1. Revival is directly given by the Sovereignty of God. For example, in 1746 Pastor Timothy Johnes saw revival in his church. He wrote about it in his journal:
"The lives of men and women who were formally unconcerned were now marked by deep feelings and much anxiety as they awoke to a knowledge of the nature of sin and of the justice of God. Ninety-four were added to the Morristown Church in that one year." page 47It is my experience in ministry that when the Gospel is preached (forgiveness of sins and a new heart) authentic faith often flows. At the same time is my experience that when easy believism is preached, many may respond but most show no fruit of authentic faith.
2. The early missionaries are some of my heroes. After the great revival at Princeton seminary, John McMillan gave his life to missions. He and his wife moved west of the Application mountains, to reach Native Americans with the Gospel. Iain Murray does a great job describing the conditions they chose to live in for the sake of reaching others with the Gospel. McMillan could not take his worldly possessions with him across the mountain range. He had nothing but a few cloths for him and his wife. Later he wrote, "We did not doubt but that God would provide for us every thing necessary." And He did.
3. I pray my generation and younger generations will grasp a heart for missions that was evident in the early church fathers. It should be noted that, those mentioned by Murray in chapter two have Calvinistic roots. From Jonathan Edwards to George Whitefield. Nearly every early missionary in Church history were Calvinistic in their view of salvation. This may come as a shock to some who say, "Missions and Calvinism can not go hand in hand." That statement is just not true. As sill exist today, Calvinism fueled their view of missions. God is sovereign!
No comments:
Post a Comment