Act 2:38-39 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
One of the greatest moves of God took place in 1727 on the estate of Count Zinzendorf. Count Zinzendorf was a strong believer who was deeply influenced by the faith of his grandmother and aunt. At the tender age of 22, he opened a portion of his estate to refugees seeking asylum from the religious persecution throughout Europe.
After five years, this fledgling settlement of three hundred was growing; but in the midst of their growth, divisions were arising among the brethren over doctrinal issues. Then on May 22, 1727, the Moravians made a covenant with Zinzendorf whereby they committed themselves to the Lord, confessed the sin of religious quarreling, and “sincerely renounced self-love, self-will, and disobedience … deciding, each one, to be led by the Holy Spirit in all things.”
Later that same year, on August 13th, after a week of fasting and prayer, the Moravians, whose average age was around 30, were gathered when an outpouring of the Holy Spirit took place. Count Zinzendorf called it the Moravian Pentecost. This led to over one hundred years of continuous prayer, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, which supplied spiritual power to one of the longest sustained outreaches the world has ever known. The revivals led by the Wesley brothers that took place in the United States and England were a direct result of the Moravians. In 1867, one of the earliest missions established in the Modern State of Israel was also fruit of this move of God.
So what can we learn from this amazing revival? First, it began when the brethren laid down their differences and came together in prayer, determined also to lay down their lives for the Gospel’s sake. Secondly, the outpouring of the Spirit is always connected to spreading the Gospel in power, which leads to widespread radical change in the world of that generation.
As we approach the feast of Shavuout (Pentecost), let’s be stirred with a sense of urgency, also….to lay down our differences as believers, and then lay down our lives for the Gospel, so we can be eagerly expecting to be renewed with the power of God — not only for our own spiritual quickening but for all the souls who have yet to receive this awesome gift! With so much work to be done — let’s do it in His Power!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]The Festival of Purim, which we celebrate on the 14th of Adar—the last month in the Biblical calendar—begins this Thursday evening and continues through Friday evening this year. Although Purim isn’t one of the moedim, or appointed festivals named in the Torah, it arose in the 4th century BC and has been cherished ever since.
In the Book of Kings, when King Solomon began his reign, God asked him, “What shall I give you?” He replied, “I am a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in” (1 Kings 3:7). Such a phrase seems curious, yet it holds deep significance. It is echoed throughout Scripture, revealing a principle that intimacy with God leads to victory!
When Yeshua (Jesus) went into the synagogue in Nazareth and was handed the scroll of Isaiah to read [Luke 4:18], He opened it to the passage we know of as Isaiah 61, a powerful Messianic proclamation filled with hope and promise and fresh with the joyful good news of His arrival. After reading the passage He immediately declared that it was fulfilled in the hearing of those present. The first response was amazement and wonder that the carpenter’s son was so gracious a communicator. But this did not last, as Yeshua immediately challenged his audience with a prophetic expectation…that they would reject Him, which they immediately did…nevertheless…
F.B. Meyer once said, “The education of our faith is incomplete [till] we learn that God’s providence works through loss…that there’s a ministry to us through the failure and fading of things. The dwindling brook where Elijah sat is a picture of our lives.
Most people reading this passage tend to focus in on the fruit that is produced. Okay…But a closer look will reveal that the Lord is really focusing on the tree. The fruit merely demonstrates the quality of the tree. We have all encountered this: there are trees whose fruit is healthy and delicious, and there are trees whose fruit is scarcely edible, or even useless.
One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on in every person. He said, “My son, the battle is between two ‘wolves’. One is evil — it is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other is good…
There’s an interesting story about the great English actor, Macready. A respected preacher once asked him, “I wish you would explain something to me.”