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Wake Up Call!

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We’ve all had it happen. That abrupt, intrusive, and startling awakening while lost in sleep. It’s annoying at best and at worse, can make you angry at whoever, or whatever was the source of disturbance. Yet in Revelation 3 a message is delivered by God the Father’s Heavenly Alarm Clock – Jesus. Revelation 3:2-3 states, Rouse yourselves and keep awake, and strengthen and invigorate what remains and is on the point of dying; for I have not found a thing that you have done [any work of yours] meeting the requirements of My God or perfect in His sight.3 So call to mind the lessons you received and heard; continually lay them to heart and obey them, and repent. In case you will not rouse yourselves and keep awake and watch, I will come upon you like a thief, and you will not know or suspect at what hour I will come. AMPC

From chapters one to three startling images intrude upon all who read the unveiling, apocalyptic messages from Jesus. For example, while John is in the Spirit worshipping, a “Man on Fire” appears. Not in front of, but from behind him. If that wasn’t bad enough Revelation 1:10 records: “…a great voice like the calling of a war trumpet,…” AMPC

The AMPC translates this as a “war trumpet,” drawing upon a Hebraic understanding of the type of trumpet used by watchmen on the walls of a city warning its citizens of approaching danger. This war trumpet wasn’t like the silver trumpets used in Solomons Temple calling people to prayer, or worship through sacrifice. No, this was what is known as a shofar, or rams horn. It was used by soldiers in battle, and prophets anointing men to become kings.

Imagine. You are John trying to worship in the Spirit and the sound of a war trumpet blasts and blares in your ear. And don’t forget: it’s coming from behind you. This imagery occurs throughout Revelation addressed to churches and their members. Jesus appears walking among seven blazing menorahs, wielding a sharp, two-edged sword – from His mouth! His eyes and feet are on fire, threatening to strike their children with a rod of iron with which He rules and reigns. He knocks on the door of a church, calling out to any who would listen, opening doors in the heavens, trumpeting for John (and all who heed His Voice and overcome) to Come Up Here; to enter God’s Throne room; to see prophetic events about to occur. This was, and still is, a rude awakening for Last Days saints who fall asleep under the spell of a satanic lullaby.

But, Jesus in His Mercy calls to saints and sinners, Spirit-filled followers and prodigals – Repent! Change your thinking. Be transformed or “metamorpho-sized” in your lifestyle, and actions. Be zealous! Be on FIRE! Pay the price to purchase what it takes to awaken, hear His invitation, and sit on His Throne.

But where do you begin? The answer lies in waking up – setting aside a time to keep an appointment with Him. The Jewish emphasis on 10 Days of Awe is a good place to begin. Why stop at ten days? Why not make a commitment to meet daily – before any thing else? You may say, Well, Robert, I’m not a morning person. The believers throughout the Bible understood that. That’s why they set aside three times a day to meet with God through thanksgiving, praise, worship and prayer. You can set aside your lunch time. You can set aside time to meet and connect before going to bed. But I caution you. Over the years I have had people take me aside and say, Pastor, if I win the lottery, get a new job, or a raise – the church is going to be the first place I make a donation. Can I counsel you in something? If you aren’t giving with your little you will most definitely not give with your surplus. What’s the point? If you do not value meeting with Jesus in the morning you will most certainly not meet with Him at another time of day. May I encourage you to take this holy season to make a fresh commitment to wake up and draw near to Jesus. Pray and ask for His Grace to Wake Up. Tis the season!

The Moravians Part Two

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“….fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. 2 And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord filled the Lord’s house.” – 2 Chronicles 7:1-2

An entry in the journal of Von Zinzendorf: December 18, 1734 “I was but 10 years old when I began to direct my companions to Jesus as their redeemer. My deficiency in knowledge was compensated by sincerity. Now I am 37 and though I have made various experiences, yet in the main, my mind has undergone no change. My zeal has not cooled….I will continue, as heretofore, to win souls for my precious Savior…I shall endeavor to imitate the labors of my brethren who have the honor of being the first messengers to the heathen…”

The Moravians were honored to be “Ambassadors for Christ,” even though where they were going meant sure death, and they knew it. Up until that day and age, an organized system of spreading the Gospel to the lost of the world was nonexistent, especially to civilizations in the most desperate places. The commission of Jesus, Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature…(Mark 16:15), had no relevancy to the European churches. The Protestant churches of that day were too locked in theological debates and internal dissension to even care about the rest of the world. That was about to change. The missionary outreach that would explode out of the “Moravian Revival” was so full of passion, zeal, and compassion for the lost it had to be direct from the heart of God. Sure death meant nothing to them. Many sold themselves into lifelong slavery in places like Suriname in South America just so they could spread the Gospel to closed societies. The Moravians were the first missionaries to the slaves of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands. They went to Supland, Greenland, the West Indies, New Guinea, from the Arctic Circle to the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. A Zinzendorf hymn reflected their conviction: “Ambassadors of Christ, know ye the way to go; It leads unto the jaws of death, is strewn with thorns and woe.” But a lot had to take place before this unheard-of mission of bold evangelism could be attempted. – Excerpt from The Fire That Once Was, by Frank DiPietro

The Intercessor John Welsh

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Frank Di Pietro, The Fire That Once Was: John Welsh prayed. It was said of John Welsh that he thought a day “ill-used” if he did not spend seven to eight hours of it in prayer. At different times throughout the day he would stop what he was doing, retire to a secluded room or location, and boldly go before the throne of grace, that he might obtain mercy and find grace to help him in his time of need. (Heb. 4:16). It was his prayer life that sustained him. It was prayer that strengthened him in the trials and persecutions that were leveled against him. It was prayer that gave him the fortitude to continue preaching the Gospel in the face of adversity and peril. It was prayer that increased his intimacy with his Savior. It was prayer that not only changed the hearts of thousands but also an entire town to the things of God. It is said that the power in which a man walks in God is a reflection of the time he spends in prayer, and, oh, what power John Welsh walked in. You see, John Welsh prayed…. John Welsh, at the age of twenty, was on his way to his first ministry position. It was in the city of Selkirk, about thirty-eight miles south of Edinburgh (Scotland). His extraordinary character, intensity, and fervor for a moral and godly point of view, along with his unremitting and untiring zeal, soon led him to become an object of dislike and jealousy both to the clergy and the laymen of the organized church in the district where he was now living. The hatred with which he was persecuted by his peers, along with the realization of the lostness of the people, led him into a lifetime of intense prayer. It was here in Selkirk, a time of constant struggle, that he began his eight hours of daily prayer which he continued the rest of his life. Selkirk was a hard town. The people were poorly educated and, as Welsh says in his own words, “uncouth.” They refused to listen to him because they were content with the dead religion those in charge had been giving them. They resisted his ministry even to the point of violence. Welsh labored among the people of Selkirk for six years and it was a constant struggle. He would preach publicly once or twice each day, but to no avail. Praying unceasingly about the barbaric actions of the townsfolk, he would not let a night go by without the town witnessing his passionate and intense devotions before the Lord. Every night before going to bed, he would place a Scotch plaid (small blanket or shawl) on the side of the bed, that when he awoke in the cold of the night for his midnight prayers it would be handy to wrap around his shoulders. Agonizing with God in prayer he would ask that these hearts be changed, or that he be removed to a more suitable place for the Gospel. The answer would come soon.

The one good thing that came out of his sojourn in Selkirk was his marriage in 1594 to Elizabeth Knox, the youngest daughter of the mighty Scottish reformer John Knox. Knox is remembered for bringing a countrywide move of God that changed the whole of Scotland for a time. It was Knox that passionately cried out to God in prayer, “Give me Scotland, or I die.” So now another great man of prayer through marriage had been given the torch of revival for the land. Elizabeth was a positive influence on Welsh; being brought up from early years in the principles of Holy Scripture, she was a worthy helpmate in the trials and sufferings for the Gospel’s sake that would continue throughout their lives.