Podcasts about Welsh revival

Welcome to Faith in the Morning! In today's podcast, Pastor Kerrick shares how the seeds we sow can contribute to a healthy lifestyle. Love is a seed we can sow that can change the lives of others and set ourselves up to receive a harvest of blessing. In today's devotional, Pastor Kerrick also shares about the Welsh Revival classic, "Here Is Love." Faith in the Morning Confession I am the salt of the earth. I am the light of this world. Jesus said it so I believe it. I am a carrier of the Glory of God. Today, I will experience the extreme goodness of God. Today, I make myself available for God to show His goodness to others through me. Today, I am increasing in influence. Today, I will see the goodness of God in my life! Today, something good is going to happen to me so I expect miracles. Follow Pastor Kerrick's Blog: https://kerrickbutler.com/2024/10/08/taco-tuesday-a-family-feast-spiritual-insight/ Subscribe to the Faith in the Morning Newsletter: https://kerrick.⁠beehiiv.com

Continuing this series on contending, Philip Buss shares powerful insights from a message he preached recently on Ezekiel 22:30, “I looked for a man from among them who would repair the wall and stand in the gap before me on behalf of the land, so that I would not destroy it, but I found none.”God is still looking for someone to stand in the gap. Could you be that one? Sharon and Philip explore this question and discuss what it means to stand in the gap, how to increase your hunger for God so you can hear Him for yourself, and the conditions of praying for revival in your city. Philip also shares stories of courageous ones in recent history who stood in the gap and saw God move in mighty ways. God wants to use you in whatever capacity you will allow Him to! Are you willing to let Him?EMAIL: feedback@globaloutpouring.orgWEBSITE: https://globaloutpouring.net Related Links:Philip Buss's Sermon on Friday Night Live Worship on June 28, 2024The Autobiography of Charles G. Finney: The Life Story of America's Greatest Evangelist--In His Own WordsRees Howells, Intercessor by Norman GrubbI Saw the Welsh Revival by David MatthewsDavid Barton and WallBuildersPodcast Episode 213: “Hungry for More” with Dan and Marti DukeUnconditional Surrender by Gwen Shaw (Paperback)Unconditional Surrender by Gwen Shaw (PDF)Convention 2025 Survey CONNECT ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Azim Ahmed and guests shine a light on a collection of ‘Lost Hymns'; long forgotten Welsh-language folk hymns recorded by oral historians at St. Fagan's National Museum of History in the 1960s. When musician and composer Lleuwen Steffan came across these recordings she immediately realised that they were no longer featured in contemporary hymn books. She embarked on a decade long project to track down the descendants of those recorded, and to compose music inspired by these songs. Today she brings these recordings to modern audiences, joining the recorded voices with her own compositions on piano, guitars and synthesizers.Many of the hymns were composed as a response to the Welsh Revival of 1904, a period of intense religious fervour that swept across Wales, filling chapels, and bringing life-changing religious experiences to those part of the revivals. The songs are frank, down to earth and sometimes dark. They reflect the fragility of human experience. Emeritus Professor Wyn James, a Welsh hymnology expert from the School of Welsh at Cardiff University sets out the historical context of these hymns. Catrin Roberts, the granddaughter of hymn collector William Morris (one of the voices in the collection) shares memories of her grandfather, and his passion for the heritage of Wales. Lleuwen's work is made in partnership with Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Cymru and supported by the British Council Wales.

Recorded June 19, 2024. Pastor Larry G. Stephens brings a message from Acts 19:21-41 on how the Lord builds peace in the midst of chaos. We live in the best of all possible worlds because God is sovereign. The Lord builds peace in the midst of chaos by, I. Revealing Opposition Through the Proclamation of Truth: II. The Truth Will Naturally Cause a Commotion   Welch Revivals>>> Welsh Revival 1904 (revival-library.org) Urban Revivals (D.L. Moddy) >>> A Brief History of Spiritual Revival and Awakening in America (churchleaders.com)

What were the mysterious lights and visions that accompanied Mary Jones and her ministry during the 1905 Welsh revival? Why does her story line up with that of so many others supposedly called by non-human intelligences to bring a message? What is the agenda of these particular entities? credit to Mysteries of Mind Space and Time: The Unexplained 1992 HS Stuttman Intro: Are They Real? MGR Productions Outro: The Sixth Sense Danijel Zambo cover art: Patrick Roy with Nightcafe Studio AI creator IG: @aliensforbeginnerspod X: @AFBpodcast

Prayer is considered the backbone of any revival. It is through prayer that individuals and communities launch into a deeper connection with God, repent for their shortcomings, and ask for spiritual renewal. This catalytic seeking often precedes and sparks revival.Historical examples, such as the First and Second Great Awakenings, the Welsh Revival, and the Azusa Street Revival, illustrate how prayer was central to these movements. In each case, intense and sustained prayer preceded and accompanied the revival, underscoring its pivotal role.In this episode of KEEP IT 1OO we have a critical conversation with Author Evangelist Joe Oden of this pivotal topic and hear about his latest book "Prayer That Ignites Revival".Website: www.seanandchristasmith.comFacebook: @seanandchristasmithministriesInstagram: @revseansmith @mrschristasmithTwitter: @revseansmithYouTube: @seanandchristasmithministries

In this inspiring episode, we delve into the significance of youthful leadership within the church community. Starting with a reflection on key biblical passages from 1 Timothy and Hebrews, we explore Paul's admonition to young Timothy and the call for endurance in faith. The episode highlights the pivotal role young people play in revivals and spiritual awakenings throughout history, from the Welsh Revival to the recent Asbury Revival. The message emphasizes the importance of respecting and embracing the contributions of the young while also valuing the wisdom and experience of older generations. Through the parable of Martin, we examine the challenges of adapting to change and the potential for growth when different generations come together in mutual respect and understanding. Join us as we encourage a collaborative and dynamic faith community, driven by the energy and vision of young leaders.

Are you ready for a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit? Are you prepared to experience the power of God at work in your life and generation? Well, you need to get ready because God is about to shine a great light into a world of increasing darkness.    As we sense God is preparing us for a move of God that we have never seen before in our church and in our nation, it is helpful to see how the first disciples were prepared for the Day of Pentecost in Jerusalem. The coming of the Holy Spirit did not happen out of nowhere. It followed a process of preparation.    Acts 1 tells us that a lot happened in the 50 days between the resurrection of Jesus and the Day of Pentecost. For 40 of those days, they were in a period of accelerated teaching from Jesus. Then for the next days they had to take some actions. It took just over seven weeks for them to be positioned for what was to come. So much can happen in a short space of time. We see some significant factors in the preparation for the Day of Pentecost:  1. We need to clearly understand God's plan to establish His kingdom (Acts 1:3; Matthew 4:23; Luke 5:43) 2. We need to stay focussed on receiving the promised Holy Spirit (Acts‬ 1:4-8) 3. We need to unite in continuous prayer (Acts 1:12-14) 4. We need to strengthen teams of 12 leaders (Acts 1:15-26)  Apply   1. We need to clearly understand God's plan to establish His kingdom (Acts 1:3). Jesus made sure His disciples were thoroughly grounded in their understanding of the Kingdom of God - God's new society. Throughout His ministry Jesus had repeatedly taught about the Kingdom of God (Matthew 4:23; Luke 5:43). In a kind of revision school before He returned to heaven, Jesus wanted His disciples to understand that He never came to start a new religious order. He came to announce a new whole new world order known as the kingdom of God. That is why He taught His disciples to pray, ‘Your Kingdom come, Your will be done.' Christianity is not just a matter of personal faith. Kingdom Christianity will affect every area of life and shape our vision, values and how we act and react. To truly be a subject of the Kingdom of God means that God rules over every area of our lives and that He wants us to advance His kingdom in every area of life: home life, business life, political life, cultural life, educational life etc. So we must understand the big vision that we are part of.  2. We need to stay focussed on receiving the promised Holy Spirit (Acts‬ 1:4-8). Jesus was trying to impress on His disciples the need to be focussed on the Holy Spirit, but they were distracted by earthly and political matters. As Christians we too can easily focus too much on this life and the state of the world around us or even get caught up in trying to figure out when Jesus will return. Of course it is important to do our best as Jesus taught to be salt and light in the world. But the first thing is to be sure that we receive the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:7-8). Jesus knew the disciples needed the power of God in their lives and ministries and so do we. Just as we need to be baptised in water, so we also need to be immersed with the Holy Spirit. We need to receive a new dimension of spiritual authority when we know God's power has come on us. Only when this happens can we be energised to be witnesses for Jesus in cities and nations. That's why we must wait for the promise and not rush off in our own strength. So let's get real: how much power of the Holy Spirit do you have? If you need the Holy Spirit, then you need to really hunger and thirst for this happen. You must no longer live in defeat, allowing the devourer of your finances to steal from you, you cannot accept that the enemy steals your home, your health, your love. You must cry out to God for His power. This is how you get ready for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit.    3. We need to unite in continuous prayer (Acts 1:12-14). They all joined together constantly in prayer. They didn't just pray now and again. They prayed constantly. They kept on praying towards the fulfilment of their goal. And it was not some of them who prayed but all of them. Here was a group of people joined together with a common desire to seek God. This included:  - The disciples: All of the disciples in every life group should pray together. - The women: These were not just ladies who lunched together but faithful women who prayed together.  - The family of Jesus: His mother and brothers all joined in the prayer. It's so powerful when families pray together. Every move of the Holy Spirit can be traced to small groups of people getting serious about prayer (i.e.: 18th Century and John Wesley; Welsh Revival and Evan Roberts; Berkshire with Thomas Russell and John Ride). Such zealous praying is what is needed today at every level of the church and in every home and family. Revivals grow in ground that has been well prepared through prayer.  4. We need to strengthen teams of 12 leaders (Acts 1:15-26). Why was this so important? Because 12 represents governance. In the Old Testament when God wanted to establish the kingdom of Israel He chose 12 Tribes. When Jesus wanted to establish His Church, He chose 12 disciples and when one betrayed Him, they did not just keep going with the 11 faithful disciples. Peter said in Acts 1:21 that it was ‘necessary' to replace him, so they considered those who had proved faithful in following Jesus. Then they chose Matthias to take the place of Judas. Now the 12 were back to full strength and soon they would stand together on the Day of Pentecost when 3000 people became believers. You need a strong team in place to deal with that kind of harvest. If we are to be ready for many new people to come to Christ and into the church, we too need to develop strong teams of 12 faithful people. So first be part of a team and then build a team of 12. Together we can be prepared to move forward when the Holy Spirit brings great growth and acceleration. Make the most of the time we have to get ready for a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit. 

Are you ready for a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit? Are you prepared to experience the power of God at work in your life and generation? Well, you need to get ready because God is about to shine a great light into a world of increasing darkness.    As we sense God is preparing us for a move of God that we have never seen before in our church and in our nation, it is helpful to see how the first disciples were prepared for the Day of Pentecost in Jerusalem. The coming of the Holy Spirit did not happen out of nowhere. It followed a process of preparation.    Acts 1 tells us that a lot happened in the 50 days between the resurrection of Jesus and the Day of Pentecost. For 40 of those days, they were in a period of accelerated teaching from Jesus. Then for the next days they had to take some actions. It took just over seven weeks for them to be positioned for what was to come. So much can happen in a short space of time. We see some significant factors in the preparation for the Day of Pentecost:  1. We need to clearly understand God's plan to establish His kingdom (Acts 1:3; Matthew 4:23; Luke 5:43) 2. We need to stay focussed on receiving the promised Holy Spirit (Acts‬ 1:4-8) 3. We need to unite in continuous prayer (Acts 1:12-14) 4. We need to strengthen teams of 12 leaders (Acts 1:15-26)  Apply   1. We need to clearly understand God's plan to establish His kingdom (Acts 1:3). Jesus made sure His disciples were thoroughly grounded in their understanding of the Kingdom of God - God's new society. Throughout His ministry Jesus had repeatedly taught about the Kingdom of God (Matthew 4:23; Luke 5:43). In a kind of revision school before He returned to heaven, Jesus wanted His disciples to understand that He never came to start a new religious order. He came to announce a new whole new world order known as the kingdom of God. That is why He taught His disciples to pray, ‘Your Kingdom come, Your will be done.' Christianity is not just a matter of personal faith. Kingdom Christianity will affect every area of life and shape our vision, values and how we act and react. To truly be a subject of the Kingdom of God means that God rules over every area of our lives and that He wants us to advance His kingdom in every area of life: home life, business life, political life, cultural life, educational life etc. So we must understand the big vision that we are part of.  2. We need to stay focussed on receiving the promised Holy Spirit (Acts‬ 1:4-8). Jesus was trying to impress on His disciples the need to be focussed on the Holy Spirit, but they were distracted by earthly and political matters. As Christians we too can easily focus too much on this life and the state of the world around us or even get caught up in trying to figure out when Jesus will return. Of course it is important to do our best as Jesus taught to be salt and light in the world. But the first thing is to be sure that we receive the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:7-8). Jesus knew the disciples needed the power of God in their lives and ministries and so do we. Just as we need to be baptised in water, so we also need to be immersed with the Holy Spirit. We need to receive a new dimension of spiritual authority when we know God's power has come on us. Only when this happens can we be energised to be witnesses for Jesus in cities and nations. That's why we must wait for the promise and not rush off in our own strength. So let's get real: how much power of the Holy Spirit do you have? If you need the Holy Spirit, then you need to really hunger and thirst for this happen. You must no longer live in defeat, allowing the devourer of your finances to steal from you, you cannot accept that the enemy steals your home, your health, your love. You must cry out to God for His power. This is how you get ready for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit.    3. We need to unite in continuous prayer (Acts 1:12-14). They all joined together constantly in prayer. They didn't just pray now and again. They prayed constantly. They kept on praying towards the fulfilment of their goal. And it was not some of them who prayed but all of them. Here was a group of people joined together with a common desire to seek God. This included:  - The disciples: All of the disciples in every life group should pray together. - The women: These were not just ladies who lunched together but faithful women who prayed together.  - The family of Jesus: His mother and brothers all joined in the prayer. It's so powerful when families pray together. Every move of the Holy Spirit can be traced to small groups of people getting serious about prayer (i.e.: 18th Century and John Wesley; Welsh Revival and Evan Roberts; Berkshire with Thomas Russell and John Ride). Such zealous praying is what is needed today at every level of the church and in every home and family. Revivals grow in ground that has been well prepared through prayer.  4. We need to strengthen teams of 12 leaders (Acts 1:15-26). Why was this so important? Because 12 represents governance. In the Old Testament when God wanted to establish the kingdom of Israel He chose 12 Tribes. When Jesus wanted to establish His Church, He chose 12 disciples and when one betrayed Him, they did not just keep going with the 11 faithful disciples. Peter said in Acts 1:21 that it was ‘necessary' to replace him, so they considered those who had proved faithful in following Jesus. Then they chose Matthias to take the place of Judas. Now the 12 were back to full strength and soon they would stand together on the Day of Pentecost when 3000 people became believers. You need a strong team in place to deal with that kind of harvest. If we are to be ready for many new people to come to Christ and into the church, we too need to develop strong teams of 12 faithful people. So first be part of a team and then build a team of 12. Together we can be prepared to move forward when the Holy Spirit brings great growth and acceleration. Make the most of the time we have to get ready for a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit. 

A mysterious graveyard/A spiritual revival that summons the supernatural   Patreon  https://www.patreon.com/user?u=18482113 PayPal Donation Link https://tinyurl.com/mrxe36ph MERCH STORE!!! https://tinyurl.com/y8zam4o2 Amazon Wish List https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/28CIOGSFRUXAD?ref_=wl_share   Help Promote Dead Rabbit! Dual Flyer https://i.imgur.com/OhuoI2v.jpg "As Above" Flyer https://i.imgur.com/yobMtUp.jpg “Alien Flyer” By TVP VT U https://imgur.com/gallery/aPN1Fnw “QR Code Flyer” by Finn https://imgur.com/a/aYYUMAh   Links The Graveyards https://imgur.com/a/7GZSBxb Think About It Docs 1904-1905 (Welsh Revival Sledgehammer Miracle story) https://www.thinkaboutitdocs.com/1904-ufo-alien-sightings/ Lo! E-Book PART ONE CHAPTER FOURTEEN http://www.resologist.net/lo114.htm Lo! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lo! 1904–1905 Welsh revival https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1904%E2%80%931905_Welsh_revival Evan Roberts (minister) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evan_Roberts_(minister) The 1904 Welsh revival https://www.bcwales.org/1904-welsh-revival 1904-1905 Welsh Revival https://www.bcwales.org/1904-welsh-revival The Welsh Revival of 1904-5 - An Overview https://daibach-welldigger.blogspot.com/2015/08/the-welsh-revival-of-1904-5-overview.html Debunking the Spontaneous Human Combustion Myth https://trace.tennessee.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5581&context=utk_gradthes ------------------------------------------------ Logo Art By Ash Black Opening Song: "Atlantis Attacks" Closing Song: "Bella Royale" Music By Simple Rabbitron 3000 created by Eerbud Thanks to Chris K, Founder Of The Golden Rabbit Brigade Dead Rabbit Archivist Some Weirdo On Twitter AKA Jack YouTube Champ Stewart Meatball The Haunted Mic Arm provided by Chyme Chili Discord Mods: Mason, HotDiggityDane The Golden Rabbit Army: Fabio N, Chyme Chili, Greg Gourley, Vixen, Lula F., Medusa-Buzzcut http://www.DeadRabbit.com Email: DeadRabbitRadio@gmail.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/DeadRabbitRadio Facebook: www.Facebook.com/DeadRabbitRadio TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@deadrabbitradio Dead Rabbit Radio Subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/DeadRabbitRadio/ Paranormal News Subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/ParanormalNews/ Mailing Address Jason Carpenter PO Box 1363 Hood River, OR 97031 Paranormal, Conspiracy, and True Crime news as it happens! Jason Carpenter breaks the stories they'll be talking about tomorrow, assuming the world doesn't end today. All Contents Of This Podcast Copyright Jason Carpenter 2018 - 2024    

Chapter 4, The Welsh Revival, from the book Rees Howells Intercessor by Norman Grubb. BooksAndParchments.com

Su Crawford 1-21-24

Welsh Revival and testimonies

Becky Tirabassi, author of the best-selling, Let Prayer Change Your Life, and co-pastor of Viewpoint Church in Newport Beach, CA., has been calling her listeners (and friends) to revival many years. In this week's episode, Becky describes the Welsh Revival of 1904 “as a whole country aflame!” What will it take to see revival? The Welsh Revival was described as having momentum only after people identified disobedience and unforgiveness. Will you be a part of revival in America?   If you would like Becky's 35th Anniversary Prayer and Bible Revival Bundle, CLICK HERE.   For sermons by Pastor Becky Tirabassi, or to visit Viewpoint Church, just click here. For daily encouragement to read through the Bible in a year, follow her daily @BeckyTirabassi on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube or Twitter, or to contact Becky and receive a copy of her ebook, How to start an Extraordinary Prayer Meeting, write to her at Media@BeckyTirabassi.com

I met Julian Richards at a wedding recently, and as we chatted immediately he felt like 'a brother from the same Father...'!  He's the National Leader for New Wine Cymru (that means Wales in case anyone wonders), working together with over 700 other churches to collectively and collaboratively grow to help leaders develop healthy churches to win the nation.  With his wife Sarah he leads Cornerstone, a high impact church  they founded in 1991 Swansea with a handful of young people in one of the most deprived areas of the city. Today this thriving church is known across Wales for its community work, people finding Christ regularly and many physical healings. In 2014 they opened Venue2, a former supermarket, as a second Cornerstone site, which is where I met him. Julian co-founded Gweini (meaning ‘to serve' in Welsh), representing Christian, faith-based community work to the Welsh Assembly Government and wider society.   He tells the story as we meet of how from very small beginnings but a commitment to missional growth and effectiveness, many other churches and ministries have been birthed, leaders equipped and local communities  transformed through the power of Christ and his kingdom. This is a story of miraculous provision and remarkable spiritual openness in our culture that they are seeing more than ever (3700 people prayed to receive Christ in 9 days), but Julian is convinced the answer for Wales (and everywhere else) is NOT for 'another Welsh Revival' dropped down from above, but by disciples faithfully serving, loving and winning their neighbours and nation for Christ.  We discuss;  How what you learn as a skint church planter can set you up for a life of faith and impact rather than having it all set up in advance.  What Bible college never taught you about faith.  The difference between optimism and faith.  Why we need courage as well as faith!  Why we need to change our model of mission and ministry.  New Wine Cymru - how it's similar and different to New Wine in England and elsewhere, as a non government collaborative model for effective mission.    Connect with Julian - https://newwinecymru.co.uk/about/whos-who Or via:  https://www.cornerstonechurch.co.uk   Julian is going to join us at https://www.launchcatalyst.org and it's not too late for you and your friends and team to book in and join us too whether in the North or the South of England.     

Today on the Christian History Almanac podcast, we remember Evan Roberts and the Welsh Revival. — Show Notes: 1517 Podcast Network Survey Support 1517 1517 Podcasts The 1517 Podcast Network on Apple Podcasts 1517 on Youtube What's New from 1517: Faith and Reason Exchange @ Apple Podcasts Faith and Reason Exchange @ 1517.org Join the 1517 Academy More from the host: ·       Dan van Voorhis SHOW TRANSCRIPTS are available: https://www.1517.org/podcasts/the-christian-history-almanac CONTACT: CHA@1517.org SUBSCRIBE: Apple Podcasts Spotify Stitcher Overcast Google Play FOLLOW US: Facebook Twitter Audio production by Christopher Gillespie (gillespie.media).

Today on the Christian History Almanac podcast, we remember Evan Roberts and the Welsh Revival. — Show Notes: 1517 Podcast Network Survey Support 1517 1517 Podcasts The 1517 Podcast Network on Apple Podcasts 1517 on Youtube What's New from 1517: Faith and Reason Exchange @ Apple Podcasts Faith and Reason Exchange @ 1517.org Join the 1517 Academy More from the host: ·       Dan van Voorhis SHOW TRANSCRIPTS are available: https://www.1517.org/podcasts/the-christian-history-almanac CONTACT: CHA@1517.org SUBSCRIBE: Apple Podcasts Spotify Stitcher Overcast Google Play FOLLOW US: Facebook Twitter Audio production by Christopher Gillespie (gillespie.media).

Today, I get to share my conversation with minister and author Kathryn Maack. Kathryn shares her seemingly accidental, but God-ordained road into vocational ministry. God began to reveal Himself to her in ways that helped her to process how we as Believers approach the Lord, and that there can be a segregation that happens within ourselves in how to we relate to the Lord or even are willing to learn about Him or worship Him. Whether that be disconnect between our head and heart, Spirit and the Truth, there is much that can be disrupted and disjointed due to pain, our experiences, or perhaps even half truths we've come to believe as the whole truth. She dives into this topic in the book she coauthored with ministry partner Aaron Williams Whole: The Life-Changing Power of Relating to God with All of Yourself. When the Lord made us, He did not make us in segmented pieces, but as a whole person. Kathryn and Aaron want to remind us that Jesus wants to make us holy and whole and He wants us to live out the identity He created us to have. if you are struggling in your own story because it is just… loud. Too much yelling, too much fighting, too many confusing narratives, I want you to hear me say that the Lord is with you. He is the God of peace, and a God of justice and mercy. He will not leave you here. If you are struggling in your story because it is just too quiet, and you feel like God is too far and you don't know what to make of what you see, feel or what you've seen, I want you to hear me say that the Lord is also with you. He has a history that suggests that even when it seems like He is absent, He is anything but. He never leaves us or forsakes us and rejoices over us with loud singing. He listens to lament, He can take our questions, and He will not leave you here. No matter you are, I hope you know that you matter, and your story matters. Thanks for hanging out with me and I'll see you next time.    Connecting with Kathryn: Kathryn and Aaron's book: Whole: The Life-Changing Power of Relating to God with All of Yourself Facebook Instagram  Website   Connecting with Dwellings: App Instagram Podcast Website   Sponsor for this Episode: Hopefuel Use the code 'SIMPLY15' for 15% off Instagram Website   References: Aaron Williams  Dwellings is a ministry that helps ordinary people cultivate kingdom communities, typically in small groups or house churches Jennie Allen IF Gathering Ancient Jewish perspective on the heart being one “Build My Life” Revival at Asbury University Peter Greig 24/7 The Great Awakening The Hebrides Revival  The Welsh Revival  “Walk Down This Mountain” - Bebo Norman The Jesus movement in the 60's-70's  “Jesus Revolution” movie  Barna study about Gen Z not being in the church  Men of Valor  “Reckless Love”- Cody Asbury “Rattle” - Elevation Worship “Sanctified”- Mercy Me - “We worship with the sound of broken shackles falling to the ground.” Priscilla Shirer- Armor of God study The power is in the name of Jesus   Scripture References:  Mark 12:30-31- Love the Lord with all your heart, mind, soul and strength John 4:23- true worshippers come to Jesus in Spirit and Truth  Jeremiah 17:9- The heart is deceitful above all else John 11:38-44 Matthew 21:12-13; Mark 11:15-18; John 2:13-22,Mark 3:5) Matthew 14:14; 15:32, Matthew 9:36,  Matthew 4:1-11,Mark 1:12-13,Luke 4:1-13, Hebrews 4:15- Jesus came and displayed emotions but never sinned Matthew 22:34-40-This is the first and greatest commandment  Galatians 5:22- The fruit of the spirit is joy  Psalm 34:8- Taste and see that the Lord is good  Ephesians 1:18- The Spirit enlivens the eyes of the heart John 5:39- You search the scriptures and you want to find Me, but you don't know Me Exodus 34:29-35-Moses shining with God glory's off the mountain  Exodus 32- Moses catching the people in a hot mess  Exodus 34- Moses comes back with the Law again  John 16:13- The Holy Spirit guides us into all Truth  John 16:8- The Holy Spirit convicts us  John 14:25-26, 1 Corinthians 2:9-14 -The Holy Spirit helps us discern scripture Psalm 28:7, Psalm 121- He is our help  Ezekiel 37:1-14- God calls the bones to life 2 Corinthians 3:17- There is Someone who wants you to be free  John 8:36, Galatians 5:1, Isaiah 28:16- Christ is the cornerstone  Ephesians 6:17-The sword of the Spirit is the word of God  Ephesians 6:12- We are not at war with flesh and blood 1 Thessalonians 5:23- Jesus wants to make us holy and whole and He wants us to live out the identity He created us to have.    JOIN OUR PATREON COMMUNITY!!!! I would be honored to have your support to keep the Simply Stories Podcast going. You can sign up for as little as $3 a month and each tier offers gifts that I hope will bless you in return.    Connecting with Emily and Simply Stories Podcast: Instagram (Em life // Podcast Life) Facebook Twitter Blog 

I share past and present revival stories that will inspire you to go deeper and be part of this miraculous move of God today! Recorded where we are staying in a converted chapel that witnessed incredible scenes in the Welsh Revival.Listen & subscribe to me on here plusFacebookYouTubeWebsite: SpiritLifestyle.org to see all that we do, watch exclusive training videos, join our community & Classes, be mentored by us and our team, send us a message, see our books, events and more!

Wherever I go, people talk about revival. But I've seen real powerful Holy Ghost revival - in Hungary, Bulgaria, Russia and Ukraine - it was a revival that changed society! An advisor to the government said on state TV that only the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ saved those soviet countries from chaos when communism collapsed. My father was converted in the Welsh Revival. He said when that revival came, it so changed the society, there was. no crime. It is recorded one magistrate sat in court for a whole week, but there was not one case of crime to be judged. No drunkenness, no theft, nothing! That's when God changes a nation! Look at the preaching of John and Charles Wesley. It changed the nation, changed the character. This brings us back to 1 Timothy 2:1 - “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone - for all those in authority…” Why? Verse 4, “Because God our Saviour wants all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the Truth.” Oh that God would bring this nation back to the Truth. 

In this episode, Elijah Ward discusses the worldwide influence of the Welsh Revival, which occurred in Wales from 1904 to 1905.

The research on William Williams, Pantycelyn seeks to integrate his life and his work within the context of the Welsh Reformation and on the wider Protestant world. While it is not original research, per se, it is original in the sense that this research seeks to shine a light on William Williams, Pantycelyn from a viewpoint within twenty-first century United States. The research first seeks to understand the cultural and religious landscape of eighteenth century Wales before looking at Williams's life and particularly his most famous work Arglwydd, arwain trwy'r anialwch (in English, Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah/Redeemer)

Join Revival Cry Podcast host Eric as he shares a message “Chain Reaction Revival”.   *Podcast: You may listen to the Revival Cry Podcast on many different platforms. Apple, Google Play, Spotify, Amazon Audible or wherever you listen to podcasts. https://revivalcry.org/podcast%2Fradio   *Watch this Podcast on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Za6TXiiyalU   *Listen to Revival Cry on Mango Radio! 102.7 FM Davao & 91.5 FM Zamboanga (Philippines) Thursday evenings 6:30pm-7:00pm Saturday mornings 6:30am-7:00am Mango Radio online: https://tunein.com/radio/Mango-Radio-1027-s118593/   *To Support Revival Cry or find out more information: www.revivalcry.org Email: Info@revivalcry.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/RevivalCryInternational Instagram: www.instagram.com/RevivalCryInternational YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/RevivalCryInternational   *Purchase a 30-Day Devotional by Eric Miller: “How to Become a Burning Bush” www.amazon.com/dp/B0BFHVBX2R “Hearing God through His Creation” www.amazon.com/dp/B09CF83HLV  (English) “Escuchar a Dios a Través de Su Creación” www.amazon.com/dp/B09CK9RM5Y (Spanish)

We take a moment to review the New York Businessman's Revival of 1859, the Welsh Revival, the Korean Pentecost, and the Crossweeksung Revival with David Brainard. Does a holy anticipation, unified corporate prayer, and mountain-moving faith matter when it comes to unusual visitations of the Holy Spirit in corporate reviving? We all want to be part of something that is spiritually alive, that contributes to kingdom growth . . . but what is the precursor to reviving? Active, persistent, corporate prayer.

We take a moment to review the New York Businessman's Revival of 1859, the Welsh Revival, the Korean Pentecost, and the Crossweeksung Revival with David Brainard.-Does a holy anticipation, unified corporate prayer, and mountain-moving faith matter when it comes to unusual visitations of the Holy Spirit in corporate reviving-- We all want to be part of something that is spiritually alive, that contributes to kingdom growth. . .but what is the precursor to reviving-- Active, persistent, corporate prayer.--This program includes---1. The World View in 5 Minutes with Adam McManus -British police arrest pro-lifer for praying silently - again-, Franklin Graham preached in Vietnam, Florida Christian counselors permitted to help minors overcome homosexual attraction---2. Generations with Kevin Swanson

Dr. John Patrick discusses the Asbury Revival and its current state among Christians. Dr. Patrick shares his personal experience with Revival and how it often moves him to tears by the eruption of Grace in someone's life during the process of conversion. He further explains how Joy comes into our lives and how Jesus can give us a different quality of Joy that no one else can provide. Dr. Patrick shares a story about a family that experienced a Revival during the Welsh Revival, which completely transformed their way of living. In addition, he also discusses Robert Fogle's insights and how his prediction about the 2008 meltdown highlights the importance of Revival. Join Dr. John Patrick in this insightful talk and learn more about the Asbury Revival and its impact on Christianity.   // LINKS // Website: https://www.johnpatrick.ca/ Podcast: https://doctorjohnpatrick.podbean.com/ Biblical Literate Quiz: https://www.johnpatrick.ca/meaning-metaphor-and-allusion/ Recommended Reading list: https://www.johnpatrick.ca/book-list/ Ask Doctor John: https://www.johnpatrick.ca/ask/ LINKS: https://beacons.ai/doctorjohnpatrick  

John Hammer hosts Dr. John Roddam who has given his life to studying revival and specifically the Welsh revival and the impacts on christianity and discipleship.

When the prophet Isaiah was grieved by the enemies facing his nation, he cried out to God, "‭Oh‭ that thou wouldest rend‭‭ the heavens‭, that thou wouldest come down‭‭, that the mountains‭ might flow down‭‭ at thy presence‭…"(Isaiah 64:1, AV) Isaiah knew that there are some things that can only change by the manifestation of God's presence. He had experienced that presence himself and been transformed, and he knew that God could do the same for the world around him. When God's presence comes down, we will experience revival, and change will come in the earth. But that revival must first start in us. In this video, Tom and Susan talk about how to experience personal revival. Bring revival, Lord, and start with me. Scriptures: Isaiah 64:1-3, Isaiah 6:1-8 Related Posts Minnesota: The Revival State [Book Review] Fan the Flames of Revival … and Let it Spread! The Welsh Revival & Revival Now: Bend the Church & Save the World [Ministry News]

Life Group Questions1. Why is the local church the hope of the world?2. What does “irresistible” mean to you?3. Pastor Ryan told a story about the Welsh Revival. What would it take to see a revival happen in Buda? What does GCF Hays need to do to play its part?4. What are some of the great things that come from living in God's presence?5. There are three pieces to becoming a church that hungers for God's presence.- Desiring a greater realization of His presence.- Longing to be filled to the full measure with His Spirit.- Crying out for a special anointing.Which of these do you need to focus on this week in order to hunger for God's presence and why?

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We value being able to make all our content free and available to everyone.  If these resources have been a blessing to you, we welcome your donations online at https://app.securegive.com/bridgewaychurch/bridgewaynetwork/donate/categoryBrand new WEBSITE, BLOG, and STORE up at www.coachandjoe.com!Grab a copy of Chad Norris' book :https://amzn.to/3fo3E3WSupport the show

Once the Church Age is completed, God's proverbial "reset button" will take up the destiny of Israel again and the Messianic kingdom. Jerusalem Channel presenter Christine Darg challenges us to concentrate on preparing God's ultimate and greatest revival.

Once the Church Age is completed, God's proverbial "reset button" will take up the destiny of Israel again and the Messianic kingdom. Jerusalem Channel presenter Christine Darg challenges us to concentrate on preparing God's ultimate and greatest revival.

Tonight we pray through the great hymn Here is Love, by William Rees. This was used greatly in the Welsh Revival and love by all who hear. We also pray through Psalm 89:-2 and Ephesians 5:18-22 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/shawn-odendhaldap/message

George Jeffreys (1889-1962) was a Welsh evangelist who founded the Elim Pentecostal Church. George became a Christian during the famous Welsh Revival (1904-1905) and continued Pentecostal ministry – marked by miraculous healings, baptism in the Holy Spirit, and other acts of God – for six decades. His mantle continued well after his death through the international ministry of Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke and his successor, Daniel Kolenda. Tune into this week's episode of Voices of Renewal to learn more about the life of George Jeffreys from Dr. William Kay, Director of the Centre for Pentecostal and Charismatic Studies at the University of Bangor.  

In today's episode, Rhonda teaches a Bible Study on Proverbs 28-29. This teaching was a part of our Heartstrong Lifegroup. We include a prophetic word for Canada given by Tim Sheets. You can find the full word on YouTube under the title "Canada and the Welsh Revival." Visit http://heartstrong.life for more information about how you can become a Heartstrong Disciple of Jesus. 

Check out "Welsh Revival" with Guest Speaker Josh Hannah Looking for a local church to get involved? Come join us in person or online, click here. Want more information? Go to our website compassiondickson.church and check us out. FOLLOW US ONLINE WEBSITE FACEBOOK INSTAGRAM Check out our Lead Pastor, Jamie Grisham online. jamiegrisham.com FACEBOOK INSTAGRAM PODCAST --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/compassionchurchdickson/message

“He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, "Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death. At the very beginning of this book, Jesus presented Himself to His people in majestic glory. John is about to write a book to the seven churches in Asia and give a specific message to each of them. They need encouragement but they also need a fresh vision of the glorified Lord Jesus Christ which would bring them back to their “first love.” Already, even in the first century, the churches had strayed away from where they should be! They had allowed the world to come into the church! They needed to repent! What the church needs today is a new awareness of Christ and His glory. We need to see Him "high and lifted up" (Isaiah 6:1). There is a dangerous absence of awe and worship in our assemblies today. We are boasting about standing on our own feet, instead of breaking and falling at His feet. For years, Evan Roberts prayed, "Bend me! Bend me!" and when God answered, the great Welsh Revival resulted. So John sees the glorified Christ in all His majesty and gives us a description of Him! “Out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword.” (v. 16) I'm always amazed at how it seems that every verse of Scripture has its mate. Isaiah the prophet mentioned this: "Search from the book of the LORD, and read: Not one of these shall fail; Not one shall lack her mate. For My mouth has commanded it, and His Spirit has gathered them.” (Isaiah 34:16) The mate for Revelation 1:16 is found in Hebrews 4:12: “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” We can share our opinions, our political views and give our arguments to those around us and usually it only causes more confusion and division. But when we share God's Word, it always goes forth with power and authority and produces conviction and repentance. But sometimes as it cuts into the soul and reveals the real intents and motives of our heart, instead of repenting we rebel and resist and deny it and our hearts get colder and harder! But today, Jesus still speaks with authority though His Word! The Lord's shining countenance reminds us of Jesus transfiguration. No doubt John remembered seeing Jesus in this fashion before in Matthew 17:1-2: “Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.” We also think of the prophecy of Malachi 4:2: “But to you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise With healing in His wings; And you shall go out And grow fat like stall-fed calves.” The sun is a familiar image of God in the Old Testament, reminding us not only of blessing, but of judgment. The sun can burn as well as bless! One of my favorite verses over the years has been Psalm 84:11-12: “For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly. O LORD of hosts, Blessed is the man who trusts in You!” My friend, do you need healing today? Please join me today in worshipping the risen “Sun of Righteousness!” God bless!

Ruth Swift serves as the senior leader of Resound Church with her husband Wayne. In addition, Ruths serves as well as on the National Leadership Team of Acts Global Churches as well as a network leader. In this episode, Ruth shares about the Welsh Revival, the restoration of the apostolic and prophetic, as well as her experience of being a leader in Acts Global Churches. ===> Learn more about Ruth Swift by visiting https://ActsGlobal.Church and https://Resound.Church ===> Learn more about Glenn Bleakney by visiting AwakeNations.org and also KingdomCommunity.Global --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/kingdomcommunity/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/kingdomcommunity/support

Ruth Swift serves as the senior leader of Resound Church with her husband Wayne. In addition, Ruths serves as well as on the National Leadership Team of Acts Global Churches as well as a network leader. In this episode, Ruth shares about the Welsh Revival, the restoration of the apostolic and prophetic, as well as her experience of being a leader in Acts Global Churches. ===> Learn more about Ruth Swift by visiting https://ActsGlobal.Church and https://Resound.Church ===> Learn more about Glenn Bleakney by visiting AwakeNations.org and also KingdomCommunity.Global --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/kingdomcommunity/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/kingdomcommunity/support

Ruth Swift serves as the senior leader of Resound Church with her husband Wayne. In addition, Ruths serves as well as on the National Leadership Team of Acts Global Churches as well as a network leader. In this episode, Ruth shares about the Welsh Revival, the restoration of the apostolic and prophetic, as well as her experience of being a leader in Acts Global Churches. ===> Learn more about Ruth Swift by by visiting https://ActsGlobal.Church and https://Resound.Church ===> Learn more about Glenn Bleakney by visiting https://AwakeNations.org and also https://KingdomCommunity.Global --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/glennbleakney/support

Ruth Swift of Victoria, Australia serves as senior leader of Resound Church with her husband Wayne Swift as well as on the National Leadership Team of Acts Global Churches. Ruth shares about her family heritage in the Welsh Revival, the apostolic and prophetic, as well as being a female leader in the movement her husband leads Acts Global Churches. Learn more about Ruth Swift by by visiting https://ActsGlobal.Church and https://Resound.ChurchLearn more about Glenn Bleakney by visiting AwakeNations.org and also KingdomCommunity.Global

Oct. 31, 1904, the great Welsh Revival began. In six months, 100,000 people came to faith. However, less than 2% of the Welsh population is born again. That roughly 62,720 people. The team at Missional Links Wales desires to see that change. If you're 18-24 years old and are looking for ways that you can make a Gospel impact, then check out Missional Links Wales, pray about how you can get involved, and start a conversation with Jamie and the team. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kreig-co/message

Prophet Shyju shares four keys that activated the Welsh Revival during the lifetime of Evan Roberts on Day 6 of ‘The Cloud' revival meetings. Make sure to listen and spread the word! Invite a friend to come and be a part of what God is doing in Montreal! Subscribe here to be a part of these meetings online: https://revivenations.tv/subscribe/ To visit in person go to: https://emmanuelmtl.com/contact/ To access more resources download the “Shyju Mathew” app on your iOS or Android devices! To sow a seed or build an altar, visit: Giving. FOLLOW US ON: Revive Nations: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Telegram Shyju Mathew: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Telegram

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Getting a picture of how transformational revival actually is by looking at the Welsh Revival. From 1903 to 1905, at least 87,548 people converted to Christianity, or roughly 6% of the population over the age of 11. That's the awakening part. That's not counting the number of Christians who were re-vived. Imagine if that kind of spiritual awakening took place in the US today. There are roughly 290 people over the age of 11. 6% would mean more than 17 million adults converting to Christianity in a two year period. Not because of some program but because the Father was drawing them. John 6:44. “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them." Wouldn't you love to see something like that today in your country?

Taking a look at the Welsh Revival, which broke out in 1904, helps us visualize what we are asking God to do in our day. “The most exciting time in the history of the Church since Pentecost, when nations were most astonished and hell was most frightened was during the years 1902-1912. This revival impacted every nation on earth." Relfe, Cure of All Ills, p. 64.

First we look at the book of Acts as a biblical outline for what revival looks like for the church, and what the results of being filled with the Holy Spirit are. And we see that awakening of the people follows revival and reformation of society is the end result. Next we look at two examples from church history, the Welsh Revival and the Azusa Street Revival. We see that the common thread was a crying out for an outpouring of the spirit like the day of pentecost, and the miracles, signs, wonders, and salvation that followed as God poured out his spirit.

The UK will stand in history as being the first in new world to spread the Gospel. This is an in-depth look at the 1904–1905 Welsh Revival which was the largest Christian revival in Wales during the 20th century. While by no means the best known of revivals, it was one of the most dramatic in terms of its effect on the population and triggered revivals in several other countries. "The movement kept the churches of Wales filled for many years to come, seats being placed in the aisles in Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Swansea for twenty years or so, for example. Meanwhile, the Awakening swept the rest of Britain, Scandinavia, parts of Europe, North America, the mission fields of India and the Orient, Africa and Latin America." 2 Chronicles 7:14​-16 King James Version (KJV) 14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 15 Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place. 1 Once more, O Lord, we pray, Put Thy strong armor on; Strike down the shield of Satan's pow'r; Let victory be won. Refrain: Once more, O Lord, once more Thy blessing we implore; In Thy great name let vict'ry sweep Thro' Zion's gates once more. 2 Lord Jesus, come today; Let souls before Thee bow; Be this Thine hour of triumph, Lord; Oh, send salvation now. [Refrain] 3 Lord Jesus, come and reign; Let error's empire fall; We long to see Thy glory shine, And crown Thee Lord of all.

The UK will stand in history as being the first in new world to spread the Gospel. This is an in-depth look at the 1904–1905 Welsh Revival which was the largest Christian revival in Wales during the 20th century. While by no means the best known of revivals, it was one of the most dramatic in terms of its effect on the population and triggered revivals in several other countries. "The movement kept the churches of Wales filled for many years to come, seats being placed in the aisles in Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Swansea for twenty years or so, for example. Meanwhile, the Awakening swept the rest of Britain, Scandinavia, parts of Europe, North America, the mission fields of India and the Orient, Africa and Latin America."2 Chronicles 7:14​-16 King James Version (KJV)14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.15 Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place.1 Once more, O Lord, we pray,Put Thy strong armor on;Strike down the shield of Satan's pow'r;Let victory be won.Refrain:Once more, O Lord, once moreThy blessing we implore;In Thy great name let vict'ry sweepThro' Zion's gates once more.2 Lord Jesus, come today;Let souls before Thee bow;Be this Thine hour of triumph, Lord;Oh, send salvation now. [Refrain]3 Lord Jesus, come and reign;Let error's empire fall;We long to see Thy glory shine,And crown Thee Lord of all.

The UK will stand in history as being the first in new world to spread the Gospel. This is an in-depth look at the 1904–1905 Welsh Revival which was the largest Christian revival in Wales during the 20th century. While by no means the best known of revivals, it was one of the most dramatic in terms of its effect on the population and triggered revivals in several other countries. "The movement kept the churches of Wales filled for many years to come, seats being placed in the aisles in Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Swansea for twenty years or so, for example. Meanwhile, the Awakening swept the rest of Britain, Scandinavia, parts of Europe, North America, the mission fields of India and the Orient, Africa and Latin America."2 Chronicles 7:14​-16 King James Version (KJV)14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.15 Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place.1 Once more, O Lord, we pray,Put Thy strong armor on;Strike down the shield of Satan’s pow’r;Let victory be won.Refrain:Once more, O Lord, once moreThy blessing we implore;In Thy great name let vict’ry sweepThro’ Zion’s gates once more.2 Lord Jesus, come today;Let souls before Thee bow;Be this Thine hour of triumph, Lord;Oh, send salvation now. [Refrain]3 Lord Jesus, come and reign;Let error’s empire fall;We long to see Thy glory shine,And crown Thee Lord of all.

PREACHING THE GOSPEL PREACHING THE GOSPEL 8 – TOOLS, TIPS, & TRACTS JAKE STIMPSON | VISION | PREACHING THE GOSPEL | EVANGELISM | STYLES | TYPES | TRACTS In the Welsh Revival of 1901, over 1 million people were added to the Kingdom of God. Whole cities were transformed. Churches were packed. Bars closed. Crime […]

God wants to bring a Great Awakening to our nation! The key for this Awakening to happen is for Christians to change their expectations about what is possible with a genuine move of God! In this message, Pastor Brian will teach about the Welsh Revival and how it brought culture change to an entire nation.

God wants to bring a Great Awakening to our nation!  The key for this Awakening to happen is for Christians to change their expectations about what is possible with a genuine move of God! In this message, Pastor Brian will teach about the Welsh Revival and how it brought culture change to an entire nation.  

Newberg Friends Church Originally recorded Dec. 6, 2020 Pastor Kenny Snyder --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/keith-reeser/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/keith-reeser/support

Revival Fire: An Interview with Jen Miskov. Jennifer Miskov is a revival historian, author, writing coach, and itinerant minister who loves to lead people into life-changing encounters with Jesus and help launch them into their destinies with God. She is also the founding director of School of Revival and Writing in the Glory. Key Points:“Revival equals more of Jesus in every capacity and facet of our lives.” – Jen MiskovRevival is a starting point. We must steward revival to sustain a move of God in our lives and in our community.What does revival look like?· "Revival looks like the kingdom of God crashing in..." · "Revival looks like the incoming presence in God invading our hearts and minds and relationships."· "Revival looks like Jesus walking around the city. "“If we have eyes to see, we'll recognize revival in the smallest details."Spiritual disciplines are pathways to intimacy.Silence is a powerful pathway to intimacy. “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10a).Fasting is a way to increase your hunger for the Lord.· Fasting is feasting on the Lord. The key to every revival and revivalist is hunger.· One way to cultivate hunger is to fast.· "Fasting is something I can do to set myself apart just to love Jesus." – Jen Miskov· You can fast to seek something from God, but… "there is something powerful about fasting just because you are in love with Jesus." – Jen Miskov· From history we see that “most revivals were birthed on fasts.” – Jen Miskov· “Of course I love food, but the fact that there is something I can do to set myself apart for the Lord as an act of worship is special.” – Jen MiskovJesus wants our whole hearts.Family is the fireplace of revival. Spiritual family, a close spiritual community, can help you sustain passion and love for the Lord.Revival history is a well of inspiration, encouragement, and fire.Carrie Judd Montgomery, who lived in the late 1800s and early 1900s, modeled walking in revival fire for decades.“To steward revival, spend time with Jesus and do whatever it takes to surround yourself with other burning ones.” – Jen MiskovYour one “Yes” to the Lord can birth revival. The story of Florrie Evans of the Welsh Revival shows the power of saying “Yes”.God uses ordinary people, who say “Yes”, to ignite mighty moves of God.You can connect with Jen and find resources for your walk with Jesus at jenmiskov.com.For more information about Jen's School of Revival: www.schoolofrevivalfire.comE-Courses are available at jenmiskov.comHere are a few of Jen Miskov's books (you can find others on her website):Walking on WaterIgnite AzusaWriting in the Glory

Graham Marshall and Zach Nash speaking on the Welsh Revival and Azusa Street Revival on November 1, 2020.

Wales may be a small nation but there have been several revivals there leading to it being called the Land of Revival. In the 100 years from 1762 there were no less than 16 revivals and Jenny takes a closer look at those in 1858 and 1904.

Memory Verse - Matthew 13:31-32 I've told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like to mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.” ---------------- Taken from Call Down Lightning: What the Welsh Revival of 1904 Reveals About the End Times; Written by Wallace Henley Get the book now : https://amzn.to/3bZZIDo ---------------- For more christian resources, visit our web page beyondmycross.com #ad

And looking at Azusa Street and the Welsh Revival and the Hebrides revival we can see some of the qualities of a Revival and what it looks like. Changing Society and breaking through the bondages of a societal issue that's the presence of God

The life of total consecration modeled for us by Welsh Revival leader Rees Howells. Released at Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry 4-17-2017 with the Destiny House family. For me, only Jesus. With friends Jessika Tate and Mary Thomason in the beginning, then Lindsey Privitera and Daystar Frady pray at the end with Keren Oey and Andrea singing, Amy Strom and Katharina Welt dancing.

In this podcast, Jen shares about the Welsh Revival at the Bethel Supernatural School of Ministry in Redding, CA in 2015. It includes a significant word on the birthing of new things by the Holy Spirit within hearts as well as a very powerful impartation from the Lord. Credits: Introductory testimony shared by Jessika Tate. The song Spirit Flood was written and sang by Elisa Frohlig. The prophetic dance which accompanied the worship was performed by Katharina Welt. A related blog post which references the Welsh Revival shares how Halloween day serves as a catalyst for reformation, revival, and destiny can be found https://jenmiskov.com/blog//disrupting-the-normal-how-october-31st-is-a-catalytic-day-for-reformation-amp-revival

God Is Up to Something BigThe Bible dedicates more space to prophecy than to any other subject. These prophetic portions of Scripture have received an enormous amount of literary attention throughout the history of the church. Over the past fifty years alone countless books have been written about the biggest global trends of our day and whether they are signs of the coming end times. But one sign has been inexplicably neglected—revival. Wallace Henley believes such a spiritual awakening is not only possible today but probable—and likely a harbinger of the end times. Where are we on the timeline of human history?Are we approaching the rapture of the church?Henley presents a meticulously researched and compelling case that the Welsh Revival and the historical cycle revealed in God’s redemptive interactions with nations, make it highly likely that our contemporary world is ripe for the lightning of another revival. Henley is confident that we will be a part of that worldwide event, perhaps moving all creation nearer to its sudden glorious conclusion and rebirth.Join our guest Wallace Hensley tonight at 6p!

Azusa – The Welsh Revival sparked revivals all over the world—in the Kassia Hills in India, and at Azusa in Pasadena.  God used William Seymour, a black man, son of a slave, to lead the most extraordinary and powerful manifestation of His presence in the twentieth century.  Fire fell from heaven on the lowly building […]

115 years may seem like a long time, but in many ways Christians in the Western world were facing many of the issues believers face today. This is especially true when it comes to all the distractions the wealth of the modern world brings. This period of history was just at the point when the 1st World emerged from an Agrarian, simpler way of life into an industrialized, busy way of life inundated with the distractions of materialism. So while the people of the early 20th century didn’t have to worry about smartphones or Netflix, they still found plenty of distraction in drinking alcohol and attending myriad entertainment events.    Yet, there was a faithful contingent of Christ-followers in the tiny nation of Wales who dedicated themselves to fleeing the distractions of the world and seeking God in prayer, day and night. It was from this faithful place of prayer that God unleashed one of the greatest moves of His Spirit in the last few centuries. One observer described it like independent wildfires breaking out all over the entire country. It was hard for anyone to point to a specific leader who was catalyzing it. The movement just seemed to spring up on its own in the form of spontaneous prayer and testimony services in virtually every town throughout Wales.   The results are shocking to anyone finding themselves struggling with apathy or faith. 100,000 people of this tiny land gave their lives to Christ in the period of six months. Pubs were closed down because no one was buying alcohol. Judges had no cases on the books and policemen started attending the meetings out of shear curiosity of why there was no crime. Countless stories of people reconciling, forgiving, and paying back old debts are common from the revival.   Though there was no leader who catalyzed the revival, there was a young man who, in humble faith, became the pure-hearted inspiration to many in the revival. His name was Evan Roberts and in this episode we dig into his story as well as recount many of the testimonies from the inspiring time in history.   If you’re curious about what revival looks like and how the Gospel can flat-out transform a society, listen along as Justin and episode guest, Jon Osterman, help each other tell the story of the revival.   HIGHLIGHTS   The revival meetings were always packed to the gills with people trying to climb in through windows and stand outside, if need be. Evan Roberts had an intense prayer life and even recounted a season of his life where he was being transported into heaven in the middle of the night. While preaching wasn't a central piece of this revival, Welsh Christians were historically very dedicated to reading and practicing the Bible and Bible sales greatly increased as a result of the revival. Interestingly, unlike the demographics of many modern Evangelical churches, the majority of the people who gave their lives to Christ in the Welsh Revival weren't women but poor, gruff, coal-mining men. Of course, many people from every walk of life, and from both genders, were touched, however. One testimony from the revival tells of an anonymous woman who inspired the organization of thousands of prayer groups throughout England ahead of revival meetings in London scheduled by the famous R.A. Torrey. The meetings had some fruit, but certain spiritually discerning persons understood that these prayer groups were likely the spiritual match that actually lit the Welsh revival. However, the seasoned wood, so to speak, was in the neighboring area of Wales.

Sermon by Jesse Cupp

100,000 souls saved in only two years.

The Jezebel spirit hates revival.

In this message Jeremy Morgan continues sharing about some of the greatest Revivals that have taken place and the impact they've had around the world.

In this message Jeremy Morgan continues sharing about some of the greatest Revivals that have taken place and the impact they've had around the world.

Is a great spiritual awakening probable and even a harbinger of the end times? I'll talk it over with Pastor Wallace Henley from Second Baptist Church in Houston. His book is called, "Call Down Lightning: What the Welsh Revival of 1904 Reveals About the End Times." Plus: Islamic expert Dr. Andrew Bostom on what the jihadist Hebron riots of 1929 can tell us about today's jihadist-Marxist alliance in America. That's next time on JANET MEFFERD TODAY.

Sharon Wooding with her mother Glenys Sturgess in Wales, UK The 1904–1905 Welsh Revival was the largest Christian revival in Wales during the 20th century. While by no means the best known of revivals, it was one of the most dramatic in terms of its effect on the population and triggered revivals in several other countries. The movement kept the churches of Wales filled for many years to come, seats being placed in the aisles in Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Swansea for twenty years or so, for example. Meanwhile, the Awakening swept the rest of Britain, Scandinavia, parts of Europe, North America, the mission fields of India and the Orient, Africa and Latin America. Note: Please help Assist News Service to be a voice for Christians around the world. Donate to ANS today

Sharon Wooding with her mother Glenys Sturgess in Wales, UK The 1904–1905 Welsh Revival was the largest Christian revival in Wales during the 20th century. While by no means the best known of revivals, it was one of the most dramatic in terms of its effect on the population and triggered revivals in several other countries. The movement kept the churches of Wales filled for many years to come, seats being placed in the aisles in Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Swansea for twenty years or so, for example. Meanwhile, the Awakening swept the rest of Britain, Scandinavia, parts of Europe, North America, the mission fields of India and the Orient, Africa and Latin America. Note: Please help Assist News Service to be a voice for Christians around the world. Donate to ANS today

Join Doc Scott in his second series on Revival!

Did you know that Evangel Temple was birthed out of the Welsh Revival? Pastor Don shares stories about the amazing events that took place during the Welsh Revival

Mysterious lights are reported from a small village in northern Wales where a religious revival is underway, in 1904 and 1905. Photo Gallery: https://www.facebook.com/andrew.d.gable/media_set?set=a.10216166050937544&type=3 http://inamidst.com/lights/egryn http://daibach-welldigger.blogspot.com/2015/11/mary-jones-welsh-prophetess-of-1905.html Clark, Jerome. Unexplained! Canton, MI: Visible Ink, 1999.Corliss, William A. “Fiery Exhalations in Wales,” Science Frontiers 136 (July/August 2001).Evans, Beriah G. “Merionethshire Mysteries,” The Occult Review 1:3 (March 1905). ---. “Merionethshire Mysteries – II,” The Occult Review 1:4 (April 1905). ---. “Merionethshire Mysteries – III,” The Occult Review 1:6 (June 1905).Fort, Charles. The Complete Books of Charles Fort. New York: Dover, 1974.Fryer, A.T. “Psychological Aspects of the Welsh Revival, 1904-1905.” Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research Volume 19 (1905-1907).McClure, Kevin. “Stars and Rumors of Stars: The Egryn Lights and Other Mysterious Phenomena in the Welsh Religious Revival, 1904-1905” (1980). http://magonia.haaan.com/1980/stars-and-rumours-of-stars/ Richards, William. A Pocket Dictionary, Welsh-English (1861). https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/A_pocket_dictionary,_Welsh-English Sandell, Roger. “UFOs in Wales in 1905,” Flying Saucer Review, 17:4 (July/August 1971). Opening music Kevin McLeod.Closing music Soma.

In this sermon, we look at the history of revival in the Bible and since it was written. These truths and testimonies should encourage us to call out for a similar move of God today.

In our sixth episode on Revival History, we take at a look at the Azusa Street and Welsh Revival. Jo and Scott interview Pastor Eric Whitley to discuss how revival in the twentieth century began a restoration of the church and As you listen we pray that you would be stirred in your faith, and drawn deeper into a passionate relationship and intimacy with God. Resources/Links mentioned in this episode or helpful for Going Deeper: Book: "2000 Years of Charismatic Church History" by Eddie Hyatt Book: "Azusa Street: They Told Me Their Stories" by J Edward Morris Website: The Welsh Revival Get more info at Riverlife Church, and find us on Facebook and Instagram. Music credit: Scott & Annie McKinnon, 'Revive'. Subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, Android and Spotify.

Learn about Evan Roberts, the young coal miner who started a youth prayer meeting that would impact Wales and the World

Why do the Welsh sometimes sing hymns at football matches? In this episode of 5 Minutes in Church History, Dr. Stephen Nichols tells us of Evan Roberts and the Welsh Revival.

Chris continues in the series Revivals throughout history - the Welsh revival

Modern Empire-Building: Spanish War, Philippine War, Boer War, Boxer Rebellion, Moroccan Incident, Gideons, Welsh Revival, France Presentation Online Giving

We need to relearn what the Baptism in the Holy Spirit actually is. My father, (a great man of God, converted in 1905 during the Welsh Revival, a great Bible teacher), taught me when I preached as a boy of 13 and no one repented, that Jesus said, "When the Holy Spirit is come, HE will convict the world of sin and righteousness and of judgment to come!" He said, "Son, you haven't received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit yet!" It was a lesson which changed my life, because what I needed was the fire and the power of the Holy Spirit to bring conviction, conversion and a changed life when I preach! I asked my father to lay hands on me. He did, but I didn't receive the Holy Spirit. As a result, I spent the next three months in an agony, 13 years old, crying out to God, fasting and praying that God would give me FIRE and POWER through the Holy Spirit. When finally, I received the Holy Ghost just days before my 14th birthday, it totally revoluntionised my life. From that moment God took control, things began to happen, people began to repent. 'Holy Ghost Fire' used by kind permission of www.vinesong.com

My father was born in Morriston, South Wales, in 1892 and was there in the great Welsh Revival. When the power of God fell, the churches were filled, there was not enough room for the people. The power of God was so strong that ungodly coal miners would go down in the lift and fall on their faces under powerful Holy Ghost conviction. We are seeing the same today across the former Soviet countries.

The Gift of Conversation Picture in your mind two businessmen sitting in an airport coffee shop, briefcases open, papers out spilling all over the table, earnestly in conversation about something important. Or two women sitting in a charming English tea room over a pot of Earl Grey. Or a young couple walking hand-in-hand down a beach as the sun is setting. So romantic. Or two older men sitting in a boat with fishing poles in their hands. Or two little children playing in a sandbox, making sounds like engines and front end loaders and bulldozers and doing some other things too. Or two older women sitting in rocking chairs on a front porch looking out over a mountain valley, reminiscing. Or two fans sitting together at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park conversing over a Triple-A baseball game. Or two teens with cell phones that just can't seem to stop talking, just something to discuss at every moment. All kinds of exciting things going on. All of these things, reflections of the great gift of conversation that God has given us, and I can't imagine going through a day without it. And it is a deep and theological principle that our desire to converse, to communicate, to have relationships, comes because we are created in the image of God. And as hard as it is for us to imagine, there was a time that there was only God and nothing else. Father, Son and Holy Spirit, eternally existing in three persons and able to have conversations among themselves. Inter-trinitarian conversation predates the creation of the world. And that gift of conversation, of relationship, of communication, one person to the next, was conferred on us at creation and it was discussed first before it was given. In Genesis 1:26 God says, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness and let them rule." And so there's an inter-trinitarian conversation about how we, male and female, are going to be created in the image of God, and part of that would be the ability to carry on conversations, the ability to have relationships with other persons. And I believe the gift of conversation in all of its richness unifies the verses we're looking at today. We're going to talk about heavenly conversation. We're going to talk about conversation between us and God in prayer. Praying about all things. We're going to talk about a different use of the word "conversation," just having to do with daily lifestyle, the way we carry ourselves in the physical world and the fact that we have an audience watching that all the time. And how important it is that we carry ourselves then with integrity. And then we're going to talk about the incredibly vital conversation of the Gospel. Sharing the words of life with those who need to hear it the most, that's what unifies our passage. Now, let's begin with the issue of prayer, conversation with God. Daily devotion and prayer. Look at verses 2-4. It says, "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful, and pray for us too that God may open a door for our message so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly as I should." We come immediately to the strategic importance of prayer. Conversation with God: A Daily Devotion to Prayer (vs. 2-4) The Strategic Importance of Prayer Now, for many years as we have received prayer cards from the church and people fill them out, one mystery brother or sister in Christ has written a single word on the card again and again, and that word is "revival." That brother or sister knows very well, we'll know what to do when we get that card, and we do. And we yearn to pray for revival. Now, you may ask, "What is Revival?" Revival is a moving of the sovereign Spirit on an individual, on people, on a church, usually with two great fruits, personal holiness, and evangelistic fruit, conversions. Lost people brought to faith in Christ, personal holiness and conversions, and that in obvious, open, magnificent ways that only God can get the credit for. Now, those that have studied revival again and again have seen a unifying theme, and that is concerted, extraordinary prayer. Dr. AT Pierson, who was the biographer of George Müller, one of the great prayer warriors in history, once said, "There has never been a spiritual awakening in any country or locality that did not begin in united prayer." Edwin Orr, a historian who made his focus the history of revivals, he agrees with this and he documents the prayer movements that are connected with great periods of revival again and again. The First Great Awakening, certainly, the Second Great Awakening. In 1857 there was the Businessmen's Prayer Meeting Revival that happened in Manhattan, New York, if you can imagine that. But there they were, it was 1857 and this Christian businessman named Jeremiah Lanphier sent out some advertisements throughout the city that there was going to be a businessmen's prayer meeting at noon, at a certain time, at the Dutch Reformed Church building in downtown Manhattan. This was advertised widely throughout the city, but the first time only six people showed up. Well, they prayed, they prayed fervently. And the next week 14 people showed up. And the next week after that 23 people showed up and then they decided they were going to meet every day for prayer. Not once a week, but every day at noon. By February of 1858, every church and public hall in Manhattan was filled up at noon with people praying. Imagine that, picture that in your mind. Incredible. Horace Greeley, the great editor of the New York newspaper that urged people, "Go west, young man," that one, published, he wanted to find out what was going on, so he sent a reporter around with horse and buggy, not having telephones or anything like that, they had to physically be there. And so this poor reporter flogged his poor horse and got to as many meetings as he could during the noon hour of prayer. He managed to get to 12. That's really quite remarkable, maybe a record of reporting, at least in New York City. And he found over 6,000 people meeting in those 12 meetings, actually, 6,100. It was a landslide of prayer, a revival, and it moved up the Mohawk River and groups all over in upstate New York, and then it spread throughout New England, and eventually, all over the country. Baptists, in upstate New York along the Mohawk River that winter had to cut holes in the ice to baptize people. Praise God for this baptistery here. I can just say that as one who's had to stand in it, but praise God. But they were so on fire for the Lord, they didn't care what the temperature of the water was, they just wanted to give public testimony to their faith in Christ. And DL Moody, the great evangelist, was converted during that prayer revival. That's what led him eventually to faith in Christ, and to his ministry. Again and again, prayer has been the undergirding and the beginning of revival. 1904, there was a great revival in Wales, the Welsh Revival. It started with a Welsh miner named Evan Roberts, who felt the call to preach, to get out of the coal mines and to preach. And he began training in seminary. And another man came and started preaching along the theme, "O God, bend me." And he began to pray this prayer, "O God, bend me." In other words, bend me to your will, transform me, make my will your own. Let me live only for your glory. "O God, bend me." So Evan Roberts started going around and preaching. And he preached in one Wednesday evening prayer meeting, it was the only slot he could get in that local church, not a well-known preacher at all. But he preached a simple message, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and then some simple steps to personal revival, four of them. Step number one, you must confess any known sin to God, and you must put any wrong done to others right, make it right. Anything you know that you've done wrong, make it right. Secondly, you must put away any questionable habit. Anything about what your conscience is smiting you, put it away. Thirdly, you must obey the Spirit promptly. Whatever the Spirit prompts you to do, you must obey Him promptly. And finally, you must confess your faith in Christ publicly. These four things. Well, it wasn't long before God was pouring out His blessing on these prayer meetings. And just like happened in Manhattan, New York, now it was in Wales. And it was a tidal wave of revival. Within five months, there were 100,000 people converted throughout the country of Wales. It was interesting, a number of years later, five years later, a skeptic named Dr. JV Morgan wrote a book to debunk the revival, on the grounds that of the 100,000 people that had claimed a faith in Christ, only 75,000 were continuing to attend church regularly. Now, you tell me, is that not a revival, when the skeptic is saying 75,000 five years later are still walking with the Lord, God has worked in a mighty way. Now, it started there in Wales, but it spread all over Great Britain, Scandinavia, Continental Europe, North America, Australia, Asia, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and in every location it was the same pattern, again and again. It always began with people praying, seeking the face of God. Now, what do we mean by extraordinary prayer? Well, we pray here, worship service every week. I pray, others pray, we had an opportunity to pray. You pray before meals, I would hope, and give thanks to God for the food. You have your daily prayer times, but that's not extraordinary prayer, that's not what we're talking about. We're talking about when people get together at 6:00 in the morning, in large numbers and pray for hours. When people meet together at lunch every day, for months on end, and give themselves to praying for the things of God, or when they spend half a night pouring out their hearts in prayer. Now, that's extraordinary revival. Now, I would contend, that when that kind of prayer is going on, the revival is already happening. It is the revival to move people out of their selfish holes and up into a great concern for the the things of God and the things of other people, the revival's already occurred, but we know it's not going to stay put there. Prayer is strategic. God has ordained prayer as a primary means for advancing His glory and His name to the ends of the earth. Why is it strategic? Well, first of all, it's strategic because it humbles us. It humbles us, and it also empowers us. Isn't that amazing how we can be both humbled and empowered? But so it is. It humbles us in the asking, and it also glorifies God in the giving. And prayer is strategic because through prayer, without moving, we can touch the distant parts of the Earth, to the ends of the Earth, we can reach out with prayer. Now, Paul here in Colossians is calling Christians to a commitment of prayer. Constant devotion in prayer. He says, "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful." Now, the word "devote" has a simple meaning of, "Just continue. To keep doing something, to have a commitment to it." The Commitment of Prayer: Constant Devotion Many hear sermons on prayer, they get moved, they get motivated, something changes for a day or so, and then it fades away like the morning mist, like the dew on the grass in the morning. That's not what Paul is calling us to here. He's calling us to a movement of prayer, of commitment to prayer. The Greek word here means, to stand fast in prayer, to be fully devoted to the prayer, to hold firmly onto prayer despite all obstacles. To be immersed in it, to cling to it. David Brainerd, a missionary in the 18th century, a contemporary of Jonathan Edwards, was a missionary to the American Indians, an incredibly godly man, and his diaries have had a revolutionary effect on the worldwide missionary movement. Tremendous devotion poured out in those diaries. And you'd read these entries, April 12th, "Spent the entire day in prayer." January 27th, "Though the day was cold, my body was covered with sweat, simply because of my excursions in prayer." Again and again you get these readings. "Spent two thirds of the day in prayer. Wrestled much in prayer for the Indians." This kind of thing. It's a devotion and a commitment to prayer, and that's I think what Paul's calling us to. Now, it's not easy to do, because faith-filled prayer has tremendous obstacles. Let's take the same old three we always wrestle with, the world, the flesh and the devil. First the devil, he opposes prayer, in individual Christians, and in churches, because he knows that it moves the hand of God, for His own glory. And so therefore, he's going to try to squelch prayer movements as best he can. The world opposes prayer because of its fast-paced achievement orientation, the fact that it's so distracting, so alluring, so enticing, and therefore there are things we'd rather do than spend a bunch of time praying. The world has already captured our affections, and we don't want to give time to prayer. And then there's our own nature. Our own nature. We are very prideful. We want things done in our own way and in our own time. And we tried prayer back then, and God didn't do what I wanted. I was reading, as I was preparing for this sermon, reading about a pastor who came across his school-aged son, a young boy. He heard him praying, he kept praying. "Tokyo. Oh, God, make it Tokyo. Make it Tokyo, oh, God." And he thought, "My son's being called to mission work in Japan." Well, it wasn't the case. He had taken a geography exam, and he had put that Tokyo is the capital of China, and he was saying, "Make it Tokyo, God. Make it Tokyo." Have you ever prayed like that? Not your will, but mine be done, oh Lord. Move that will, that you established before the foundation of the world, that pillar, that unshakable... Move it to suit my needs. That's the way we tend to pray. "Make it Tokyo, oh, God." We're prideful, and so therefore, when we don't get our way we give up in prayer. We are self-centered, we don't really care very much about the needs of others. We are weak, we're easily swayed, we make commitments, and then we give up on them. And we are unbelieving as well and prayer is such faith-filled work. Think about, for example, the battle between Joshua and the Amalekites, when Moses is up on the hill, and he's lifting up his hands in prayer. Joshua's down there on the battlefield and he is fighting with a sword in his hand. Do you think that Joshua took a break in the middle of the battle? His arm is getting tired. He's like, "Amalekites, if we could just have a break for a few minutes?" Absolutely not. He kept fighting, and he knew that he needed to keep fighting, because it was physical, obvious, sensory work. But Moses, many times his hands go down that day. Godly man. But many times his hands go down. Finally he starts to get the cause and effect. Okay. My hands go down, we start to lose. And so, they prop his hands up with stones, and they hold him up so that he can keep his hands extended in prayer. But that's the way it is with us. We don't see the cause and effect, and therefore we don't know why we should keep praying. God's going to do what He's going to do anyway, so we think. These are all obstacles to prayer. But Paul is calling on us to overcome those obstacles and to devote ourselves to prayer. He's calling on us to make it a lifestyle, to weave prayer throughout our day. He says in another place, in 1 Thessalonians 5, that we should “pray without ceasing.” Now, this means, obviously, daily time spent in prayer, your morning devotions. You wake up in the morning, you have your time of prayer. Or concerted times when you get together, you can schedule a time and be with Christians. But, I think it also means weaving prayer throughout the day. Charles Spurgeon was somebody who did this. He just seemed to live and move and have his being in an atmosphere of prayer. He just moved through the day in prayer. I was reading a biography recently of Spurgeon, and Steve Miller was talking about C.H. Spurgeon on spiritual leadership. And he mentioned an occasion in which one of his friends, Spurgeon's friends, came from Brooklyn, a Dr. Theodore Cuyler, to visit him. And Spurgeon went with Dr. Cuyler for a walk through the woods, something they loved to do, just to be refreshed out in nature. And Spurgeon had a tremendous sense of humor, and something struck him as funny, and he shared that with his friend, Dr. Cuyler, and they both just began to laugh. And their hearts were just knit together as they were laughing. And then suddenly Spurgeon stopped him, and he said, "Come, Theodore. Let's thank God for laughter." And Theodore Cuyler reflected on this years later, said, "This is the way it was with Spurgeon. He moved from a jest to a prayer and back again at the breadth of a hair." And so it should be, I think, with us. We are just constantly living, and moving, and having our being in the presence of God. Enoch walked with God. Noah walked with God. We can walk with God, and we immerse our days in prayer. And so, he says "Devote yourself to prayer." But I think we also need to step back and be strategic in our prayers as well. What are the big themes of life? What is the purpose of history? What is God doing in the world? We need to be devoted to that in prayer. Jesus said in Matthew 9, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out laborers into His harvest fields." So we need to devote ourselves to the big strategic picture as well. Not just thanking God for laughter. We should do that. But also praying that God would thrust out laborers into His harvest fields. So devote yourself. The Manner of Prayer: Watchful, Thankful Now, he gives us here the manner of prayer. He speaks of being watchful and thankful. Later in this, he talks about wrestling, we'll get to that, God willing, next week. Wrestling in prayer, it's labor. But here he talks about being watchful. Paul commands us to pray in a state of watchfulness. Now, what does that mean? Well, I think it means at least, can we just agree that it means at least you should be awake at that time? You should be awake while praying? Now, I will confess to you, I've had some very quiet, quiet times. They're like time warps, you know what I'm saying? You know what happened, you know I'm a little too comfortable. You know, it's a little too early. And so I had an incredible time of 75 minutes of prayer with the Lord, don't remember any of it. Just whoosh, right through. And there are times that I literally just need to pace back and forth, just pace, and walk, and talk out loud, because I'm going to fall asleep. So we need to be watchful in prayer and not fall asleep. Imagine setting up a time with the president or some other dignitary, and falling asleep in their presence. This is not a good thing. And so, therefore, we ought to be watchful in our prayers. But I think it involves more than that. I think it means giving diligent attention to our prayer lives. Preparation, I think, is part of it. How do you prepare yourself to pray? Do you have a prayer sheet? Do you have a prayer notebook where you keep records of specific requests, and when they were answered by God? Do you have some sheets to help you in worship, or in confession of sin? Do you have some things to help you? There's nothing wrong with that. As a matter of fact, I would urge it, because our minds can become blank, and then we'll see a brother or sister, and we had told them we were going to pray for something, and we didn't do it. So I think you take the church's prayer list, you take your own, make your own prayer list. Get the directory of the church and just go through names and things will pop into your mind as you see their names, that's what I do. And so you're watchful in prayer, you're alert and you're preparing for it. Another way to look at it, not just that you're awake, and not just that you have been diligent in preparing the prayer time, but that you're expecting God to answer. You're expecting Him to do something. Prayer is going to move the mighty hand of God, the Sovereign King of the universe. And just one movement from His hand is worth more than any of the other efforts we could put toward something. Recently I was watching a movie, it was done by an outreach, as an outreach by a church in Georgia, the movie's called Facing the Giants, maybe some of you have seen it. It's about an embattled football coach struggling in his life with various issues, very discouraged, and thinks that he's going to lose his job. A lot of things going on for him at home, struggling. And at a key moment in the film, a godly janitor who's spent much of the time just going from locker to locker putting his hands on the lockers and praying for these students. God bless those kind of people, the heroes that you never see, and the prayer warriors that do all these kind of things behind the scenes. But he felt God was leading him not to be behind the scenes anymore in this one area. And he came to the coach and he read some Scripture to the coach that was appropriate for the situation. That God had set before him an open door that no one could close, and that he needed to make the most of his opportunity as coach there. To bloom where it is planted. Well, he said, "God led me say that to you," and then he went off. Well, the coach is just sitting there a little bit stunned. Then he got up and he followed this man, and he said, "Did God tell you to come say that to me?" He said, "Yeah, I think He did, I believe He did." And he said, "Well, I want you to know I have been struggling with depression. I've been discouraged. But I've also been praying." Then the janitor said, "You know, I heard a story once about two farmers, both desperate for rain, it was a drought. Both of them prayed for rain, but only one one went out and prepared his fields. Now, which of those two are you?" That's very convicting. I guess God wasn't done using the janitor that day. Now, which of the two are you? Are you acting like God actually will answer your prayers? Take a step back, are you praying any such prayers that'd be worth answering? Anything specific for His kingdom and His glory. And second step, are you expecting Him to do it? Jesus said in Mark 11:24, "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will be yours." You're like, "Oh, Jesus, you need to be more careful, you know I was going to leave this to name it and claim it." Jesus just says it. We know in the analogy of Scripture, we are going to be bound in by the will of God, and frankly, we don't want anything but the will of God, that's what believe means. Faith is stepping into God's world as it really is, not creating an alternate universe. But He says, "If you believe you have it, you have it." As I was going over this sermon this morning, I said, "Do I pray like this?" And at that moment, I felt the Spirit just leading me to pray that someone would come here today who needed to hear the Gospel. I mean an outsider, as is mentioned here in Colossians, who's never come to faith in Christ. And I felt that the Lord was leading me to stop right at this point in my sermon and pray for that individual to come to faith in Christ. That they would look to Christ whose blood was shed on the cross for them, that they would receive forgiveness of their sins by simple faith in Christ. Will you all pray with me for that individual? Father, I prayed this morning that someone would come here who needed to hear the Gospel. And that today would be, for them, the day of salvation. And I trust you right now and ask that you would move in that person's heart, and that they would fear Judgement Day, and find in the Savior all of the love, and compassion, and mercy that they need to free them from a life of sin and from fear of death, and that they would come to trust in the Savior. I pray this in your name, Lord Jesus, amen. And I've been convicted by this. Do I pray like this? Do I trust God for actual things for His kingdom? Being watchful in prayer. And what about being thankful? When God answers that prayer, should we not go back and say, "Thank you, God, for doing it"? And when He answers many prayers, should we not in the relationship go back and say, "You did it, Lord. To God be the glory, thank you"? We should. It's part of the relationship. And so we need to go back with thankfulness. The Focus of Prayer: Gospel Success Now, the focus of prayer, verses 3 and 4, is Gospel success. "And pray for us, too," he says, "That God may open a door for our message so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly as I should." This should be the center of our prayer life: What is God doing in the world? Why are we here? What are His purposes? And His purposes are to call out “from every tribe, and language, and people, and nation,” a multitude greater than anyone can count, and save them from their sins, and sanctify them by His Word, and glorify them, and make them just like Christ. And they will dwell with him forever and ever. That's what He's doing, that's big. We ought to pray big like that, then. “Our Father in Heaven, may your name be hallowed, and may your kingdom come, and may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” I want to pray big things like that. And notice how the mighty Apostle Paul asks for prayer for help in this area. Look what he prays for, he says, "Pray for us, too. I need prayer. Pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message." He's asking for prayer. He feels his weakness. "When I'm weak then I'm strong," he's not too strong to ask for prayer, he wants prayer. And look what he asked for, he asked for an open door for the message. A fair hearing of the Gospel. Specifically, it's a prayer that God would exert His sovereign power over the wills of unbelievers to get them to be open to the Gospel ministry. Does God have that kind of power? Can He actually turn the heart of a king or an emperor so that there is an opportunity for the Gospel? I tell you He can, He's done it again and again. Proverbs 21:1 says, "The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, He directs it like a watercourse whichever way He chooses." It's happened again and again. The Lord granted Joseph favor in the eyes of his jailer. Genesis 39:21. The Lord granted Daniel favor in the eyes of the Babylonian officials so he didn't have to eat the food that would defile him. The Lord granted Nehemiah favor in the eyes of King Artaxerxes so he could go back and rebuild Jerusalem. Nehemiah 1:11. The Lord granted Esther favor in the eyes of her husband, though he had not invited her, and the penalty for coming in uninvited is death. Still, Esther 5:3, God granted her favor. Does God have the power to change the heart of a potentate? He does. It's happened again and again. I was reading in the church history the story of Columba, who was a sixth century Irish monk whose heart burned with missionary zeal, who established Iona as a training place for missionaries, Irish missionaries going out all over continental Europe. But one place that God had laid on his heart was Northern Scotland, where the fierce Picts were. These people were so tough, the Highlanders, Scots, that the Roman Empire didn't want to mess with them, and built Hadrian's Wall as a result. Did not want to take on the Picts. Well, Columba took them on, and he went into their country, and he went right to the main fortress at Inverness, and wants to see King Brude, and he wants to tell him the Gospel. Well, the king is stunned, and doesn't want to have anything to do with this man, and sends him away. Well, he doesn't go away. He sets up shop right outside the walls of the fortress, and just begins to fast and pray. Well, it isn't long before the king invites him back in, and listens to what he has to say. The door is opened for the Gospel, the king eventually came to faith in Christ, and many of those Picts did as well. Columba brought the Gospel to northern Scotland by fasting and prayer. Notice that Paul also asks for clarity in presenting the Gospel. The Gospel is infinitely deep. Paul was amazingly learned. At one point, someone had said, "You're out of your mind, Paul, your great learning is driving you insane." Some people have gone insane trying to read Romans 9 through 11, and trying to figure out what that means. So there are depths of the Gospel, there are deep concepts and thoughts, there's meat. But Paul is here praying for simplicity and clarity: "Pray that I might make it clear as I should." A similar prayer he requests in Ephesians for boldness. In Ephesians 6:19 and 20 he says, "Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the Gospel for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it fearlessly as I should." Again, he's putting his weakness out on the line: “If you don't pray for me, I might wimp out. I might be a coward at a key moment. I might turn away from a great Gospel opportunity. Pray for me that I might be bold.” Well, I think we ought to just apply this to each other. Let's pray for each other that so-and-so would have an open door for the Gospel, and that they would make it clear as they should, and that they would be bold and courageous. We pray this three-part prayer at our staff meetings: God, give me an opportunity to witness today, and give me the clarity to see it, and the boldness to take maximum opportunity of it. Pray that for yourself, that could change your life. God, give me a chance to witness today, and give me the eyes to see it, and the boldness and the heart, to take advantage of it. So that's what Paul prays for. Conversation in Action: A Carefully Observed Walk A Watching World The second aspect of conversation is just our daily lifestyle. Conversation in action, a daily observed walk. Look at verse 5. He says, "Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders, making the most of every opportunity." We are living our lives before a watching world. We're on a stage, and the world is watching us. And it's not by accident God has ordained it so. Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither does anyone light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it up on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven." God has lit a light inside you, the light of the Gospel. You are the light of the world, He's going to put you up on a stand and let your light shine all around. You are on a stage, you are being watched. And what he's talking about here is, be very careful how you live in front of the unbelievers who are watching. Now, I believe, from this point forward in the section we're looking at today, everything that Paul says is geared toward producing, living in such a way that lost people will come to you and ask you about Jesus. That you live in such a way that they will come and say, "Please tell me what's going on in your life, I want to know." And there's a verse behind this. This is 1 Peter 3:15, it says, "Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, and always be prepared to give an answer to anyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience." So in other words, be ready for business, open for business. Live in such a way that people are going to be attracted to you, and want to ask you about Jesus, or at least ask what's different about you, what is going on in your life. Like the Philippian jailer who brings Paul and Silas out in the middle of the night, trembling, falls in front of them and asks them this question: "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" Wouldn't you love to have that happen to you this week? Maybe you don't want the public beating without a trial, or to be in the jail in the middle of the night or any of that, but maybe you would like somebody to fall down in some sense before you and say, "What must I do to be saved?" And how ready would you be to tell them the truth? The Need for Wisdom So that's what I think Paul's getting at. And first he says there's a need for wisdom. Paul says, "Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders," and then he says, literally, "Redeeming the time." You need to redeem the time. Now, last week I preached on slavery, and the idea is of a captive, someone in chains, and you pay redemption money, and get the captive out of chains. Well, how is time then like a kidnapped captive? Well, to some degree, because it says in Ephesians, "The days are evil," you've got to go rescue the day. If you are passive toward the day, you will lose it, it will be gone. You must aggressively go, as the Latin people put it, carpe diem. You have to go seize the day. Like David and his men had to go rescue their wives and children from the raiding party that came, the Amalekites that came, so also we have to go rescue the day. Redeem the day. Redeem the hour, redeem the day, or you will lose it, that's what he's getting at. George Whitefield, in effect, said, "There's no better way that I could obey the Scripture than by sharing the Gospel with somebody." And he said, George Whitefield said, "Woe to me if I should spend half an hour in a carriage with someone without sharing the Gospel of Christ." That's how we redeem the time. That's how we act in wisdom toward outsiders: Share the Gospel with them. The Need for Integrity And there's a need for integrity, because basically, you never know who's watching. Daniel had enemies who were watching him, he didn't know it. They watched him carefully to try to find some dirt on him so they could get him fired from his job. There was nothing to see. And they said, "We'll never find anything against this man, he's always at work, or praying, or doing something. The only way we can get him is with his prayer life," and that's what they tried to do. But they could not find any dirt on him. So we have to be people of integrity, living what we proclaim. Conversation in the Gospel: Speaking the Words of Life Speaking the Words of Life The third kind of conversation he talks about here is sharing the words of life, the Gospel, look what he says in verse 6: "Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone." Now, I just said a moment ago, we have to put our Christianity on display, we have to set a good example. But may I say to you, with all due respect, no one is going to get saved from their sins by watching what a good example you are of the Christian life. No one is going to get saved by watching how you live, not at all. God has ordained that it is word and not action that saves souls. Christ's actions, yes, but when it comes to us, we are to share the word of life. We are to speak the words of the Gospel. Romans 1:16 says, "I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes." It is the power. The Gospel message is the power of God for salvation. Later in that same book, Romans 10:17: "Faith comes by hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ." Or in James 1:21, "Humbly accept the word planted in you which can save you." So we need to be ready to share the message of the Gospel. Now, recently Andy, and Eric, and I went to a conference out at Ridgecrest, a Building Bridges conference, and Don Whitney was there. And he was talking about, how well do we know the Gospel? And he was teaching a Sunday school class, and he asked them, "Do you think you know the Gospel pretty well?" And they said, "We've been hearing the Gospel for years.” Longer than you, sonny! That kind of message. And he's like, "Alright, that's fine." So he passed out some sheets of paper and some pens. He said, "I want you to take 10 minutes, and I want you to write down the Gospel message. Just write it down. And boy, did they struggle. You see, they'd heard the Gospel so many times they could recognize it when they heard it, but they couldn't articulate it, they couldn't speak it. Some time ago, I memorized a quick four-part outline of the Gospel on these headings: God, man, Christ, response. What do we say about God? He is a king, a creator, a law-giver, a judge. He is also savior. What do we say about man? He is sinful, and separated from God, all of us, created in the image of God, but yet sinful. What do we want to say about Christ? He is the eternal Son of God, who came into this world, who shed His blood on the cross, died, was buried, the third day He was raised to life. He is the only savior for the world. And what do we say about response? You must repent and believe this good news for the salvation of your soul. Are you able to do that in your own different style? Can you communicate the Gospel so that when someone comes, your speech is filled with grace, seasoned with salt, you're able to communicate the Gospel. If not, then study. “Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman who doesn't need to be ashamed, but who rightly divides the word of truth.” Gracious Speech Gracious speech. Now, when I think of gracious speech, I think at least it means this: Mannerly, okay? No coarse language, no gossip, no slander, no off-color jokes, no worldliness. Your speech should reflect a heart filled with Christ. So gracious speech, but more than that, filled with the words of grace, with Scripture. Memorize lots of Scripture. Fill your heart with it, and when you open your mouth, Scripture may flow out. Because whatever you fill your heart with, that's what's going to come out of your mouth. So there you stand at a beautiful mountain valley, or one of those scenic overlooks, there's some people, strangers near you. What comes out of your mouth at that moment? "Boy, isn't that beautiful?" Well, that's very common, anybody would say that. Why don't you try something like this: "You know that the Scripture says that ‘God's righteousness are like the majestic mountains?’ What do you think that means, that God's righteousness is like majestic mountains?" "Gee, I never thought of it." "Well, it says it in Psalm 36:6. " Well, there's a conversation starter. They might say, "Woah, what a weirdo!" They might. Or they might come back and talk to you, and be interested in what you have to say. Or perhaps you're discussing a sensational crime, and a trial, and an issue of crime and punishment is the topic. What could you say that would be gracious at that particular moment? You could say something like, "Only the grace of God in Christ could cover a crime like that." Something like that. And a realization that I could, if it weren't for God's grace, I could commit a crime like that, a humility. Let your conversation be full of grace. Or you're standing there at Kroger, at the produce section, or Food Lion. I'm not endorsing one or the other, please. You get into all kinds of difficulties. Harris-Teeter, what are the others? Anyway, you're at a supermarket, and there's the produce. And somebody's there and you're going through. You could be silent, you could grab your cucumbers, whatever, and you could go. Or you could redeem the time. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders, and say something about Christ. And you'll say, "They'll think I'm weird!" Well, they might. Is it worth it to you, though, that you might actually get in a conversation with somebody and lead them to Christ? Is it worth it to run the risk that they'll think you're weird? "I'd rather they not think about me at all than that I might actually bring them to Christ and they'd spend eternity in the presence of God." Oh, don't do that. Pay the price. Say something about Christ. Let grace flow out. I love this one pastor who, whenever he was asked by his church people, "How are you doing?" he always answered the same way: "Better than I deserve." Well, that's a gracious answer. Better than I deserve. "What do you mean, better than I deserve? Are you some kind of secret murderer?" Say, "Well, in one sense I am. The Sermon on the Mount says that if you're angry at your brother, it's like murder." Whatever, get in a conversation! Challenge Satan's status quo, go after the lost people, that's what I'm urging. Salty Speech Now, what does it mean, "full of grace seasoned with salt"? Well, I spent a little time learning about salt. Actually, at Barnes & Noble, there's a whole book, a 400-page book on the history of salt. And you're thinking, why in the world would you buy a book like that? Well, you buy a book like that if you're an expository preacher coming to Colossians chapter 4:6 and you know you're going to have to say something about salt. And after a while, you read and you start learning some things about salt like, for example, it's the only rock that we eat. That's an interesting thought, isn't it? Are there any other rocks that you know that we eat? I don't know of any. It's indestructible by water and by fire. It's a fascinating substance, really. I asked my mother, who's a chemist, "What is salt used for in the body?" and she started getting into all these ionic transport systems, and I said, "I'm not going to tell the people that. I don't get it, so there's no point in communicating." But it's essential to the body. And when you sweat it goes out, you gotta take salt back in to live. But what did Paul mean? Now, that's the real question. And if you look at Scripture, salt is used in a variety of ways. For example, it's used to season or flavor food. And there's some kinds of food that are just tasteless without it. I was reading one of those Arabian Nights stories, and there's this sultan, and he's got these three daughters. And he wants the daughters to come into his court and express their love for him. Well, what kind of man would do that? But at any rate, the first two daughters come in, and they give a flowery speech, "You are the... " You know, all this. And then the third daughter comes, and she's quiet and more studious, and she says, "You are the salt in my food." And he's actually insulted, actually enraged, and he ends up banishing her. Well, some time later, he is traveling through, and he stops at a place for a meal. And the meal tastes terrible, bland. Well, guess who cooked it? It was his daughter. And she gets finally to make the point. You bring out the flavor in the food, alright? And so it is there's certain kinds of things, starches, potatoes, whatever, that without the salt, they're totally bland. So there's an issue of flavorful speech, something that's fascinating, something that's worth listening to, not bland. It could be that. Or it could refer to salt's preservative aspects. The fact that salt preserves meat, it's a desiccant, it dries out the meat so bacteria doesn't spread all over it. And back in the days before refrigeration, it enabled people to eat meat for long periods of time after it was slaughtered. And so it was an issue of purity, freedom from corruption. So let your conversation be pure conversation, let it be holy, let it stop gossip, let it stop slander. It comes to the salt block in you, and it just doesn't go any further, because you turn it around with a gracious statement, and then make it a Gospel opportunity. You're a salty person, and you're stopping the spread of corruption, because we're the salt of the earth. There's another aspect, too, it says that all grain offerings, in Leviticus 2:13, should be offered with salt. And so all of the grain offerings were offered with salt. Well, what does that refer to? It refers to a covenant of salt. It says, in Numbers 19, "A covenant of salt that God made with Israel." It says in Numbers 19, "I have made a covenant of salt with my people." He says in 2 Chronicles 13, that, "God gave the kingdom to David as an everlasting covenant, a covenant of salt." And so I think it goes from preservative to eternity. Something that's preserved for eternity cannot change. And so let your conversation bring people's minds up into God's eternal covenant, salvation through faith in Christ. Speak of eternal things, things worthwhile, things that are worthy of conversation. Let your conversation be rich. And so, therefore, I think you ought to ask questions of people. You ought to ask questions. Ask, "Do you ever think what happens when you die? What do you think happens when you die?" Or say, "Let's say you're on your deathbed, you're in your 80s, and you've had a successful life. And you're looking back at a successful life. What elements are in that successful life, how do you count success?" Or ask this question: "Why do you think so many lottery winners end up worse off at the end in their lives than they were before they won the lottery?" Ask a question like that. Or, "What image do you have of Heaven?" or, "What image do you have of Hell?" These kind of thoughts. Or this one: "Why do you think Jesus Christ had such an impact on human history?" Ask those kinds of questions. But let your conversation be full of grace, seasoned with salt. Reasoned Speech And why? So that you may know how to answer everyone, this is reasoned speech. Answer what? Well, they're going to ask you questions like this: "Why am I here? What is the meaning of life? What happens to me when I die? How can I get my sins forgiven?" Will you have an answer for them then? When you've lived this kind of life, and you've enticed them into the Gospel, they will ask you to give a reason for the hope that you have. Be ready and share the Gospel then. I want to close just with an exhortation. After worship today, we have a meeting, you heard it already announced. It's in the bulletin, Connection Partners, it is our attempt to reach out to visitors who come our church. We are privileged to have a steady stream of visitors to our church. Some of them that come are not believers yet. This is an opportunity for you, evangelistically, to get involved in the spread of the Gospel. Many people that come are already Christians, but many are not. Those that are already Christians may be looking for a church, they may be new to the area. It's a strategic ministry, but it's also a chance to share the Gospel. The more laborers we have for that harvest field, the fewer, or less burdened it is on any one person. Just like those that take time to pray during Sunday morning worship. So I'd urge you to give consideration to come to a relatively brief meeting, I guess it can't be that brief if there's going to be food. But at any rate, it's going to be brief enough to eat the food, and to discuss Connection Partners. And I would urge you to consider sacrificing some of your time in being part of our ministry to guests and visitors. Close with me in prayer.

In this episode of CS, we'll take a look at something many of our listeners are familiar with; at least, they think their familiar with it – Evangelicalism. Not a few of them would describe themselves as Evangelicals.  But if pressed to describe what exactly that means, they'd be hard pressed to say. And they have little to know awareness of the historical roots of the movement they are indeed a part of. // So, let's start off with a little definition of terms.Evangelicalism is a global movement within Protestantism that crosses denominational lines. Instead of Evangelicals having a comprehensive and extensive list of doctrinal distinctives, they rally round a core of just a few. At the heart of their faith is a conviction that the Gospel, or Evangel, from which they draw their name, is that salvation is by God's grace, received by faith in Jesus Christ's atoning work. Salvation commences with a conversion experience called, being “born again.” They hold to the authority of the Bible as God's Word and the priority of sharing the Gospel message.As a discernable movement, Evangelicalism took form in the 18th C. But it didn't rise out of a vacuum. There were numerous trends that merged to for m it. Most important to Evangelicalism's rise was John Wesley and the Methodists, the Moravians under the leadership of Count Zinzendorf and their community at Hernhutt, and Lutheran Pietism.As we saw in Season 1, Pietism emerged in Germany in the 17th C as a reaction to a moribund Lutheran church. It protested the cold formalism the institutional church had adopted under Protestant scholasticism. Pietists called for a faith that experienced a real relationship with God. It set high standards of piety for both clergy and laity. Pietism crossed all lines in terms of those who embraced it; from those who stayed in the State Church and followed the old rituals, to separatists who rejected such trappings.Pietism jumped its Lutheran hothouse to influence other groups. When it entered the Presbyterian realm in Britain, it took on a concern for Protestant orthodoxy, as well as an openness to revivalism, a tradition that went all the way back to the 1620s. Puritans added an emphasis on the need for personal experience of conversion to be a part of the church, as well as a dedication of individuals to the study of Scripture.With this involvement of Lutherans, Pietists, Presbyterians and Puritans, we'd assume High-Church Anglicans would have stayed far away. But the movement's appeal attracted even some of them. They brought to the burgeoning movement of Evangelicalism several traits that would mark the movement. One was a concern for recapturing the essence of “primitive Christianity,” manifest mainly in imitating the ascetic practices of early Christians, as well as a more frequent celebration of Communion than either he Presbyterian or Puritans followed. Anglicans also encouraged the forming of voluntary religious societies and groups.It was in the 1730s when Evangelicalism emerged as a distinct movement. It was a product of revivals in Old & New England. While the Church had witnessed revivals before, those of the 18th C seemed more fervent and far reaching. It began with the First Great Awakening in the 1730s in New England. Then it hopped the Pond and broke out in England & Wales. This was the time of the careers of such famous revivalist as George Whitefield and the  Wesleys. Pietism entered the Evangelical stream through several ports, but primarily through John Wesley, who was deeply impacted by the example of the Moravians.Established Christians and New Converts alike were emboldened with confidence and enthusiasm to share the Gospel, leading to the conversion of thousands more and the planting of hundreds of new churches.If we're looking for the real dynamism that infused Evangelicalism and made it such a pervasive trait of Protestantism during the 18th & 19th Cs, we could say it was the conviction of those converted to the Faith that they'd really had a supernatural experience of salvation. Their conversion had not just gained them heaven after they died; it ushered them, then and there, into a new relationship with God that became the new center and ordering principle of their lives. And while pastors and other church leaders might have a unique role to play in leading the local church, each individual Christian had equal access to God without the need for the mediation of a priestly class or ritual. Each and every Evangelical felt a very real connection to God and owned a sense of their personal responsibility to apply themselves to the practice of their faith. In other words, the duty of religion for the medieval Christian was traded in for the privilege of relationship for the modern Christian.The dawn of the 19th C was a time of increased outreach both locally and abroad with several mission societies being started. The Second Great Awakening  spanning the transition from the 18th to 19th Cs, was centered largely in the US. It boosted the ranks of Methodist and Baptist churches. Charles Finney was a major figure in this revival.19th C Evangelicalism in England carried a distinct social justice flair. British Evangelicals bore the conviction that their Faith ought to be more than a privately held affair. To be real, it ought to impact the world for good. They became leaders in the movement for reform and the end of corruption in government and commerce. They led the charge for Abolition under such notables as William Wilberforce.Toward the end of the 19th C, that party within the Methodists who'd long argued for what they called “entire sanctification” started a Holiness Movement that  separated itself from the rest of Methodism. While it was never popular in England, certain portions of rural America proved fertile soil for it.It was during the 19th C that an Irish-Anglican minister named John Darby popularized an emphasis on End Times Prophecy, a subject that had languished in obscurity for hundreds of years. This interest in the End Times was layered over Darby's system of dividing history into different eras, called dispensations, in which God's overall plan went forward with a different focus in the various dispensations.  Others took Darby's ideas and edited them to their own taste, but Dispensationalism proved to be a convenient way for people to better understand both the Bible's story and how it related to history at large. It became a part of the emerging energy within Protestantism now called Evangelicalism. What kicked Dispensationalism into high gear was the publication of the popular Scofield Reference Bible, a King James Bible with a comprehensive set of notes that helped readers parse Scripture, along Scofield's framework, that is. Through Scofield's influence, Evangelicalism adopted a literalist view of interpreting Scripture.Notable figures for the last half of 19th C Evangelicalism are CH Spurgeon & Dwight Moody. These men began a trend in Evangelicalism to see the movement led & represented by well-known religious celebrities, whose fame was tied to their ability to preach to large audiences.Founded in 1812, Princeton Theological Seminary stepped into the role of being the intellectual center of Evangelicalism from 1850 to the 1920's. Under the guidance of  Charles Hodge, Archibald Alexander, and BB Warfield, Evangelicals were armed with an erudite defense of conservative orthodoxy in that face of the challenge presented by European Liberalism. When in the 1930's, the governors of Princeton decided to open the school to Theological Liberalism, the conservatives left to start Westminster Theological Seminary. But the theological work of the Princeton theologians continues to shape the core of conservative Evangelicalism.Church h istorian Mark Noll, describes this as influence as including, a devotion to the Bible, concern for religious experience, sensitivity to the American experience, Presbyterian confessions, Reformation systematics, and Common Sense Realism, which we talked about in Season 1.[1]  Common Sense Realism was a push-back by several Scottish philosophers to the skepticism of David Hume.As Theological Liberalism pressed in to challenge the centers of Evangelicalism in the early 20th C, a reaction rose that came to be known as Fundamentalism. It drew its name from its insistence there were certain fundamentals that could not be negotiated, essentials of The Faith apart from which no one had the right to say they were a Christian. The main point of contention with Liberalism was over the inerrancy of Scripture.  This became the main point of contention because Evangelicals regard God's Word as the ultimate authority. Everything else flows from Scripture. Theological Liberals honor the Bible as a record of humanity's progress. It's instructive, but not ultimately authoritative. It's ideas at points may be inspired and it is certainly inspirational, but no more than that. Human reason, aided by the scientific method, is a superior source of knowledge. Fundamentalists replied that not only is the Bible inspired, that inspiration extends beyond its ideas to its words. The Bible isn't just the ideas of God filtered through bumbling scribes, it is the Word & words of God Himself, transmitted through human agents, who when they penned, infallibly reported what God wanted written.Needless to say, the contest between Liberals & Fundamentalists was fierce. It lives on to this day. Every decade or so, Theological Liberalism hoists its battering ram and makes another raid on the fortress of Evangelicalism's tenacious clinging to Scripture's Inspiration, Infallibility & Inerrancy. They batter the door of this Evangelical group or that denomination. And while mainstream Evangelicalism still adheres officially to the doctrine of Inerrancy, the long-range effect of the contest has been a softening round the edges, so that many Evangelicals are barely aware what's at stake in the whole debate.Up to the dawn of the 20th C, Evangelicalism was largely a white church deal centered in North America and the UK. A major boon to the energy of Evangelicalism and a subsequent movement into world missions  came about after the Welsh Revival of 1904-5. The Revival swept across Europe and reached into far-flung regions across the globe. The Azusa Street Revival of 1906 in Los Angeles birthed Pentecostalism which added even more spiritual energy and motivation to Evangelicalism.Following WWII, Evangelicals split between those who wanted to engage the culture and those who felt the best way to live was to withdraw. It seemed a reprise of the old Anglican argument between the Puritans and Separatists. In this case, the Separatists were the Fundamentalists while those who wanted to engage culture were mainstream Evangelicals. Many Evangelicals had come to regard Fundamentalists as narrow-minded moralists wed to traditions that were no longer relevant . While this is an oversimplification, let me illustrate this way . . .Fundamentalists had staunchly defended the doctrine of inerrancy, right? What they defended of course, at least in the popular sense, for the Fundamentalist on the street at least, was the King James Bible. THAT Bible was inspired & inerrant. So any other translation or version was suspect. Fundamentalists were determined defenders of The Reformation; they adored the Reformers, but were suspicious of more modern authors & theologians. That suspicion grew to be a kind of general negativity to the wider culture and society. The world was wicked, under God's wrath; something to be shunned. The result was that Fundamentalists began to be viewed by society as misanthropes. They became the subject of jokes.Most Evangelicals saw what was happening to Fundamentalism and set another course. Called   Neo-Evangelicals, they adopted a positive posture of engaging the culture through dialog and exchange. They intentionally backed down from the combative militancy that marked Fundamentalists. Instead of retreating to a theological ghetto where the only people they talked to were like them, they re-applied themselves to an intellectually-astute and Biblically-sound response to the issue facing society. They reasoned that the Gospel was a message of hope for All People, and needed to be shared in as many ways as possible; by deed, as well as in word.This led to a split between Fundamentalists & Evangelicals. Evangelicals came to regard Fundamentalists as something of an ugly cousin they wanted to avoid & disavow. Fundamentalists regarded Evangelicals as sell-outs, wishy-washy compromisers more concerned with the world's approval than God's.Over time, the ranks of Fundamentalists dwindled while those of Evangelicals swelled.The Charismatic renewal of the 1960's and early 70's saw a resurgent Pentecostalism cross denominational lines. It even swept a number of Catholic churches.Until the Charismatic Renewal, most Protestant churches were affiliated in some way with a denomination. The Renewal saw large numbers of Christians who'd previously identified with their denomination, now identifying as a Charismatic. When local pastors and denominational leaders resisted the Charismatic Renewal, those church members who were part of the renewal often left to start new churches. They established independent, non-aligned or un affiliated works. So the trend of non-denominational churches exploded. They didn't identify as Protestant so much as Evangelical because it best described their overall theological framework. As the number of non-denominational churches grew and aged, many saw a need for connection to a larger movement and began forming voluntary associations. They became a kind of non-denominational denomination.As the 20th C closed out and moved into the 21st, Evangelicalism faced a new challenge from it's old nemesis – Liberalism. Once again Liberalism morphed into a new form called Post-modernism. If classical Liberalism assailed the doctrine of Biblical Inerrancy, Post-modernism went after Truth as a whole.[1]  Mark A. Noll, The Princeton Theology 1812–1921 (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2001), 13.

This 126th episode of CS is titled, Yet Again.Donations to keep the CS host site up are welcome and needed. You can do so at sanctorum.us. Just look for the “Donate” link.In the last episode, we considered the Second Great Awakening and ended with this . . .By the 1850s the United States was thriving, largely because of the benefits brought by the Awakening. The Mid-West was being developed, the economy booming. People made 18% interest on their investments. But as is so often the case, economic prosperity turned into a neglect of the Spirit. The pursuit of pleasure replaced the pursuit of God. The nation was politically divided over the issue of slavery.  And it wasn't just States that were divided. Churches and denominations split over itInto this national argument that ended up tearing the country in two was added a dose of religious turmoil.A veteran and farmer named William Miller rediscovered the doctrine of the 2nd Coming. For generations, most of the Church considered Bible prophesy a closed book. Miller began teaching on the Return of Christ. But he made the mistake many have and said Christ would return in 1844. About a million people followed his views.  When it didn't happen, they were bitterly disillusioned because they'd sold their homes, businesses, and farms. Skeptics piled on the fanaticism of the Millerites and fired up a new round of mocking faith.  Then, in 1857, things began to change.Another revival began as a movement of prayer. It was leaderless, though it produced several notable leaders.In September 1857, a businessman named Jeremiah Lanphier printed up a leaflet on the importance of prayer. It announced there would be a weekly prayer meeting at Noon, in the upper room of the North Dutch Reformed Church in Manhattan. When the time for the first meeting came, only Lanphier was there. He prayed anyway and at 12:35, six more businessmen on their lunch break came up the stairs. They prayed till 1 pm. As they broke up to return to work, they agreed they'd been so moved, they'd meet the following week at the same time and place.The next week, their number doubled to 14. They sensed something special was about to happen and agreed to meet every day, Monday-Saturday in that room at Noon. A few weeks later the room overflowed and they filled the basement, then the main sanctuary. A nearby Methodist Church opened its doors for noontime prayer. When it filled, Trinity Episcopal Church opened. Then church after church filled with people praying at noon, Monday-Saturday; mostly businessmen on their lunch break.Throughout the remainder of 1857, prayer meetings spread throughout the States. In Feb. 1858, New York newspaper editor Horace Greeley sent a reporter out to cover the story of the growing movement. The reporter went by horse and buggy and was able to make a dozen stops during the noon hour. He estimated there were over 6000 businessmen praying at those stops. Greeley was so surprised he made the story the next day's headline. Other papers didn't want to be outdone, so they began to report on the revival.The publicity further fanned the flames and more began showing up. Soon every auditorium and hall in downtown NY was filled.  Then, theaters filled.We might wonder what were these prayer meetings like. They were run by laymen, not professional clergy. Pastors were often present but did not conduct the meetings. They might be asked to open pray or read a scripture, but then the meeting was turned over to fifty minutes or more of prayer.There was a remarkable sense of unity that marked the meetings. Those who attended came from different churches but were cautious about debating doctrines. There was more a concern to focus on the things they agreed on. They were there to pray and that's what they did.At one prayer meeting in Michigan led by a layman, he said, “I see my pastor and the Methodist minister are here. Will one of you read a scripture and the other pray, then we'll get started.”  They did, then the laymen said, “I'm not used to this kind of public and impromptu prayer so we'll follow the example we've read about in the NY papers. We have so many here today please write your request down then pass them to the front. We'll read them one at a time, and pray over each one.”The first request said, “A praying wife asks the prayers of this company for the conversion of her husband who's far from God.” (That's certainly a common request.) But immediately a blacksmith stood up and said, “My wife prays for me. I must be that man. I need to be converted. Would you please pray for me?” A lawyer said, “I think my wife wrote that note because I know I'm far from God.”  Five men all claimed the request was surely for them. All were converted in a matter of just a few minutes.This was common at the beginning of the revival. People were converted during the prayer meetings. They'd simply express their need for salvation then would be prayed for by the rest.One minister stood up and said he'd stayed till 3 PM the day before answering the questions of those who wanted Christ. He announced his church would be open each evening from then on for the preaching of the Gospel. Soon, every church was holding similar meetings.As the revival spread across the States, 10,000 were converted each week. In Newark, NJ, of a population of 70,000; 2,785 were brought to faith in 2 months. At Princeton University, almost half the students came to Christ and half of those entered full-time ministry.The revival swept the colleges of the nation.On Feb. 3rd, 1858 in Philadelphia, a dozen men moved their daily prayer meeting from the outskirts of the city to downtown. They met at the James Theater, the largest in The City. A couple weeks later sixty were attending. By the end of March, 6,000 were literally crammed in.That Summer, churches united to hold mass services. They erected big-top tents and conducted evangelistic meetings that thousands flocked to. In Ohio, 200 towns reported 12,000 converts in just two months. In Indiana, 150 small towns saw 4,500 come to Christ.In two years, of a national population of 30 million, 2 million made a profession of faith.Edwin Orr remarks that this points up the difference between Evangelism and Revival. In evangelism, the evangelist seeks the sinner. In revival, sinners come running to God. It was during this Revival that a young shoe salesman went to the Sunday School director of the Congregational Church in Chicago and said he wanted to teach a class. He was turned down because there were sixteen ahead of him waiting to teach. They put him on the wait-list. He told the director, “I want to do something NOW.”The director said, “Okay – start a class.”  He asked, “How?”He was told to “Go get boys off the street, take them to the country and teach them how to behave, then bring them in.”He went out to the alleys, gathered up a dozen street urchins and took them to the beach on Lake Michigan. He taught them Bible games and Scripture. Then brought them to the church where he was given a closet to hold his class.  That was the beginning of the ministry of Dwight Lyman Moody who went on to preach all over the US and England and led tens of thousands to Christ.Today, we're accustomed to the secular press giving a cold shoulder to the things of God. That's not new; it's usually that way. Even during times of revival, the world tends to stand back and wait for it to pass. They may give grudging acknowledgment of the good fruit revival brings, but they always dig up some critic who dismisses it as religious fanaticism and emotionalism.  So the Revival of 1857-8 stands out because the secular press received it with enthusiasm. Maybe because it was a movement that began in the sophisticated urban centers of the nation and spread their first. It was called The Businessman's Revival. These weren't backwoods, country hicks who were “getting religion.” They were educated, literate, successful people being profoundly changed for the better. In a day when nearly everyone read the newspaper, they were familiar with the revival because it consistently made headlines. There was near-universal approval of it.Yes, it had a few critics, but their objections were dismissed as the grousing of unreasonable skeptics and the envious. The Anglicans were at first against it, until their churches began filling with seekers; then they approved of it as they saw its glorious effect. The same happened among the Lutherans.The prayer meetings were marked by order. And the conversions were as frequent among the older and more mature members of a community as the younger.It quickly spread up into Canada, then across the Atlantic to Ireland, Scotland, and England where conservative estimates say 10% of the population was brought to faith in Christ.  In London, every theater and auditorium was filled for prayer. It was during this time Charles Spurgeon built the Metropolitan Tabernacle and Hudson Taylor started the China Inland Mission.  Just a mile from where Taylor started, William Booth formed the Salvation Army.All of these came out of the Revival of 1857-9. The revival spilled over into Europe and reached India. The Dutch Reformed Church of South Africa still celebrates the revival for the huge impact it had on them. Jamaica was covered as were numerous other cities and nations.What I'd like to note as we end this episode is the date of this revival. Its peak was from 1857-60. A few years later the US was torn in two by the Civil War; a bloody chapter in my nation's history. Many of those who died in the war were saved in the Revival.This seems to be a consistent pattern of revival; that it takes place just prior to a major war. Dr. Orr says that this has been a consistent pattern throughout our nation's history.The First Great Awakening occurred shortly before the Revolutionary War. The Second before the War of 1812. The Revival of 1857-8 before the Civil War. The Welsh Revival that so affected Great Britain, Europe, and the US came right before WWI. It's as though God pours out His Spirit to reap a harvest before evil falls and there's a great loss of life.

This episode of CS is titled Awakening.The tide of Pietism that swept portions of Europe in the 17th C, arrived in North America in the 18th. Like the Charismatic Movement of the 1960s, Protestant denominations were split over how to respond to Pietism. Presbyterians were divided between those who insisted on strict adherence to the teachings of the Westminster Confession and those whose emphasis was on having an experience of saving grace. The two sides eventually reunited, but not before the contention became so sharp, it led to a rift. That reached its zenith, or nadir might be a better descriptive, during The Great Awakening.As we saw in our last episode, the Half-Way Covenant of New England allowed people to be members of the Church, without being saved; a formula for disaster. The Half-Way Covenant, along with the assault of the pseudo-intellectualism of the Enlightenment, resulted in a creeping spiritual lethargy among the churches of the English colonies. Jonathan Edwards, who became one of the main luminaries of The Great Awakening, remarked before it began that the spiritual condition of New England was abysmal.The first stirrings of revival began as movements in local churches five to ten years before the Great Awakening. There'd even been some minor revivals in Northampton during the time of Edwards' grandfather, Solomon Stoddard in the 1720s.Theodore Frelinghuysen was a Dutch Reformed pastor who'd come to North America to pastor four churches in New Jersey. Frelinghuysen was what's called a Precisionist, a Dutch version of an English Puritan. Puritanism was exported to Holland by William Ames where it was referred to as Precisionism.Pastor Frelinghuysen discerned a general spiritual malaise in all four of his congregations there in New Jersey; an appalling lack of practical piety. So he decided to embark on a program of reform. He started visiting people in their homes. He enforced church discipline and preached fervent evangelistic sermons. A few opposed these innovations, but he persevered and the churches began to grow with genuine conversions resulting in a warming up of the entire congregation in their fervency for the things of God. It was the first stirrings of revival, which spread to other Dutch Reformed churches. By 1726, Frelinghuysen was recognized as a leader of revival.The Presbyterians of New Jersey saw what was happening among their Dutch neighbors and soon joined the revival under the work of the father and son team, William and Gilbert Tennent.But when it comes to The Great Awakening, the name most closely associated with it is Jonathan Edwards.Edwards is considered by many to be one of the most brilliant minds in American history. He wasn't just a great theologian. He was a top-rank philosopher and scientist. Edwards is sometimes presented as a fiery preacher in the Puritan vein. The popular notion of him is that he was a revivalist-preacher of a mien similar to George Whitefield. His most famous sermon was Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. The title alone gives one the impression of a wild-eyed and crazy-haired pulpit-pounder. But that image is far from what Edwards was really like. He was reserved and tended toward shyness. He was more at home in his study among his books than in a pulpit. Edwards spent ten hours a day studying. His messages were filled with theology and their delivery was not the kind of fire and brimstone preaching many assume. His style was to virtually read his messages. That's not to say his delivery was wooden, but descriptions of it remarked on the lack of gestures or inflection of voice. Flamboyance was nowhere in sight when Edwards spoke. He trusted in the eloquence and logic of his message to persuade, rather than by affecting a dramatic persona. If there was grandeur in his message, it was due to WHAT he said, rather than in HOW he said it.Edwards was a PK; a pastor's kid. His father Timothy was a minister in the town of East Windsor, Connecticut. By the age of thirteen, he'd master Greek, Hebrew, and Latin. He wrote essays on scientific matters and penned one on the behavior of insects that became famous. As a teen, he read and consumed the ideas of Sir Isaac Newton. He graduated from Yale at seventeen.It was during his college years his relationship with God deepened into rich intimacy. All of that grew out of the time he spent studying the nature and character of God.Edwards added two more years of post-graduate studies then took a pastorate at a small church in New York for only a couple of months. That was followed by a stint as a tutor at Yale for another two years. In 1727, he became an assistant pastor to his grandfather, Solomon Stoddard at Northampton, Mass. Also at that time, he married Sarah Pierpont.When Edwards took up his ministry at Northampton in 1727, he found the church to be spiritually dull, even though it had been the scene of earlier stirrings of the Spirit under Stoddard's leadership. When Stoddard died in 1729, Edwards stepped into the role of senior pastor.He decided to address the spiritual apathy of the congregation by preaching a series of five sermons on justification by faith. He rightly diagnosed the real problem at Northampton wasn't laziness or moral sloppiness; it was an absence of good theology. Instead of preaching the need for repentance and obedience, he focused on the glory of God in the Gospel of Christ. Sure enough, a season of renewal came as people recommitted themselves to follow Jesus. The messages weren't calculated to elicit an emotional response, but they did. People responded with a remarkable moral and spiritual change, often with intense emotion.After several months, the movement spread thru out Massachusetts and into Connecticut. After three years it began to diminish. But the memory of revival endured, with many hoping for it to be renewed.In 1737, Edwards decided to pen a chronicle of what had happened over the previous three years. It was titled, A Faithful Narrative of the Surprising Work of God in the Conversion of Many Hundreds of Souls in Northampton. That's the title; not the actual text of the whole thing. The Narrative as it's more conveniently referred to, is what established Jonathan Edwards as the main person associated with Revival.In 1739, George Whitefield visited New England. Though Edwards and Whitefield represented different flavors of the Faith, they were both deeply committed to the Preaching of the Gospel. Edwards helped arrange Whitefield's campaign through the area of Boston then on to Northampton where Edwards turned his pulpit over to the great preacher. The winds of renewal that had waned a few years before strengthened once more.Then Edwards was invited to speak at the church in Enfield, Connecticut in 1741. His message was titled, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. Reading the text of the sermon today one might assume it was delivered in the ham-fisted, “fire and brimstone” manner of a fanatic. But as we've seen, that was not Edward's style. Nor did he deliver it in the monotone some later reports suggest. He spoke as a man convinced of his topic; urging his listeners to make sure they'd embraced the Grace of God. The sermon paints a terrifying picture of eternal damnation; something Edwards aimed to make clear. Because as historian George Marsden says, Edwards didn't preach anything new to his hearers. They were well acquainted with the Gospel as a remedy for sin. The problem was getting them to seek it.While revival was already building, Edwards' sermon at that church in Enfield was a crystalizing moment in The Great Awakening. If the coals had been getting hot they now burst into flames that spread all over New England and to the other colonies, even across the Atlantic to settle in England and the Continent.As welcome as The Great Awakening might have seemed, some ministers opposed it. Their opposition stemmed from their resistance to the emotionalism that became a mark of the Revival. People wept in repentance then shouted for joy at being saved. Some were so emotionally wrought over the process of their conversion, they fainted. A few who were psychologically fragile exhibited what can only be called bizarre behavior.Such reactions led the enemies of the Great Awakening to accuse its leaders of undermining the solemnity of worship, and of substituting emotion for scholarship. Since it's the tendency to stick labels on movements, supporters of the Awakening were called New Lights, while those who opposed it were called Old Lights.Edwards made clear in his writings that he believed emotion was important. But emotion, including the intense experience of conversion, should never eclipse doctrine and orderly worship.At first, Baptists opposed the Awakening, labeling it frivolous and superficial. But so many of the new converts were inclined to agree with Baptist positions that they ended up becoming Baptists. When the Baptists saw all these new members, their opinion of the Revival changed. Most notable was the conviction among the new converts that baptism ought to be of those who profess faith in Christ, not infants. Entire Congregationalists and Presbyterian congregations became Baptists.The Great Awakening sent Baptists and Methodists to the Western frontier. Settlers continually pushed the Frontier westward. It was Methodist and Baptist missionaries who took up the task of preaching to them and planting frontier churches. So those two groups became the most numerous out West.It's difficult to estimate how many conversions took place during the Great Awakening but gauging by fairly accurate church records taken over that time indicate a conservative number of ten percent of Americans came to Faith. In some communities, it was much higher than that. Keep in mind that was in the midst of a society already considered thoroughly Christian.Besides the obvious spiritual effects of the Great Awakening, it had a notable political impact in the British colonies of North America. It was the first movement to include all thirteen colonies. A new sense of commonality developed in which the emerging unique identity as Americans, as opposed to British, took root alongside the idea that to be an American meant to be a Christian of Protestant stripe.The Great Awakening propelled a wave of missionary activity. David Brainerd, Jonathan Edwards, and others preached to the Indians, and some effort was made to reach blacks with the gospel. Among the colleges birthed at that time were Princeton, Rutgers, Brown, and Dartmouth. Dartmouth trained Indians to serve as missionaries to their own people.Edwards continued in his role as pastor till 1750 when a controversy saw him removed.Edwards believed Communion ought to be given only to those church members who'd demonstrated a genuine conversion experience, as per the Pietistic belief. His grandfather, the previous pastor, had relaxed the traditional Puritan practice and allowed what we'll call ‘unconverted church members' to partake of the Lord's Supper. Stoddard regarded Communion as a “converting experience.” He thought regular attendance at the Lord's Table would be something the Holy Spirit could use to bring conviction and salvation to a needy soul. Edwards disagreed, viewing Communion as open only to those who were converted.By 1750, Edwards had come to this position though at odds with the tradition of the church he pastored. When he tried to implement a change in practice, they released him. Yep, they canned him. It was then that he embarked on his mission of taking the Gospel to the Indians at Stockbridge, Mass. It was while engaged in that work that he wrote his most famous work – Freedom of the Will.I want to share a little story from the life of Jonathan Edwards that may give us some insight into the man. After fourteen years of marriage, in January of 1742, something happened to his wife Sarah. She had an intense religious experience. Some historians think it was a nervous breakdown. Edward was away on a preaching tour. His pulpit was being filled by Samuel Buell who gave a series of sermons with profound impact on Sarah. She was overwhelmed to the point of fainting. Her condition was such that she was unable to take care of her children, who were sent to stay with neighbors till John returned a few weeks later.The town was abuzz with the nature of her condition. Was it some kind of spiritual ecstasy or an emotional breakdown? When John returned, he of course immediately went to her to see what was wrong. She related to him that she'd experienced God's goodness as never before; as she didn't even know was possible. She said the joy and security she now had was so intense it was at times debilitating.John's reaction was interesting. He affirmed she'd had a visitation from God. Keep in mind we're talking here about hard-core, strict Calvinist; not a Pentecostal or even a more mild Charismatic.After a few weeks, Sarah recovered and returned to the normal activities of life. But John said from then on Sarah maintained a peace and joy that transformed her. In writing about the effects of the revival, while Edwards doesn't name his wife, it's clear some of what he chronicled were things he witnessed in his own wife when she was filled with the Holy Spirit in 1742.In 1757, Edwards was appointed president of Princeton, known then as the College of New Jersey. A short time later, he volunteered to be a test subject for a smallpox vaccine. Which instead of inoculating him against the disease, claimed his life in 1758.One of my favorite teachers is J. Edwin Orr. When Orr died in 1987, he was recognized by many as the 20th Century's foremost expert on Revival. He spent his last years living a few miles from where I am now, in CA. My good friend and fellow pastor David Guzik befriended Orr's widow, who passed many of Dr. Orr's books, writings, and recordings on to him for posterity's sake. David has faithfully made that material available online at jedwinorr.com .The eminent New Testament scholar FF Bruce said, “Some men read history, some write it, and others make it. So far as the history of religious revivals is concerned, J. Edwin Orr belongs to all three categories.”Orr tells remarkable stories of the impact of revival on society. The many revivals he chronicles don't merely add a bunch of new church members; they have an astounding impact in moral revolution. Orr shares that during some revivals, because there was no crime, the Police organized singing groups to sing in churches because they had nothing else to do. There were a number of business failures; pubs and other enterprises that thrive on vice folded.One unforeseen effect during the Welsh Revival was that there was a work stoppage in the coal mines of Wales. For years, the mules that pulled the coal carts were used to hearing the miners curse at them. But when so many miners converted during the Revival, they refused to curse anymore and the mules no longer heard the profane commands telling them to move. Work in the mines stalled till the mules were retrained to respond to the now clean speech of the joyous miners.If you're interested in more such interesting stories, I encourage you to head over to jedwinorr.com for more.And I want to also encourage you to check our David Guzik's website at enduringword.com.David is one of the premier Bible expositors online today. His free commentary is used by many thousands of pastors, professors, Bible teachers and students all over the world.Donations of any size to CS are welcome. You can do so at sanctorum.us // Thanks.