." Of course he does, for he has brought himself by low diet into a state of weakness. Are there not hundreds of Christians—shame that it should be so!—who live day after day without feeding upon Bible truth? shall it be added without real spiritual communion with God? they do not even attend the week-night services, and they are indifferent hearers on the Lord's day. Is it remarkable that they want reviving? Is not the fact that they do so greatly need it most dishonorable to themselves and distressing to their truly spiritual brethren?

There is, a condition of mind which is even more sad than either of the two above mentioned; it is a thorough, gradual, but certain decline of all the spiritual powers. Look at that consumptive man whose lungs are decaying, and in whom the vital energy is ebbing; it is painful to see the faintness which suffuses him after exertion, and the general languor which overspreads his weakened frame. Far more sad to the spiritual eye is the spectacle presented by spiritual consumptives who in some quarters meet us on all hands. The eye of faith is dim and overcast, and seldom flashes with holy joy; the spiritual countenance is hollow and sunken with doubts and fears; the tongue of praise is partially paralyzed, and has little to say for Jesus; the spiritual frame is lethargic, and its movements are far from vigorous; the man is not anxious to be doing anything for Christ; a horrible numbness, a dreadful insensibility has come over him; he is in soul like a sluggard in the dog-days, who finds it hard labor to lie in bed and brush away the flies from his face.

If these spiritual consumptives hate sin they do it so weakly that one might fear that they loved it still. If they love Jesus, it is so coldly that it is a point of question whether they love at all. If they sing Jehovah's praises it is very sadly, as if hallelujahs were dirges. If they mourn for sin it is only with half-broken hearts, and their grief is shallow and unpractical. If they hear the Word of God they are never stirred by it; enthusiasm is an unknown luxury. If they come across a precious truth they perceive nothing particular in it, any more than the cock in the fable, in the jewel which he found in the farmyard. They throw themselves back upon the enchanted couch of sloth, and while they are covered with rags they dream of riches and great increase of goods. It is a sad, sad thing when Christians fall into this state; then indeed they need reviving, and they must have it, for "the whole head is sick and the whole heart faint." Every lover of souls should intercede for declining professors that the visitations of God may restore them; that the Sun of righteousness may arise upon them with healing beneath his wings.

When revival comes to a people who are in the state thus briefly described, it simply brings them to the condition in which they ought always to have been; it quickens them, gives them new life, stirs the coals of the expiring fire, and puts heavenly breath into the languid lungs. The sickly soul which before was insensible, weak, and sorrowful, grows earnest, vigorous, and happy in the Lord. This is the immediate fruit of revival, and it becomes all of us who are believers to seek this blessing for backsliders, and for ourselves if we are declining in grace.

If revival is confined to living men we may further notice that it must result from the proclamation and the receiving of living truth. We speak of "vital godliness," and vital godliness must subsist upon vital truth. Vital godliness is not revived in Christians by mere excitement, by crowded meetings, by the stamping of the foot, or the knocking of the pulpit cushion, or the delirious bawlings of ignorant zeal; these are the stock in trade of revivals among dead souls, but to revive living saints other means are needed. Intense excitement may produce a revival of the animal, but how can it operate upon the spiritual, for the spiritual demands other food than that which stews in the fleshpots of mere carnal enthusiasm. The Holy Ghost must come into the living heart through living truth, and so bring nutriment and stimulant to the pining spirit, for so only can it be revived.

This, then, leads us to the conclusion that if we are to obtain a revival we must go directly to the Holy Ghost for it, and not resort to the machinery of the professional revival-maker. The true vital spark of heavenly flame comes from the Holy Ghost, and the priests of the Lord must beware of strange fire. There is no spiritual vitality in anything except as the Holy Spirit is all in all in the work; and if our vitality has fallen near to zero, we can only have it renewed by him who first kindled it in us. We must go to the cross and look up to the dying Savior, and expect that the Holy Spirit will renew our faith and quicken all our graces. We must feed anew by faith upon the flesh and blood of the Lord Jesus, and so the Holy Ghost will recruit our strength and give us a revival. When men in India sicken in the plains, they climb the hills and breathe the more bracing air of the upper regions; we need to get nearer to God, and to bathe ourselves in heaven, and revived piety will be the sure result.

When a minister obtains this revival he preaches very differently from his former manner. It is very hard work to preach when the head aches and when the body is languid, but it is a much harder task when the soul is unfeeling and lifeless. It is sad, sad work—painfully, dolorously, horribly sad, but saddest of all if we do not feel it to be sad, if we can go on preaching and remain careless concerning the truths we preach, indifferent as to whether men are saved or lost! May God deliver every minister from abiding in such a state! Can there be a more wretched object than a man who preaches in God's name truths which he does not feel, and which he is conscious have never impressed his own heart? To be a mere sign-post, pointing out the road but never moving in it, is a lot against which every tame heart may plead night and day.

Should this revival be granted to deacons and elders what different men it would make of them! Lifeless, lukewarm church officers are of no more value to a church, than a crew of sailors would be to a vessel if they were all fainting and if in their berths when they were wanted to hoist the sails or lower the boats. Church officers who need reviving must be fearful dead weights upon a Christian community. It is incumbent upon all Christians to be thoroughly awake to the interests of Zion, but upon the leaders most of all. Special supplication should be made for beloved brethren in office that they may be full of the Holy Ghost.

Workers in the Sunday-schools, tract distributors, and other laborers for Christ, what different people they become when grace is vigorous from what they are when their life flickers in the socket! Like sickly vegetation in a cellar, all blanched and unhealthy, are workers who have little grace; like willows by the water-courses, like grease with reeds and rushes in well-watered valleys, are the servants of God who live in his presence. It is no wonder that our Lord said, "Because thou art neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth," for when the earnest Christian's heart is full of fire it is sickening to talk with lukewarm people.

Have not warm-hearted lovers of Jesus felt when they have been discouraged by doubtful sluggish people, who could see a lion in the way, as if they could put on express speed and run over them? Every earnest minister has known times when he has felt cold hearts to be as intolerable as the drones in the hive are to the working bees. Careless professors are as much out of place as snow in harvest among truly living Christians. As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes are these sluggards. As well be bound to a dead body as forced into union with lifeless professors; they are a burden, a plague, and an abomination.

You turn to one of these cold brethren after a graciously earnest prayer-meeting, and say with holy joy, "What a delightful meeting we have had!" "Yes," he says carelessly and deliberately, as if it were an effort to say so much, "there was a good number of people." How his frostbitten words grate on one's ear! You ask yourself, "Where has the man been? Is he not conscious that the Holy Ghost has been with us?" Does not our Lord speak of these people as being cast out of his mouth, just because he himself is altogether in earnest, and consequently, when he meets with lukewarm people he will not endure them? He says, "I would thou wert cold or hot," either utterly averse to good or in earnest concerning it. It is easy to see his meaning. If you heard an ungodly man blaspheme after an earnest meeting, you would lament it, but you would feel that from such a man it was not a thing to make you vexed, for he has only spoken after his kind, but when you meet with a child of God who is lukewarm, how can you stand that? It is sickening, and makes the inmost spirit feel the horrors of mental nausea.

While a true revival in its essence belongs only to God's people, it always brings with it a blessing for the other sheep who are not yet of the fold. If you drop a stone into a lake the ring widens continually, till the farthest corner of the lake feels the influence. Let the Lord revive a believer and very soon his family, his friends, his neighbors, receive a share of the benefit; for when a Christian is revived, he prays more fervently for sinners. Longing, loving prayer for sinners, is one of the marks of a revival in the renewed heart. Since the blessing is asked for sinners, the blessing comes from him who hears the prayers of his people; and thus the world gains by revival. Soon the revived Christian speaks concerning Jesus and the gospel; he sows good seed, and God's good seed is never lost, for he has said, "It shall not return unto me void." The good seed is sown in the furrows, and in some sinners' hearts God prepares the soil, so that the seed springs up in a glorious harvest. Thus by the zealous conversation of believers another door of mercy opens to men.

When Christians are revived they live more consistently, they make their homes more holy and more happy, and this leads the ungodly to envy them, and to enquire after their secret. Sinners by God's grace long to be like such cheerful happy saints; their mouths water to feast with them upon their hidden manna, and this is another blessing, for it leads men to seek the Savior. If an ungodly man steps into a congregation where all the saints are revived he does not go to sleep under the sermon. The minister will not let him do that, for the hearer perceives that the preacher feels what he is preaching, and has a right to be heard. This is a clear gain, for now the man listens with deep emotion; and above all, the Holy Spirit's power, which the preacher has received in answer to prayer comes upon the hearer's mind; he is convinced of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment to come, and Christians who are on the watch around him hasten to tell him of the Savior, and point him to the redeeming blood, so that though the revival, strictly speaking, is with the people of God, yet the result of it no man can limit.

Brethren, let us seek a revival during the present month, that the year may close with showers of blessing, and that the new year may open with abundant benediction. Let us pledge ourselves to form a prayer-union, a sacred band of suppliants, and may God do unto us according to our faith.

"Father, for thy promised blessing,
Still we plead before thy throne;
For the time of sweet refreshing
Which can come from thee alone.
"Blessed earnests thou hast given,
But in these we would not rest,
Blessings still with thee are hidden,
Pour them forth, and make us blest.

"Wake thy siren bering children, wake them,
Bid them to thy harvest go;
Blessings, O our Father, make them;
Round their steps let blessing flow.

"Let no hamlet be forgotten,
Let thy showers on all descend;
That in one loud blessed anthem,
Myriads may in triumph blend."

http://www.spurgeon.org/s_and_t/wir1866.htm

BreakPoint Thanksgiving Message

2007-11-22T19:34:00.001-06:00

The Bounty and Goodness of Our God
A Thanksgiving Story

November 22, 2007

It has become the worst drought in the history of the Southeast. The ground is parched; crops are dying. And last week, Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue decided to do something about it. He urged Georgians to pray for desperately needed rain.

Despite much ridicule and some protest, last week, Gov. Perdue led a prayer vigil on the steps of the State Capitol. Praying along with him were pastors from several denominations and hundreds of Georgians.

Gov. Perdue may not have realized it, but he was following in the steps of our Pilgrim fathers and mothers nearly 400 years ago: Joining together with neighbors for prayer was a familiar ritual for the Pilgrims. For example, in April of 1623—three years after the first Pilgrims landed—the transplanted Englishmen and women planted corn and other crops. A good harvest was essential to their survival. But in the weeks following the planting, it became clear that a dry spell was turning into a drought.

Pilgrim father Edward Winslow recorded their distress in his diary. "It pleased God, for our further chastisement," he wrote, "to send a great drought; insomuch as in six weeks . . . there scarce fell any rain." The crops began to shrivel up "as though they had been scorched before the fire . . . God," Winslow wrote, "which hitherto had been our only shield and supporter, now seemed in His anger to arm Himself against us. And who can withstand the fierceness of His wrath?"

The Pilgrims decided the only solution was to humble themselves before God in fasting and in prayer. They appointed a day of prayer and set aside all other employments.

Winslow describes what happened next. "In the morning," he wrote, "when we assembled together, the heavens were as clear, and the drought as like to continue as it ever was." But by late afternoon—after eight or nine hours of prayer—"the weather was overcast, the clouds gathered on all sides," Winslow wrote. The next morning brought "soft, sweet and moderate shows of rain, continuing some fourteen days." The needed rain was "mixed with such seasonable weather," he wrote, "as it was hard to say whether our withered corn or drooping affections were most quickened or revived, such was the bounty and goodness of our God."

This dramatic answer to prayer was a witness to the local Indians. As Winslow notes, "The Indians . . . took notice . . . all of them admired the goodness of our God towards us, that wrought so great a change in so short of time, showing the difference between their conjuration and our invocation on the name of God for rain."

The harvest that fall was abundant—and the Pilgrims survived yet another year.

Today is Thanksgiving—the day on which we recall the three-day celebration in 1621 in which the Pilgrims invited local Indians to join them in thanking God for His blessings on them—not, as some school children are taught today in class, giving thanks to Indians. And Americans ever since have been celebrating this, an occasion recognized and enshrined by Congress. We ought to take time to thank God for His manifold blessings on us today.

By the way, the day after Governor Perdue prayed on the Capitol steps, rains swept the state—nearly an inch in places. But the drought has continued. So, as we give thanks today, let's remember those in the drought-stricken Southeast and ask the Giver of all good gifts to bless the land with rain.

PeaceMakers on Thanksgiving

2007-11-21T18:48:00.000-06:00

Give thanks... for CONFLICT???

As usual, Paul [in Philippians 4:2-9] urges us to be God-centered in our approach to conflict. Moreover, he wants us to be joyfully God-centered. Realizing we may skip over this point, Paul repeats it: "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" What on earth is there to rejoice about when you are involved in a dispute? If you open your eyes and think about God's lavish goodness to you, here is the kind of worship you could offer to him, even in the midst of the worst conflict!
O Lord, you are so amazingly good to me! You sent your only Son to die for my sins, including those I have committed in this conflict. Because of Jesus I am forgiven, and my name is written in the Book of Life! You do not treat me as I deserve, but you are patient, kind, gentle, and forgiving with me. Please help me to do the same to others.

In your great mercy, you are also kind to my opponent. Although he has wronged me repeatedly, you hold out your forgiveness to him as you do to me. Even if he and I never reconcile in this life, which I still hope we will, you have already done the work to reconcile us forever in heaven. This conflict is so insignificant compared to the wonderful hope we have in you!

This conflict is so small compared to the many other things you are watching over at this moment, yet you still want to walk beside me as I seek to resolve it. Why would you stoop down to pay such attention to me? It is too wonderful for me to understand. You are extravagant in your gifts to me. You offer me the comfort of your Spirit, the wisdom of your Word, and the support of your church. Forgive me for neglecting these powerful treasures until now, and help me to use them to please and honor you.

I rejoice that these same resources are available to my opponent. Please enable us to draw on them together so that we see our own sins, remember the gospel, find common ground in the light of your truth, come to one mind with you and each other, and restore peace and unity between us.

Finally, Lord, I rejoice that this conflict has not happened by accident. You are sovereign and good, so I know that you are working through this situation for your glory and my good. No matter what my opponent does, you are working to conform me to the likeness of your Son. Please help me cooperate with you in every possible way and give you glory for what you have done and are doing.

Taken from The Peacemaker: A Biblical Guide to Resolving Personal Conflict
by Ken Sande, Updated Edition (Grand Rapids, Baker Books, 2003) p. 84-85

Food for Thought

When you are gathered around the Thanksgiving dinner table this week, instead of giving thanks in spite of the present conflicts in your life...give thanks for those conflicts! Pray the above prayer, substituting the names of those from whom you are estranged each time the prayer reads, "my opponent". Does this change your view of the conflict? Of God's role in it? Of your opponent? Of what it means to give thanks?

Resources To Help You Respond to Conflict Biblically

Are you struggling with conflict in your family? If so, then Peacemaking for Families was written for you. This book introduces the basic principles of biblical peacemaking and directly applies those principles to marriage, parenting, and other relationships in the extended family. Peacemaking for Families will thoroughly bless you, challenge you, and help transform your home from a battlefield to a place of peace. You can order it through our online bookstore or by calling our Resource line at 800-711-7118.

PeaceMeal is a weekly e-publication of Peacemaker Ministries (www.Peacemaker.net). All Rights Reserved.

The Story of Evan Roberts

2007-11-20T09:52:00.000-06:00

Below is the story of Evan Roberts...

The story of Evan Roberts and the Welsh Revival of 1904-5 is the most thrilling, but also the most sad and sobering in all revival history. On the one hand we see one hundred thousand souls in Wales coming to Christ in just nine months, from November 1904 to August 1905. This was the beginning of a world-wide revival that ushered hundreds of thousands more into the Kingdom of God. On the other hand, we see Evan Roberts, the principle revivalist of this move of God, becoming deceived, deluded and finally suffering a nervous breakdown which took him out of the public limelight to live the life of a recluse. Furthermore, the fruits of the revival in Wales (but not world-wide) were soon lost through criticism, fears of deception and a Welsh theology which suppressed the assurance of salvation. Within a generation there were no signs that a revival had ever occurred. Surely there are some important lessons for 21st Century Christians to learn here?

Evan Roberts was born and raised in a Welsh Calvinist Methodist family in Loughor, on the Glamorgan and Carmarthenshire border. As a boy he was unusually serious and very diligent in his Christian life. He memorised verses of the Bible and was a daily attender of Moriah Chapel, a church about a mile from his home. Even at 13 years of age he began to develop a heart for a visitation from God. He later wrote “I said to myself: I will have the Spirit. And through all weathers and in spite of all difficulties I went to the meetings… for ten or eleven years I have prayed for revival. I could sit up all night to read or talk about revivals. It was the Spirit who moved me to think about revival.”

After working in the coal mines and then as a smithy, he entered a preparatory college at Newcastle Emlyn, as a candidate for the ministry. It was 1903 and he was 25 years old.

It was at this time that he sought the Lord for more of His Spirit. He believed that he would be baptised in the Holy Spirit and sometimes his bed shook as his prayers were answered. The Lord began to wake him at 1.00 am for divine fellowship, when he would pray for four hours, returning to bed at 5.00 am for another four hours sleep.

He visited a meeting where Seth Joshua was preaching and heard the evangelist pray “Lord, bend us”. The Holy Spirit said to Evan, “That’s what you need”. At the following meeting Evan experienced a powerful filling with the Holy Spirit. “I felt a living power pervading my bosom. It took my breath away and my legs trembled exceedingly. This living power became stronger and stronger as each one prayed, until I felt it would tear me apart. My whole bosom was a turmoil and if I had not prayed it would have burst…. I fell on my knees with my arms over the seat in front of me. My face was bathed in perspiration, and the tears flowed in streams. I cried out “Bend me, bend me!!” It was God’s commending love which bent me… what a wave of peace flooded my bosom…. I was filled with compassion for those who must bend at the judgement, and I wept. Following that, the salvation of the human soul was solemnly impressed on me. I felt ablaze with the desire to go through the length and breadth of Wales to tell of the saviour”.

Needless to say, his studies began to take second place! He began praying for a hundred thousand souls and had two visions which encouraged him to believe it would happen. He saw a lighted candle and behind it the rising sun. He felt the interpretation was that the present blessings were only as a lighted candle compared with the blazing glory of the sun. Later all Wales would be flooded with revival glory.

The other vision occurred when Evan saw his close friend Sydney Evans staring at the moon. Evan asked what he was looking at and, to his great surprise, he saw it too! It was an arm that seemed to be outstretched from the moon down to Wales. He was in no doubt that revival was on its way.

He then felt led to return to his home town and conduct meetings with the young people of Loughor. With permission from the minister, he began the meetings, encouraging prayer for the outpouring of the Spirit on Moriah. The meetings slowly increased in numbers and powerful waves of intercession swept over those gathered.

During those meetings the Holy Spirit gave Evan four requirements that were later to be used throughout the coming revival:

1. Confession of all known sin
2. Repentance and restitution
3. Obedience and surrender to the Holy Spirit
4. Public confession of Christ

The Spirit began to be outpoured. There was weeping, shouting, crying out, joy and brokeness. Some would shout out, “No more, Lord Jesus, or I’ll die”. This was the beginning of the Welsh Revival.

The meetings then moved to wherever Evan felt led to go. Those travelling with him were predominately female and the young girls would often begin meetings with intense intercession, urging surrender to God and by giving testimony. Evan would often be seen on his knees pleading for God’s mercy, with tears. The crowds would come and be moved upon by wave after wave of the Spirit’s presence. Spontaneous prayer, confession, testimony and song erupted in all the meetings. Evan, or his helpers , would approach those in spiritual distress and urge them to surrender to Christ. No musical instruments were played and, often, there would be no preaching. Yet the crowds continued to come and thousands professed conversion.

The meetings often went on until the early hours of the morning. Evan and his team would go home, sleep for 2–3 hours and be back at the pit-head by 5 am, urging the miners coming off night duty to come to chapel meetings.

The revival spread like wildfire all over Wales. Other leaders also experienced the presence of God. Hundreds of overseas visitors flocked to Wales to witness the revival and many took revival fire back to their own land. But the intense presence began to take its toll on Evan. He became nervous and would sometimes be abrupt or rude to people in public meetings. He openly rebuked leaders and congregations alike.

Though he was clearly exercising spiritual gifts and was sensitive to the Holy Spirit , he became unsure of the “voices” he was hearing. The he broke down and withdrew from public meetings. Accusation and criticism followed and further physical and emotional breakdown ensued.

Understandably, converts were confused. Was this God? Was Evan Roberts God’s man or was he satanically motivated? He fell into a deep depression and in the spring of 1906 he was invited to convalesce at Jessie Penn-Lewis’ home at Woodlands in Leicester.

It is claimed that Mrs Penn Lewis used Evan’s name to propagate her own ministry and message. She supposedly convinced him he was deceived by evil spirits and, over the next few years co-authorised with Evan “War on the Saints”, which was published in 1913. This book clearly delineates the confusion she had drawn Evan into. It left its readers totally wary of any spiritual phenomena of any kind or degree. Rather than giving clear guidelines regarding discerning satanic powers, it brought into question anything that may be considered, or that might be described, as Holy Spirit activity. Within a year of its publication, Evan Roberts denounced it, telling friends that it had been a failed weapon which had confused and divided the Lord’s people.

Evan stayed at the Penn-Lewis’ home for eight years, giving himself to intercession and private group counselling. Around 1920 Evan moved to Brighton and lived alone until he returned to his beloved Wales, when his father fell ill in 1926. He began to visit Wales again and eventually moved there in 1928 when his father died.

Nothing much is known of the years that followed. Evan finally died at the age of 72 and was buried behind Moriah Chapel on Jan 29th 1951.

May his life be both an example and a warning to all those who participate in revival to maintain humility; keep submissive to the Spirit; be accountable to godly men and women; remain true to their calling; use the gifts God has given, but be wise in the stewardship of their body.

Bibliography An Instrument of Revival, Brynmor Pierce-Jones 1995, published by Bridge Publishing (ISBN 0-88270-667-5)

What can prayer do?

2007-11-15T09:18:00.000-06:00

The scope of prayer

Through prayer there is no problem that can't be solved,
no sickness that can't be healed, no burden that can't be lifted,
no storm that can't be weathered,
no devastation that can't be relieved,
no sorrow that can't be erased,
no poverty cycle that can't be broken,
no sinner that can't be saved,
no perishing that can't be rescued,
no fallen that can't be lifted,
no hurt that can't be removed,
no broken relationship that can't be mended,
no difference that can't be resolved,
no hindrance that can't be shaken,
no limitation that can't be overcome,
no mourning that can't be comforted,
no ashes that can't be that can't become beauty,
no heaviness that can't be covered with the garment of praise,
no thirst that can't be quenched, no hunger that can't be filled,
no dry ground that can't be flooded,
no desert that can't blossom,
no congregation that can't be revived,
no preacher that can't be anointed,
no church pews that can't be filled,
no church leadership team that can't become 'one,'
no community that can't be Christianised and
no nation that can't be transformed.

Anon. Cure of all Ills, Mary Stewart Relfe p.5

Thus, we should keep praying for revival

Bryan

We Can Pray Now or Have a Rude Awakening!

2007-11-14T09:53:00.000-06:00

What will it take for us to wake up to the fact that the lack of prayer in our churches will eventually explode in our faces?

"Of deep concern is the eroding spirit of prayer. Without a spirit of prayer in our churches, there is little hope for the future of our nation. Leonard Ravenhill said, ‘If weak in prayer, we are weak everywhere.’ A lack of prayer among God’s people in God’s house is undoubtedly a ‘structured deficiency.’ Will it take some sort of collapse to wake us up?”

- Byron Paulus in Revival Report (Fall 2007)

Praying for revival

Bryan

Spurgeon on walking with Jesus

2007-11-09T11:23:00.000-06:00

Here is this morning's excerpt from Charles Spurgeon Daily Devotion. What a beautiful reminder of what it means to be a Christ-follower.

Morning, November 9

“So walk ye in him.”

Colossians 2:6

If we have received Christ himself in our inmost hearts, our new life will manifest its intimate acquaintance with him by a walk of faith in him.

Walking implies action.

Our religion is not to be confined to our closet; we must carry out into practical effect that which we believe. If a man walks in Christ, then he so acts as Christ would act; for Christ being in him, his hope, his love, his joy, his life, he is the reflex of the image of Jesus; and men say of that man, “He is like his Master; he lives like Jesus Christ.”

Walking signifies progress.

“So walk ye in him”; proceed from grace to grace, run forward until you reach the uttermost degree of knowledge that a man can attain concerning our Beloved.

Walking implies continuance.

There must be a perpetual abiding in Christ. How many Christians think that in the morning and evening they ought to come into the company of Jesus, and may then give their hearts to the world all the day: but this is poor living; we should always be with him, treading in his steps and doing his will.

Walking also implies habit.

When we speak of a man’s walk and conversation, we mean his habits, the constant tenor of his life. Now, if we sometimes enjoy Christ, and then forget him; sometimes call him ours, and anon lose our hold, that is not a habit; we do not walk in him. We must keep to him, cling to him, never let him go, but live and have our being in him.

“As ye have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him”; persevere in the same way in which ye have begun, and, as at the first Christ Jesus was the trust of your faith, the source of your life, the principle of your action, and the joy of your spirit, so let him be the same till life’s end; the same when you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, and enter into the joy and the rest which remain for the people of God. O Holy Spirit, enable us to obey this heavenly precept.

Back to E.M. Bounds

2007-11-07T09:55:00.000-06:00

E.M. Bounds reminds us that prayer is not always easy, but it is absolutely necessary...

"Many persons believe in the efficacy of prayer, but not many pray. Prayer is the easiest and hardest of all things; the simplest and sublimest; the weakest and the most powerful."

- E. M. Bounds in Purpose in Prayer

The Cry For Revival (Part 3)

2007-11-06T07:48:00.000-06:00

Good Morning. Here is the last and final segment of the article: "The Cry for Revival"

IT’S THE OLD, OLD STORY

Of course, none of this is new. It has happened before. But it has not happened to us in our generation. There have been scores of ‘revivals’ throughout history when God looked down from heaven at an ailing church and depraved world and decided that things had to change. He changed people and nations through love and power, sometimes dramatically but always beneficially. He usually came in particular seasons in response to certain principles. These are questions we have to ask, “Can we have revival today? Will these principles work for us? Is it possible for us to prepare for a visitation of God in our nation? Can we (Jamaica) see a re-vitalisation of our church and a healing of our nation?”

In this column we will take an in-depth look at these past revivals, alongside contemporary movements, in an effort to answer these questions. We will examine a number of men and movements to see how God worked powerfully through ordinary people like you and I. Their stories will inspire our faith and encourage our prayers. We will see what actually happens when God comes in power. We will look at some of these principles which seem to attract His almighty presence. We will learn to discern what true revival is and see some of the hindrances to revival.

Who knows? He may turn and have pity and leave behind a blessing… (Joel 2:14)

Tony Cauchi
April 2006

The Cry For Revival (Part 2)

2007-11-03T16:38:00.000-06:00

Is revival coming? Millions are praying that it well...

REVIVAL IS IN THE AIR

Is it any wonder than that a fresh excitement is spreading through the rank and file of Western Christendom? In contrast we have experienced decades of decline, emptying churches, the abandonment of precious values and standards and the steady secularisation of society. The results have been catastrophic: increasing crime and violence, the breakdown of the family, a selfish consumerism and a philosophy of despair, to name but a few issues.

But news continues to flood in of massive changes taking place. Lives are being transformed by the power of the ‘old Gospel’ message. Churches are being filled again. Christians are experiencing God in dramatic ways. Unchurched people are being drawn to God and finding forgiveness, cleansing, release and a new beginning in the Christian family. God is on the move again, in our times. Whole regions, even entire nations, have benefited by the transformation that God has delivered.

The Western Christians’ response has been “Lord, what you have done in other nations, do here, amongst us.” The cry for ‘revival’ is everywhere. ‘Revival’ refers to the revitalisation of the existing church and the supernatural conversion of multitudes to Christ. There are Global Prayer Days, National Prayer Days with auditoriums filled with thousands of intercessors for times of prayer. There is a growing global movement to get pastors from across entire cities mobilised in unity and ‘agreement prayer.’

Public Prayer Walks are now organised in almost every major nation of the world. There are hundreds of thousands of believers who are adopting prayer retreats, prayer vigils, for set periods of time, some with fasting. These mass movements of corporate prayer meet, sometimes early in the morning, sometimes late into the night, on purposely purchased mountains, in arenas, halls and houses all over the world.

Missiologist David Barrett estimated in 1997 that 170 million Christians were committed to praying every day for revival and evangelization, with 20 million claiming that this was their primary calling as Christians. Ten million prayer groups make revival prayer one of their primary agenda, he claims, and hundreds of prayer networks are committed to mobilizing such prayer within denominations, within cities, and within whole nations.

The War Involved in a Revival

2007-11-02T20:03:00.000-06:00

J. Edwin Orr said that "Revival is war between the Spirit and the Devil"

It has been a long time since a large scale revival has been in America. Is the devil getting the upper hand?

Brothers and sisters, let us pray that the Holy Spirit will send revival!

Bryan

Chuck Colson on Halloween

2007-10-31T09:21:00.000-06:00

Chuck Colson had a good take on Halloween on his daily BreakPoint segment (www.breakpoint.com)

Honoring the Witnesses
All Saints' Day

October 31, 2007

It is Halloween again, and to be frank, I really don't look forward to talking about it on "BreakPoint" every year. At best, Halloween has become an excuse to ask total strangers for candy. At worst, it is a celebration of the mindless paganism our ancestors wisely turned their backs on.

So this year, I would like to turn your attention to the often-overlooked celebration that Halloween calls to mind. In case you have missed it before, the name Halloween is a shortening of All Hallow's Eve and signifies the night before All Saints' Day.

For centuries on All Saints' Day the Church celebrated the lives of Christians who went before us. And rightly so: We can learn so much from those whom the author of Hebrews calls that great cloud of witnesses.

The tradition of remembering the Church triumphant dates back to the time of the first Christian martyrs. When soldiers of Marcus Aurelius Verus came to arrest Polycarp, a beloved church leader, Polycarp greeted them kindly. According to the third century historian Eusebius, Polycarp "ordered a table to be laid for them immediately, invited them to eat as much as they liked, asking in return a single hour in which he could pray."

When Polycarp later stood in the coliseum, accused and surrounded by the jeering crowds, the governor pressed him to recant his faith. Instead, this man, who himself had been discipled by the Apostle John, said this: "For eighty-six years, I have been [Christ's] servant, and He has never done me wrong: How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?" As they were preparing to burn him alive, Polycarp offered up prayers of faith and praise.

In the years following Polycarp's death, Christians would gather annually to take communion beside his grave. There they would remember his brave witness and take courage from his example.

As the years passed, the day shifted in focus from remembering Polycarp to honoring all martyrs. By the seventh century, the Church created a holiday to honor all of God's saints—heroes of the faith.

One of my favorite heroes was a woman named Monica, who lived during the fourth century. She would never face flames or jeering crowds, as did Polycarp, but she did face testing. That testing came in the form of her own longing for the return of her prodigal son, Augustine. His licentious lifestyle made this Christian mother weep. Later, when Augustine, who is now known as one of the foremost theologians of Christianity and scholars of Western civilization, did come to Christ, he wrote this prayer: "My mother, Your faithful servant, wept to You for me, shedding more tears for my spiritual death than others shed for the bodily death of a son. You heard her."

I could tell you story after story like this, from Justin Martyr to Martin Luther to Amy Carmichael. But let me encourage you to do something this All Saints' Day. Take the lead in your church to honor the great saints who set examples for us. Reacquaint your children with Halloween's Christian origins. Research together and talk about the lives of Christian heroes.

Sure, go ahead and let the kids dress up like Batman and hit up your neighbors for candy. But when the hoopla of modern Halloween is over, encourage your kids to imitate some real heroes—not in what they put on, but in how they live their lives.

The Cry For Revival (Part 1)

2007-10-26T11:00:00.000-06:00

How fast is the Good News about Jesus spreading around the world? Well, by the tens of thousands, the Kingdom of God is growing everyday...

AROUND THE WORLD TODAY

The 21st century is a very exciting time for Christians to be alive! The worldwide church has seen greater advance and growth than at any other time since the days of the apostles. For example, one hundred years ago Africa was less than 5 percent Christian but now it is approaching 50 percent. Similarly, China had only about 5 million believers when communism took control of the country but now estimates range from between 50 to 150 million believers. Reliable researchers l estimate that between 25,000 and 35,000 are coming to Christ every day in China.

The same story can be told of South America. I recently attended a church of over 250,000 members in Bogotá, Columbia, a nation formerly known only for its violence and drug trafficking. Across the oceans Korea is host to six of the fifteen largest churches in the world, one in Seoul numbering a staggering 773,000 members! Around thirty percent of the population in Seoul profess to follow Christ.

This explosive growth of the worldwide church must be the most underreported fact of our times! It sounds fantastic but is being corroborated by research done by such prestigious institutions as Fuller Theological Seminary, Overseas Missionary Fellowship and a variety of denominational mission organizations around the world.

Even less reported are the extraordinary miracles that have occurred and which are claimed to be the real cause of this amazing growth phenomena. Stories of personal experiences of God, visions of Jesus Christ, supernatural encounters, physical healings and freedom from dark powers abound.

Jim Rutz, the author of the well known book 'Megashift' claims that his research reveals that “by tomorrow, there will be 175,000 more Christians than there are today, in 238 nations around the world.” Jim says, “The Lord is working quietly, continually, and spectacularly.” He claims that God has brought people back from the dead in 52 countries, mostly in the last 10 years. All documented – many through people he personally knows. “Scores of cities plagued with crime and poverty are being transformed. Millions of miracles are happening through ordinary people,” he says.

He is not the only optimistic one. In 2000 German Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke, meeting in Lagos, Nigeria, registered 3,400,000 decisions for Christ of the six million that attended. Campus Crusade for Christ estimates we’ll see a billion new converts in the next 10 years. Such is the exponential growth of the universal Christian community.

http://www.revival-library.org/index.html?http://www.revival-library.org/quotes/revival.htm

Before the Great Awakening

2007-10-24T07:23:00.000-06:00

Good Morning.

Wow, is America ready for a revival? Yes. The conditions are similar to the era before the Great Awakening. But the question is: "Are we praying for revival?"

Before the Great Awakening - J. Edwin Orr

Not many people realize that in the wake of the American Revolution there was a moral slump. Drunkenness became epidemic. Out of a population of five million, 300,000 were confirmed drunkards: they were burying fifteen thousand of them each year. Profanity was of the most shocking kind. For the first time in the history of the American settlement, women were afraid to go out at night for fear of assault. Bank robberies were a daily occurrence.

What about the churches? The Methodists were losing more members than they were gaining. The Baptists said that they had their most wintry season. The Presbyterians in general assembly deplored the nation’s ungodliness. In a typical Congregational church, the Rev. Samuel Shepherd of Lennox, Massachusetts in sixteen years had not taken one young person into fellowship. The Lutherans were so languishing that they discussed uniting with Episcopalians who were even worse off. The Protestant Episcopal Bishop of New York, Bishop Samuel Proovost, quit functioning: he had confirmed no one for so long that he decided he was out of work, so he took up other employment. The Chief Justice of the United States, John Marshall, wrote to the Bishop of Virginia, James Madison, that the Church “was too far gone ever to be redeemed.” Voltaire averred, and Tom Paine echoed, “Christianity will be forgotten in thirty years.”

Take the liberal arts colleges at that time. A poll taken at Harvard had discovered not one believer in the whole of the student body. They took a poll at Princeton, a much more evangelical place: they discovered only two believers in the student body, and only five that did not belong to the filthy speech movement of that day. Students rioted. They held a mock communion at Williams College; and they put on anti-Christian plays at Dartmouth. They burned down the Nassau Hall at Princeton. They forced the resignation of the president of Harvard. They took a Bible out of a local Presbyterian church in New Jersey, and burned it in a public bonfire. Christians were so few on campus in the 1790s that they met in secret, like a communist cell, and kept their minutes in code so that no one would know.

In case this is thought to be the hysteria of the moment, Kenneth Scott Latourette, the great church historian, wrote: “It seemed as if Christianity were about to be ushered out of the affairs of men.” The churches had their backs to the wall, seeming as if they were about to be wiped out.

How did the situation change? It came through a concert of prayer.

J. Edwin Orr, The Role of Prayer in Spiritual Awakening.

John Armstrong on What Makes a Healthy Church

2007-10-22T14:36:00.000-06:00

Hi:

I just received John Armstrong's e-mail news letter. Here is a portion of it. If we lose our focus on Jesus and the cross, then we are dead in the water...

What Truly Makes a Church Healthy?

What Paul is saying is actually quite plain-a healthy church is not established on human talent, conventional wisdom, or sociological/market-oriented insights. Why? Because "[T]he foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men" (1 Corinthians 1:25). "For," Paul adds, "what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake" (2 Corinthians 4:5).

What Paul is teaching is patently obvious-the healthiest congregation, at its very best, must revolve around the primacy of the person of Jesus Christ. And we do not proclaim our theology, though inevitably we must have one that helps to produce health. We surely do not embrace and promote a philosophy, though we must think deeply about the ultimate issues posed by various philosophical questions. And we should not make liturgy, institutional well-being, numerical growth, or denominational and special interests our raison d'ệtre. What we are called to do, if the church is to be truly healthy, is simple really.

We must unapologetically make Jesus Christ the centerpiece of everything we preach, everything we pray, and everything we seek to do in this world.

No other reading of the words of the apostle¯"For I decided to know nothing except Jesus Christ and him crucified" (1 Corinthians 2:2)¯make any sense at all if we miss this point. Everything else, important as it may be, is secondary. This must be primary.

Martin Luther understood this text to be the very center of all true theology and faithful Bible reading. He wrote, "There is not a word in the Bible which is extra crucem, which can be understood without reference to the cross." And the great English theologian P.T. Forsyth put the same truth this way: "You do not understand Christ until you understand his cross."

If my reading of Paul is faithful, and it seems self-evident that it is, then a church does not revolve around a pastor, as important as this office and ministry is for a healthy church. There are two extremes to be avoided by this observation. First, a healthy church will almost always have a healthy pastor, or several healthy pastors. But this is not the primary thing to focus the church's ministry upon. Second, the elders and/or deacons (or church councils) are not the central thing in the life of your church either. It is important that you have godly and faithful leaders. Don't misunderstand me. But some seem to think that if you get the right leaders and the right system of leadership in place you will have health, ipso facto. (I have seen this emphasis fail time and time again over the past thirty-five years of ministry.) But if the proper emphasis is not on our leaders, then it is not on us as the congregation either. We are not the center of attention, as shocking as that sounds to modern Christian ears. To understand this point about what is truly primary would, I am convinced, lead to the true health of many Christians and thousands of local congregations. Read these words slowly and carefully:

The church is not about you, it is about him! Christ is Lord and you are not!

A Gem from Spurgeon

2007-10-19T13:17:00.000-06:00

Charles Spurgeon reminds us that revival will both begin and end in the church...

"A true revival is to be looked for in the church of God. Only in the river of gracious life can the pearl of revival be found. It has been said that a revival must begin with God's people; this is very true, but it is not all the truth, for the revival itself must end as well as begin there. The results of the revival will extend to the outside world, but the revival, strictly speaking, must be within the circle of life, and must therefore essentially be enjoyed by the possessors of vital godliness, and by them only."

http://www.spurgeon.org/s_and_t/wir1866.htm

Fervent Prayer by Andrew Gray

2007-10-17T06:57:00.000-06:00

Good Morning. Andrew Gray writes about the importance of consistent prayer. Are we willing to pay the price to become fervent prayer warriors?

Christ was much in prayer, and will you neglect prayer or pray very rarely? Prayer is the ordinary exercise of every child of God. Why do you not pray? Are you so rich, that you need no supplies of grace; or so careless, that you desire them not? Oh, learn of Christ to be frequent, and fervent, and reverent in prayer! To be frequent, Christ prayed early and late, night and day. "In the morning, rising up a great while before day, He went out and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed" (Mark 1:35). Yes, "He continued all night in prayer to God" (Luke 6:12). Did Christ spend nights in prayer, and will you not spend hours in prayer? Why do you pray by fits, and not constantly? Why are you so seldom with God, pouring out your hearts to Him?

Are you afraid of coming to God too often? You may come too seldom, but you can never come too often to God. Is there not occasion for prayer to God early and late? Are there not sins early and late to be pardoned, mercies early and late to be procured, mischiefs early and late to be averted, duties early and late to be performed, afflictions early and late to be endured, and temptations early and late to be broken? Now, whence comes your health and strength? Is it not from heaven? And how does it come, but by prayer? Oh above all things, be much in seeking God! You have the very key of heaven, if you have the gift and grace of praying.

Learn of Christ to be fervent; Christ's prayers were earnest and fervent. "And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly" (Luke 22:44). Did Christ pray fervently, and will you pray slightly, coldly, drowsily, as if you were asleep, or as if you cared not much whether you prayed or not? By this you expose yourselves to the eminent danger of losing your prayers. Cold prayers speak of denial. They are but carcasses of duty, carnal and sinful services which the Lord detests, and will never accept. The greatest liveliness suits us, when speaking in the ears of the living God. Luther was so ardent in prayer, they who stood under his window where he stood praying, might see his tears falling and dropping down. Bishop Latimer, in his prayers, used constantly to beg that the God of mercy would restore His gospel to England once again. He often reiterated, and with such ardency as if he had seen God before him and had spoken to Him face to face. "I care not how long or how short thy prayers be (said Johan Picus, Earl of Mirand, to his nephew) but let them be ardent, and rather interrupted and broken between with sighs, than drawn out with a continual number of words." The more earnest you are in prayer, the more you resemble Christ "who in the days of His flesh, he had offered up prayers and supplications, with strong crying and tears" (Hebrews 5:7).

Reference: "A Door Opening Into Everlasting Life" by Andrew Gray http://www.watchword.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=105&Itemid=6

Thank You to the Congregation of Harvey Oaks Baptist

2007-10-16T13:58:00.001-06:00

October is "Pastor's Appreciation Month". This past Sunday, Harvey Oaks Baptist Church honored the two full-time pastors of the church: Aaron "Woogy" Wolgamott (Pastor of Youth and Family Ministries) and myself.

On behalf of my wife Lois and myself, we greatly appreciate the many cards and gifts.

Woogy and I also were overwhelmed with the prayer over us by the deacons and congregation at the end of last Sunday's worship service.

I am honored to your pastor at Harvey Oaks Baptist

Love in Jesus,

Bryan

The State of American Christianity (according to Barna)

2007-10-16T12:31:00.001-06:00

George Barna points that many of us claim to follow Jesus don't have a clue what it means to be broken and truly sorry for our sins...

"Very few American Christians have experienced a sense of spiritual brokenness that compelled them to who beg God for his mercy and acceptance through the love of Christ. We have a nation of 'Christians' who took the best offer, but relatively few who were so humiliated and hopeless for a holy and omnipotent God that they cried out for undeserved compassion. That helps to explain why in practical terms it's hard to tell the difference between those who have beliefs that characterize them as born again and those who don't" (quoted in David Bryant, CHRIST is ALL! 244)

Let us pray that a spirit of brokenness will sweep through our churches.

Bryan

Revival first, Evangelism second...

2007-10-15T16:02:00.000-06:00

I have often repeated that souls will be saved after God's own people get right with Him and experience His renewal. A.J. Gordon puts it this way...

”Whenever, in any century, whether in a single heart or in a company of believers, there has been a fresh effusion of the Spirit, there has followed inevitably a fresh endeavor in the work of evangelizing the world.”

Praying for Revival

Bryan

Do We Really Know What Revival Will Do?

2007-10-11T12:54:00.000-06:00

Albert Barnes made the excellent point that most Christians will know what revival is about until revival actually occurs.

"That day which shall convince the great body of professing Christians of the reality and desirableness of revivals, will constitute a new era in the history of religion; and will precede manifestations of power like that of Pentecost."

That is why I write this blog. I have read enough to know that what is currently occurring in the evangelical church (at least in America) falls way short of what the Holy Spirit desires.

Yes, the church will wake up when true revival comes. But let's say we wake up today and repent and seek God with all our hearts?

Praying for revival

Bryan

How aware of God are we?

2007-10-10T09:08:00.000-06:00

Wow, it has been a while since I have posted anything. I am speaking at a men's retreat this weekend (Friday and Saturday) in Yankton, SD. So I have been busy preparing three messages on men hard after God's own heart. I still to prepare a message for Sunday morning at Harvey Oaks Baptist.

Here is a great quote of revival by Del Fehsenfed Jr.:

"Revival awakens in our hearts an increased awareness of the presence of God, a new love for God, a new hatred for sin, and a hunger for His Word."

Praying for Revival

Bryan

Why Few People Attend Prayer Meetings

2007-10-04T06:28:00.001-06:00

Phil Miglioratti recently posted on his blog site, The Prayer Leader Blog the following...

Question: Every time we plan a prayer meeting at our church there are very few people who attend. This gets discouraging. Any suggestions?

Answer: Unfortunately, this is something we hear from just about every church we come into contact with. First of all, it is important not to become discouraged because of the small turnouts. Be excited about the people who DO show up and continue to ask the Lord to show you how to plan prayer meetings that will engage the rest. Prayer meetings frighten most people because they are uncomfortable praying out loud and/or corporately.

Prayer has largely been taught as an individual spiritual discipline, so the majority of the people in your church have little experience praying with one another. Another reason people don't attend prayer meetings is that they are often very dull (we've all been there). It seems that either prayer requests take up most of the prayer time with very little actual prayer; or, participants pray for random requests with no focus.

When individuals leave a prayer meeting, they should feel confident that their prayers accomplished the plans and purposes of God. Two very good resources on how to plan the kind of prayer meetings that excite people and touch heaven are:

And the Place was Shaken (How to Lead a Powerful Prayer Meeting) by John Franklin

Fresh Encounters (Experiencing Transformation through United Worship-Based Prayer) by Daniel Henderson

(http://prayerleader.blogspot.com/2007/09/why-so-few-prayer-meeting.html)

I just ordered the first book and look forward in reading it.

Praying for Revival!

Bryan

How Much Longer Until Revival?

2007-10-03T09:31:00.000-06:00

Richard Owen Roberts reminds us that it has been quite a while since America and Canada and England and Wales and Scotland and other places have experienced a nation transforming revival:

"It has been a long time since America and the English-speaking world have been visibly shaken by the power of the Spirit of God" (Revival, 127).

How much longer until revival comes? Will it be in our lifetime?

Brothers and sisters in Jesus, let us persevere in prayer until our world is visibly shaken by the Holy Spirit.

Bryan

Prayer and Revival (Part Four)

2007-10-02T08:53:00.000-06:00

Good morning. Today, we will conclude out look at J. Edwin Orr's article: "Prayer and Revival". The revival in Wales was significant and was used by God far beyond the borders of Wales. The last line of the article reminds us that we must not stop praying for revival.

Praying for Revival

Bryan

1904-1905

That movement lasted for a generation, but at the turn of the century there was need of awakening again. A general movement of prayer began, with special prayer meetings at Moody Bible Institute, at Keswick Conventions in England, and places as far apart as Melbourne, Wonsan in Korea, and the Nilgiri Hills of India. So all around the world believers were praying that there might be another great awakening in the twentieth century.

In the revival of 1905, I read of a young man who became a famous professor, Kenneth Scott Latourette. He reported that, at Yale in 1905, 25% of the student body were enrolled in prayer meetings and in Bible study. As far as churches were concerned, the ministers of Atlantic City reported that of a population of fifty thousand there were only fifty adults left unconverted. Take Portland in Oregon: two hundred and forty major stores closed from 11 to 2 each day to enable people to attend prayer meetings, signing an agreement so that no one would cheat and stay open. Take First Baptist Church of Paducah in Kentucky: the pastor, an old man, Dr J. J. Cheek, took a thousand members in two months and died of overwork, the Southern Baptists saying, 'a glorious ending to a devoted ministry.' That is what was happening in the United States in 1905. But how did it begin?

Most people have heard of the Welsh Revival which started in 1904. It began as a movement of prayer. Seth Joshua, the Presbyterian evangelist, came to Newcastle Emlyn College where a former coal miner, Evan Roberts aged 26, was studying for the ministry. The students were so moved that they asked if they could attend Joshua's next campaign nearby. So they cancelled classes to go to Blaenanerch where Seth Joshua prayed publicly, 'O God, bend us.' Roberts went forward where he prayed with great agony, 'O God, bend me.' Upon his return he could not concentrate on his studies. He went to the principal of his college and explained, 'I keep hearing a voice that tells me I must go home and speak to our young people in my home church. Principal Phillips, is that the voice of the devil or the voice of the Spirit?'

Principal Phillips answered wisely, 'The devil never gives orders like that. You can have a week off.' So he went back home to Loughor and announced to the pastor, 'I've come to preach.' The pastor was not at all convinced, but asked, 'How about speaking at the prayer meeting on Monday?' He did not even let him speak to the prayer meeting, but told the praying people, 'Our young brother, Evan Roberts, feels he has a message for you if you care to wait.' Seventeen people waited behind, and were impressed with the directness of the young man's words.

Evan Roberts told his fellow members, 'I have a message for you from God.

You must confess any known sin to God and put any wrong done to others right.

Second, you must put away any doubtful habit.

Third, you must obey the Spirit promptly.

Finally, you must confess your faith in Christ publicly.'

By ten o'clock all seventeen had responded. The pastor was so pleased that he asked, 'How about your speaking at the mission service tomorrow night? Midweek service Wednesday night?' He preached all week, and was asked to stay another week. Then the break came. Suddenly the dull ecclesiastical columns in the Welsh papers changed:

'Great crowds of people drawn to Loughor.' The main road between Llanelly and Swansea on which the church was situated was packed with people trying to get into the church. Shopkeepers closed early to find a place in the big church. Now the news was out. A reporter was sent down and he described vividly what he saw: a strange meeting which closed at 4.25 in the morning, and even then people did not seem willing to go home. There was a very British summary: 'I felt that this was no ordinary gathering.' Next day, every grocery shop in that industrial valley was emptied of groceries by people attending the meetings, and on Sunday every church was filled.

The movement went like a tidal wave over Wales, in five months there being a hundred thousand people converted throughout the country. Five years later, Dr J. V. Morgan wrote a book to debunk the revival, his main criticism being that, of a hundred thousand joining the churches in five months of excitement, after five years only seventy-five thousand still stood in the membership of those churches!

The social impact was astounding. For example, judges were presented with white gloves, not a case to try; no robberies, no burglaries, no rapes, no murders, and no embezzlements, nothing. District councils held emergency meetings to discuss what to do with the police now that they were unemployed. In one place the sergeant of police was sent for and asked, 'What do you do with your time?' He replied, 'Before the revival, we had two main jobs, to prevent crime and to control crowds, as at football games. Since the revival started there is practically no crime. So we just go with the crowds.'

A councilor asked, 'What does that mean?' The sergeant replied, 'You know where the crowds are. They are packing out the churches.' 'But how does that affect the police?' He was told, 'We have seventeen police in our station, but we have three quartets, and if any church wants a quartet to sing, they simply call the police station.'

As the revival swept Wales, drunkenness was cut in half. There was a wave of bankruptcies, but nearly all taverns. There was even a slowdown in the mines, for so many Welsh coal miners were converted and stopped using bad language that the horses that dragged the coal trucks in the mines could not understand what was being said to them. That revival also affected sexual moral standards. I had discovered through the figures given by British government experts that in Radnorshire and Merionethshire the illegitimate birth rate had dropped 44% within a year of the beginning of the revival.

The revival swept Britain, Scandinavia, Germany, North America, Australasia, Africa, Brazil, Mexico, Chile. As always, it began through a movement of prayer.

Prayer and Revival (Part Three)

2007-09-30T15:30:00.000-06:00

Let's continue to look at J. Edwin Orr's look at the connection between prayer and revival...

1858-1860

Following the second great awakening, which began in 1792 just after the death of John Wesley and continued into the turn of the century, conditions again deteriorated. This is illustrated from the United States. The country was seriously divided over the issue of slavery, and second, people were making money lavishly.

In September 1857, a man of prayer, Jeremiah Lanphier, started a businessmen's prayer meeting in the upper room of the Dutch Reformed Church Consistory Building in Manhattan. In response to his advertisement, only six people out of a population of a million showed up. But the following week there were fourteen, and then twenty-three when it was decided to meet everyday for prayer. By late winter they were filling the Dutch Reformed Church, then the Methodist Church on John Street, then Trinity Episcopal Church on Broadway at Wall Street. In February and March of 1858, every church and public hall in down town New York was filled.

Horace Greeley, the famous editor, sent a reporter with horse and buggy racing round the prayer meetings to see how many men were praying. In one hour he could get to only twelve meetings, but he counted 6,100 men attending. Then a landslide of prayer began, which overflowed to the churches in the evenings. People began to be converted, ten thousand a week in New York City alone. The movement spread throughout New England, the church bells bringing people to prayer at eight in the morning, twelve noon, and six in the evening. The revival raced up the Hudson and down the Mohawk, where the Baptists, for example, had so many people to baptize that they went down to the river, cut a big hole in the ice, and baptized them in the cold water. When Baptists do that they are really on fire!

When the revival reached Chicago, a young shoe salesman went to the superintendent of the Plymouth Congregational Church, and asked if he might teach Sunday School. The superintendent said, 'I am sorry, young fellow. I have sixteen teachers too many, but I will put you on the waiting list.'

The young man insisted, 'I want to do something just now.' 'Well, start a class.' 'How do I start a class?' 'Get some boys off the street but don't bring them here. Take them out into the country and after a month you will have control of them, so bring them in. They will be your class.' He took them to a beach on Lake Michigan and he taught them Bible verses and Bible games. Then he took them to the Plymouth Congregational Church. The name of that young man was Dwight Lyman Moody, and that was the beginning of a ministry that lasted forty years.

Trinity Episcopal Church in Chicago had a hundred and twenty-one members in 1857; fourteen hundred in 1860. That was typical of the churches. More than a million people were converted to God in one year out of a population of thirty million. Then that same revival jumped the Atlantic, appeared in Ulster, Scotland and Wales, then England, parts of Europe, South Africa and South India anywhere there was an evangelical cause. It sent mission pioneers to many countries. Effects were felt for forty years. Having begun in a movement of prayer, it was sustained by a movement of prayer.

There will be more next time

Bryan

Prayer and Revival (Part Two)

2007-09-26T10:09:00.000-06:00

Let's continue Orr's wonderful article on prayer and revival...

How did the situation change? It came through a concert of prayer.

There was a Scottish Presbyterian minister in Edinburgh named John Erskine, who published a Memorial (as he called it) pleading with the people of Scotland and elsewhere to unite in prayer for the revival of religion. He sent one copy of this little book to Jonathan Edwards in New England. The great theologian was so moved he wrote a response which grew longer than a letter, so that finally he published it is a book entitled 'A Humble Attempt to Promote Explicit Agreement and Visible Union of all God's People in Extraordinary Prayer for the Revival of Religion and the Advancement of Christ's Kingdom on Earth, pursuant to Scripture Promises and Prophecies...' Is not this what is missing so much from all our evangelistic efforts: explicit agreement, visible unity, unusual prayer?

1792-1800

This movement had started in Britain through William Carey, Andrew Fuller and John Sutcliffe and other leaders who began what the British called the Union of Prayer. Hence, the year after John Wesley died (1791), the second great awakening began and swept Great Britain.

In New England, there was a man of prayer named Isaac Backus, a Baptist pastor, who in 1794, when conditions were at their worst, addressed an urgent plea for prayer for revival to pastors of every Christian denomination in the United States. Churches knew that their backs were to the wall. All the churches adopted the plan until America, like Britain was interlaced with a network of prayer meetings, which set aside the first Monday of each month to pray. It was not long before revival came.

When the revival reached the frontier in Kentucky, it encountered a people really wild and irreligious. Congress had discovered that in Kentucky there had not been more than one court of justice held in five years. Peter Cartwright, Methodist evangelist, wrote that when his father had settled in Logan County, it was known as Rogue's Harbour. The decent people in Kentucky formed regiments of vigilantes to fight for law and order, then fought a pitched battle with outlaws and lost.

There was a Scotch-Irish Presbyterian minister named James McGready whose chief claim to fame was that he was so ugly that he attracted attention. McGready settled in Logan County, pastor of three little churches. He wrote in his diary that the winter of 1799 for the most part was 'weeping and mourning with the people of God.' Lawlessness prevailed everywhere.

McGready was such a man of prayer that not only did he promote the concert of prayer every first Monday of the month, but he got his people to pray for him at sunset on Saturday evening and sunrise Sunday morning. Then in the summer of 1800 come the great Kentucky revival. Eleven thousand people came to a communion service. McGready hollered for help, regardless of denomination.
Out of that second great awakening, came the whole modern missionary movement and it's societies. Out of it came the abolition of slavery, popular education, Bible Societies, Sunday Schools, and many social benefits accompanying the evangelistic drive.

More on the next post...

Praying for revival in my life and church

Bryan

Prayer and Revival (Part One)

2007-09-25T17:40:00.000-06:00

For the next few posts, I will share of J. Edwin Orr's article: "Prayer and Revival"

Here is the first part.

Dr A. T. Pierson once said, 'There has never been a spiritual awakening in any country or locality that did not begin in united prayer.' Let me recount what God has done through concerted, united, sustained prayer.

Not many people realize that in the wake of the American Revolution (following 1776-1781) there was a moral slump. Drunkenness became epidemic. Out of a population of five million, 300,000 were confirmed drunkards; Profanity was of the most shocking kind. For the first time in the history of the American settlement, women were afraid to go out at night for fear of assault. Bank robberies were a daily occurrence.

What about the churches? The Methodists were losing more members than they were gaining. The Baptists said that they had their most wintry season. The Presbyterians in general assembly deplored the nation's ungodliness. In a typical Congregational church, the Rev. Samuel Shepherd of Lennos, Massachusetts, in sixteen years had not taken one young person into fellowship. The Lutherans were so languishing that they discussed uniting with Episcopalians who were even worse off. The Protestant Episcopal Bishop of New York, Bishop Samuel Provost, quit functioning; he had confirmed no one for so long that he decided he was out of work, so he took up other employment. The Chief Justice of the United States, John Marshall, wrote to the Bishop of Virginia, James Madison, that the Church 'was too far gone ever to be redeemed.' Voltaire averred and Tom Paine echoed, 'Christianity will be forgotten in thirty years.

Take the liberal arts colleges at that time. A poll taken at Harvard had discovered not one believer in the whole student body. They took a poll at Princeton, a much more evangelical place, where they discovered only two believers in the student body, and only five that did not belong to the filthy speech movement of that day. Students rioted. They held a mock communion at Williams College, and they put on antiChristian plays at Dartmouth. They burned down the Nassau Hall at Princeton. They forced the resignation of the president of Harvard. They took a Bible out of a local Presbyterian church in New Jersey, and they burnt it in a public bonfire. Christians were so few on campus in the 1790's that they met in secret, like a communist cell, and kept their minutes in code so that no one would know.

How did the situation change? It came through a concert of prayer.

More tomorrow...

A Prayer For Revival

2007-09-24T20:19:00.000-06:00

Father,

We are desperate for you renewal. We say we are followers of Jesus, yet we fail to please you in our hearts and minds and words and actions. Have mercy on us, your people, because we are sinners in great need of of grace and touch.

Come Lord Jesus

150 Years Since the Fulton Street Revival

2007-09-24T08:11:00.000-06:00

Good Morning. A friend of mine passed this on to me. It was written by Ed Stetzer and can be read on his blog site:
http://blogs.lifeway.com/blog/edstetzer/2007/09/fulton_street_revival_annivers_1.html

One of the forgotten "spiritual awakenings" is the Fulton Street Revival. Today is the 150th anniversary of that start of that outpouring.

If I am doing the math correctly, about 3% of the population became Christ followers during this awakening. That would be the equivalent of 10 million people becoming followers of Jesus today.

The North American Mission Board has a video about Fulton Street here.

You can find info about the revival here.

One of the great resources on "awakenings" is on the website of J. Edwin Orr. If you don't know of J. Edwin Orr, Billy Graham considered him "one of the greatest authorities on the history of religious revivals in the Protestant world."

Orr did a lecture series at Church on the Way that includes a presentation on the Fulton Street revival. I would encourage you to watch the lecture-- in some ways, we are in a similar pre-revival situation today.

There is a big celebration in New York today. I was asked to speak at the church planting track that met yesterday. I was VERY conflicted that I was already committed to the SEBTS Convergent Conference. I tried to get a flight to do both, but we all agreed it was too close. Sigh.

The conference web site explains about the awakening:

In 1857 there were 30,000 men idle on the streets of New York. Drunkenness was rampant, and the nation was divided by slavery. God raised up a praying businessman, Jeremiah Lanphier. On September 23, 1857 he began a noontime prayer meeting on Fulton Street in the Financial District of Manhattan. Out of a city of 1 million people, six people showed up a half hour late.

The group decided to meet the next week and there were 14. The next week there were 23. The following week there were 40. Within weeks there were thousands of business leaders meeting daily. God moved so powerfully that the prayer meeting spread across the nation. It is estimated that nearly 1 million people were converted out of a national population of 35 million, including 10,000 weekly conversions in New York City for a season.

Between 1860 and 1920, as answers to the prayer, the Evangelical Social Movement was birthed including the Bowery Mission, the McCauley Street Mission, Salvation Army (begun in London), and the Student Volunteer Movement. Between 1865 and 1900 more African Americans came to Christ than any other ethnic group in North American history. This is our heritage. This is the legacy we hope will infuse the hearts and imaginations of Christs’ followers for decades to come!

God, please send your Holy Spirit on your broken, confused, and imperfect people. We are helpless and hopeless without you. We need your grace and guidance. Refocus us on the cross, the mission, and send us anew into the world. Help us to pray like Jeremiah Lanphier.

Posted on September 23, 2007 1:38 PM | Permalink

Are We Despate for Revival?

2007-09-22T19:56:00.000-06:00

Stephen Olford said the following:

"It is my conviction that we are never going to have a revival until God has brought the church of Jesus Christ to the point of desperation."

(http://www.sermonindex.net/modules/articles/index.php?view=article&aid=3162)

This is Revival

2007-09-19T08:00:00.000-06:00

Owen Murphy describes true revival:

"When men in the streets are afraid to open their mouths and utter godless words lest the judgments of God should fall; when sinners, overawed by the Presence of God tremble in the streets and cry for mercy; when, without special meetings and sensational advertising, the Holy Ghost sweeps across cities and towns in Supernatural Power and holds men in the grip of terrifying Conviction; when "every shop becomes a pulpit; every heart an altar; every home a sanctuary" and people walk softly before God, this is Revival!

Today the word Revival has largely lost its real meaning. Our present generation, never having witnessed the mighty movings of God in nation-wide spiritual awakening such as has taken place in past generations, has little conception of the magnitude of such a "visitation."

Heaven-sent revival is not religious entertainment, where crowds gather to hear outstanding preachers and musical programs; neither is it the result of sensational advertising - in a God-sent revival you don't spend money on advertising ; people come because Revival is there! Revival is an "awareness of God' that grips the whole community, and the roadside, the tavern, as well as the church, become the places where men find Christ. Here is the vast difference between our modern evangelistic campaigns and true revival.

In the former, hundreds may be brought to a knowledge of Christ and churches experience seasons of blessings, but as far as the community is concerned little impact is made; the taverns, dance halls, and movies are still crowded, and the godlessness marches on. In revival, the Spirit of God, like a cleansing flame, sweeps through the community. Divine conviction grips people everywhere; the strongholds of the devil tremble, and many close their doors, while multitudes turn to Christ!

(When God stepped down from Heaven)

Revival will bring church growth

2007-09-14T06:42:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, I was in a seminar listening to nationally known author, speaker, educator and consultant Gary L. McIntosh. He shared with us five opportunities for change, that is five windows where souls can be harvested for Jesus...

1. A time of crisis
2. A time pastoral change
3. A time of budget preparation
4. A time of REVIVAL!
5. A time of planning

Revival begins with the church, but it will eventually turn outward.

Praying for revival

Bryan

Now that school has started again

2007-09-12T16:21:00.000-06:00

College and university campuses are full of activity across the nations. Of course, here in Nebraska, we are looking forward to to the USC football game comes to Lincoln to play NU. I will not make any predictions!

Historically, something far more important than football takes place on campuses. It is spiritual revival. J. Edwin Orr, in his book, Campus Aflame wrote...

“It is utterly impossible to divorce the story of student awakenings from the course of missions in countries overseas. From the beginning, one of the most immediate and dramatic effects of college revivals has been the recruitment of personnel for the work of Christ abroad.”

So cheer on your favorite team, but also spend time praying for revival

Bryan

Jonathan Edwards and Revival

2007-09-10T16:21:00.000-06:00

As you read the article below, pray that God will do it once again in the United States (or in the country you live in)

The word ‘revival’ infers that something is dead or dying. ‘Religious’ or ‘Christian revival’ presupposes that the church and its environment are in desperate need of a fresh breath God’s Spirit to awaken it from its slumber. Such was the condition of the North American church and nation in the early part of the 18th century. Spiritual decline and moral decadence ruled the day.

THE STATE OF THE NATION

The American Colonists had their own peculiar problems. They were a mixed collection of nationalities in an alien country. They had no central government to bind them together in anything like a national unity and were divided by intense religious convictions and by their nationalistic spirit. Perpetual war with the Indians produced all manner of inhuman passions, removing moral convictions and restraints. A wild and adventurous spirit possessed the people as morals declined and religion decayed. Drunkenness, swearing, immorality, and every form of vice blossomed as never before in their history. The godly aspirations of their Puritan forefathers for a Christian Utopia in the New World had long since died.

THE STATE OF THE CHURCH

The ‘Half Way Covenant’ of 1662 had opened the way for unconverted people to become members of the church and soon unconverted ministers were allowed into pulpits across the land. Secret apostasies and flagrant sins corrupted and weakened the churches. Jonathan Dickinson of New Jersey described the state of the church there: ‘Religion was in a very low state, professors generally dead and lifeless, and the body of our people careless, carnal and secure.’ In Pennsylvania Rev. Samuel Blair stated, ‘Religion lay as it were dying, and ready to expire its last breath of life in this part of the visible church.’ The same conditions obtained everywhere throughout all the Colonies, from New England to the far South.

It was a hopeless situation but ‘man’s extremity was God’s opportunity.’ Into this situation God began to ignite revival fires.

BEGINNINGS OF REVIVAL

Theodore Frelinghuysen, a Dutch reformed Pietist, began to see revival signs of conversions following his ministry in New Jersey in 1727. The revival spread to the Scottish-Irish Presbyterians under the ministry of Gilbert Tennant, whose father, William, founded the famous ‘Log College’, which later became the Princeton University. The fire leapt over to the Baptists of Pennsylvania and Virginia before the extraordinary awakening that began in Northampton, Massachusetts, under the ministry of Jonathan Edwards in December 1734.

JONATHAN EDWARDS

Edwards’s says the town experienced a ‘degenerate time’ with ‘dullness of religion.’ The young people were addicted to ‘night walking, tavern drinking, lewd practices and frolics among the sexes for the greater part of the night. Family government did too much fail in the town.’ Community leaders were locked in bitter disputes. Then, two well-known young people died untimely deaths in the spring of 1734. This had a remarkable sobering effect on the whole town and people began to ask questions about the meaning of life, life after death, eternity and other spiritual matters. Clearly this was a token judgement to grab people’s attention.

In tandem with this, the small and ineffective church was praying for God to move, calling out to God for the souls of their neighbours. Edwards began to preach the Gospel deliberately and powerfully in a series on ‘justification by faith alone.’ In December 1734 six young people were converted. One was a young woman who was quaintly described as ‘one of the greatest company keepers in the whole town.’ Her life was so radically changed that it became the talk of the town and the news of this evident act of God’s grace spread like wildfire. In the next six months 300 of the 1,100 population were converted. That’s more than 25% of the population in 6 months! Revival had come.

In his ‘Faithful Narrative of Surprising Conversions,’ a report on this revival work, Edwards describes some of the unusual supernatural happenings: ‘God has also seemed to go out of his usual way in the quickness of His work, and the swift progress His Spirit has made in His operation, on the hearts of many….There was scarcely a single person in the town, either old or young, that was left unconcerned about the great things of the eternal world …The town seemed to be full of the presence of God…it never was so full of love and full of joy. It was a time for joy in families…our public assemblies were beautiful; the congregation was alive in God’s service, everyone earnestly intent on the public worship…. God was served in the beauty of holiness.’

WIDESPREAD RESULTS

This was the beginning of a revival that was revitalised with a second wave in the 1740’s. In New England alone ten percent of the total population of 300,000 were added to the churches between 1740 and 1742. Total converts to Christianity reached 50,000 out of a total of 250,000 colonists in New England . It is estimated that a further 30,000 souls were converted through George Whitefield’s numerous visits to America from 1739 onwards. 150 new Congregational churches were established in twenty years.

The increase of Baptist churches in the last half of the century, was still more wonderful, rising from 9 to upwards of 400 in number, with a total of thirty thousand members. There was a similar growth in the Presbyterian and other churches.

Nine Christian university colleges were established in the colonies. The wild frontier society was thoroughly Christianised. Early missionary desire began to emerge, most notably in the ministry of David Brainerd among the Indians. The revival revolutionised the nation’s religious and moral character and determined the destinies of the entire nation country.

One ancient writer states ‘The new converts were ‘fervent in spirit. They thirsted for the salvation of souls. Unexampled efforts. were immediately employed for the spread of the Gospel. Some went from house to house in their respective neighbourhoods warning every man and teaching every man, and exhorting all to turn to the Lord. Pious ministers were stirred to unusual exertion, and old Christians renewed their youth.

They had deep convictions of the evil of sin, and of the peril of a rebellious state. The love of God in Christ overpowered their souls. Their views of the solemn realities of another world were vivid and heart-affecting. Their earnest appeals made the stout hearted tremble, awed many a reprobate into silence, and wrung tears from daring and hardened offenders. Tens of thousands bowed before the majesty of truth. Some of the most powerful preachers emigrated to other States; and wherever they went, the floods of blessing poured over the land.’

Lord do it again in our day and in our nation!

Tony Cauchi
May 2006

http://www.revival-library.org/index.html?http://www.revival-library.org/quotes/revival.htm

Setting Our Sails Towards Revival

2007-09-08T11:07:00.001-06:00

G. Campbell Morgan once said...

"We cannot organize revival, but we can set our sails to catch the wind of heaven."

Let us set our sails towards revival by praying for it.

Bryan

Are we ready for revival?

2007-09-05T08:07:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I wrote about Robert Evans and his preparation for revival (see below). Brian H. Edwards rightly points out that revival must begin with the church and God's people...

"We often have a tinted view of revival as a time of glory and joy and swelling numbers queuing to enter the churches. That is only part of the story. Before the glory and joy, there is conviction; and that begins with the people of God. There are tears of godly sorrow. There are wrongs to put right, secret things...to be thrown out, and bad relationships, hidden for years, to be repaired openly. If we are not prepared for this, we had better not pray for revival."

Praying for Revival

Bryan

Evan Roberts and the Welsh Revival

2007-09-04T12:57:00.000-06:00

Evan Roberts was greatly used during the revival in Wales in 1904. His approach was fairly simple to Christians: Confess your sin and get right with God.

Here is excerpt from the "The Welsh Revival" website (http://www.welshrevival.com/)

....Within a month he felt compelled to share this message of the reality of God and the possibility of complete forgiveness of sins with his home youth group at Moriah Loughor.

Summing up the message in 4 parts, Evan pressed it home to the astonished church

1. Confess all known sin

2. Deal with and get rid of anything ‘doubtful’ in your life

3. Be ready to obey the Holy Spirit instantly

4. Confess Christ publicly

By the end of the first week over 60 responded. By the end of the second week Evan had already started on a whirl-wind tour of the South Wales valleys with his team of 5 girl singers and within a year or so 100,000 converts were said to be added to the Welsh Church....

Will Revival Come To America

2007-09-03T20:16:00.000-06:00

It has been over a century since a large scale revival visited America. Our nation is over due for another one, and we certainly need one.

Yet...

prayer always proceeds revival.

So...

are we praying for revival?

Come Lord Jesus

Prayer for Revival

2007-09-02T20:42:00.000-06:00

Father, we are nothing apart from you. We are in despearte need for your touch and revival. Renew your people Lord.

Do we really believe God will work?

2007-08-31T09:00:00.000-06:00

Dutch Sheets points out that we can pray but not really believe that God will work. In regards for praying for our loved ones who do not Jesus, he wrote:

“Well, we ARE going to believe. And we ARE going to break heaven loose over people!” (How to Pray for Lost Loved Ones, 18).

I regards to revival. Do we pray and really believe that God send it?

Bryan