Blog

Today’s talk is the fifth in a series given recently at Lee Abbey.

1. Come to me Weary!
2. Come to me Dirty!
3. Come to me Hungry!
4. Come to me Thirsty!
5. Come and See, then Go and Be!

Here are a few juicy bits if you haven’t the time to listen:

You won’t have heard of Edward Kimball. This man was becoming increasingly active in church and wanted to make an impact with the youth. His constant refrain was ‘come and see’. There was one lad he saw great potential in but just wasn’t able get through to. In the end, Kimball just decided to go the shoe store where the young man worked. Kimball found him in the back of the store wrapping shoes. Nervously he put his hand on his shoulder and started sharing a brief gospel message. It was short and to the point: Christ loves you and all He asks is for you to accept that, and for you to love Him in return. With that Kimball was gone. As things turned out that young lad did accept Christ. He was D.L. Moody, who became an amazing evangelist.

Years later at one of Moody’s revivals, a man by the name of Wilbur Chapman was invited along by friends to come and see what all the fuss was about, and he accepted God’s direction for his life. Chapman also became an evangelist, preaching to thousands.

One dynamic sportsman chose to come and see Chapman preaching – none other than the professional baseball player Billy Sunday, who not only desired to follow Christ, but quit his career and joined Chapman in his travels. As time went on Chapman led some big outreaches with the help of Mordecai Ham, another man whose life was transformed by Christ. Soon afterwards, Mordecai found himself in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Meantime, Albert McMakin was a 24-year-old farmer who had come to faith in Christ. He was so full of enthusiasm that he filled a truck with people and took them to a meeting where Mordecai Ham was preaching. He wanted them all to come and see what was going on, and to hear about Jesus. There was a farmer friend’s son whom he especially wanted to get to the meetings, but this young man was hard to persuade. He was busy falling in and out of love with different girls and didn’t seem to be interested at all. Eventually, McMakin managed to persuade him to come by asking him to drive the truck. When they arrived, Albert’s guest decided to go in. He was spellbound and began to have thoughts he had never known before. He went back again and again until one night he went forward and gave his life to Jesus Christ. That young man, the driver of the truck, was Billy Graham. The year was 1934. The rest is history.

We can all be like McMakin and bring people to Jesus.

“…and Andrew brought him to Jesus.” (John 1:42) We don’t hear much more about Andrew except that he was always bringing people to Jesus. “Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” (John 6:8,9) “Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.” (John 12:20-22)

Indeed we don’t hear much more about Andrew in the Bible – he was the first disciple, a fisherman from Bethsaida, and privileged to be in on the action with Jesus; and apparently, he was crucified on 30 November 60AD, by order of the Roman governor Aegeas. He was tied to an X-shaped cross in Greece, and this has been represented by the white cross on the Scottish flag, the Saltire, since at least 1385. He’s the patron Saint of Scotland, but also Greece, Russia and Barbados!

So we don’t have much information on him really, but Simon Peter, his brother, went on to be one of the greatest influences in the history of Christianity. We cannot all be Simon Peters, but we can all do what Andrew did – we can bring people to Jesus.

Today’s talk is the fourth in a series given recently at Lee Abbey.

1. Come to me Weary!
2. Come to me Dirty!
3. Come to me Hungry!
4. Come to me Thirsty!

Here are a few juicy bits if you haven’t the time to listen:

“Lord, please put salt on my lips that I might thirst more after you.”

Augustine

The revival on Lewis (1949-1952) was steeped in prayer. Seven men and two old ladies had decided to pray and not stop until God visited them in a powerful way. One night, at a prayer meeting held in a barn, one of them said, “It seems to me just so much sentimental humbug to be praying as we are praying, to be waiting as we are waiting here, if we ourselves are not rightly related to God.” He asked God to reveal if his own hands were clean and his own heart was pure. Suddenly God’s awesome presence swept the barn. They came to see that there was a direct correlation between revival and holiness. A power was let loose that night that shook the island. A man arrived and felt compelled to go to church and get right with God. People had visions in their own homes.  

Duncan Campbell had been preaching at a conference in Bangor, Northern Ireland. He was due to stand up and preach when the Lord told him to leave immediately and go to Lewis. He told the man who had invited him that he simply had to go. Arriving as soon as he could in Lewis, he found that they were all waiting for him!  The stories are truly extraordinary.

Campbell shares: “Over 100 young people were at the dance in the parish hall and they weren’t thinking of God or eternity. They were there to have a good night when suddenly the power of God fell upon the dance. The music ceased and in a matter of minutes, the hall was empty. They fled from the hall as a man fleeing from a plague. And they made for the church. They are now standing outside. Oh, yes – they saw lights in the church. That was a house of God and they were going to it and they went. Men and women who had gone to bed rose, dressed, and made for the church. 

At another meeting, “suddenly, the power of God fell upon the congregation. Of course in Lewis and in other islands of the Hebrides, they stand to pray, they sit to sing. And now, one side of the church threw their hands up like this. Threw their heads back and you would almost declare that they were in an epileptic fit, but they were not. Oh, I can’t explain it. And the other side they slumped on top of each other. But God, the Holy Ghost moved. Those who had their hands like this stayed that way for two hours. Now you try to remain like that with your hands up for a few minutes and you will find it hard – but you would break their hands before you could take them down. Now, I can’t explain it – this is what happened. But the most remarkable thing that night was what took place in a village seven miles away from the church. There wasn’t a single person from that village in the church. Not one single person. Seven miles away, the power of God swept through the village. Swept through the village and I know it to be a fact that there wasn’t a single house in the village that hadn’t a soul saved in it.” 

The stories go on: “A schoolmaster that night looking over his papers 15 miles away from this island on the mainland suddenly was gripped by the fear of God. And he said to his wife, “Wife, I don’t know what’s drawing me to Barvas, but I must go.” His wife said, “But it’s nearly 10 o’clock and you’re thinking of going to Barvas. I know what’s on your mind, I know that you are going out to drink and you are not leaving this house tonight!” That was what she said to him – he was a hard drinker. And he said to his wife, “I may be mistaken, oh, I maybe mistaken, but if I know anything at all about my own heart and mind, I say to you now that drink will never touch my lips again.” And she said to him, “Well, John, if that’s your mind, then go to Barvas.” And he got someone to take him to the ferry, someone to ferry him across, and I was conducting a meeting in a farmhouse at midnight and this schoolmaster came to the door and they made room for him and in a matter of minutes he was praising God for salvation. Now that’s miracle. I mean you cannot explain it in any other way.” 

Campbell came for ten days but stayed for two years.

In 1940, Professor Edwin Orr of Wheaton University led a group of theology students to England, where they visited sites of great revivals. One location was the Epworth rectory, the part-time home of John Wesley, a famous reformer who led a spiritual renewal movement in the 1700s. As a man of prayer, Wesley interceded for revival to sweep through England, and to spread to America as well. Dr. Orr pointed out two worn places on the carpet next to Wesley’s bed, where the great reformer knelt for hours in prayer each day, crying out for revival.

As the tour concluded, the students loaded the bus. After counting them, Orr noticed one was missing. He returned to the house, and eventually located the lost student in John Wesley’s bedroom— kneeling on the worn impressions where Wesley had fervently prayed for revival. The student was repeatedly pleading, “Do it again, Lord! Do it again… And would you do it again with me.”

Placing his hand on the young man’s shoulder Orr said, “Son, it’s time to leave. Everyone’s on the bus.” The student slowly rose, and then that young man… Billy Graham… joined the rest of his class… and through him, God did it again! Why? Because Billy Graham was thirsty for God and passionate to see God bring revival, as in days past.

In Habakkuk 3:2, the prophet expressed that same longing. “Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord. Repeat them in our day.” Like Billy Graham, his cry was: “Do it again, Lord!”

Deep inside, doesn’t your heart resonate with the same longing, that same thirst? Aren’t you tired of just reading about revival? I want to see God move powerfully— supernaturally, in our day as He did in the past. Our world is upside down. Besides COVID, racial tensions, climate disasters, we all face a plethora of personal problems. Only a move of God can save us. When we cry out, God hears us.

What would happen if we were bold enough to ask God to “Do it again?”

Let’s make a deal. How about every day we kneel in prayer as Billy Graham did; as John Wesley did; as Habakkuk did? Let’s cry out from our hearts those same words, “Do it again, Lord!” Then watch God move.  

(Sources from the Devotional by Dave DeSelm)

Today’s talk is the third in a series given recently at Lee Abbey.

1. Come to me Weary!
2. Come to me Dirty!
3. Come to me Hungry!

Here are a few juicy bits if you haven’t the time to listen:

George Orwell described a wasp that “was sucking jam on my plate and I cut him in half.  He paid no attention, merely went on with his meal, while a tiny stream of jam trickled out of his severed oesophagus. Only when he tried to fly away did he grasp the dreadful thing that had happened to him.” The wasp and people without Christ have much in common.  Severed from their souls, but greedy and unaware, many people continue to consume life’s sweetness. Only when it’s time to fly away will they grasp their dreadful condition.

‘Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry.”’

John 6:35

There is a hunger deep within the human heart. The leading psychologists of recent times have all recognised this. Freud said, “People are hungry for love.” Jung said, “People are hungry for security.” Adler said, “People are hungry for significance.” Jesus said, “I am the Bread of Life.” In other words, if you want your hunger satisfied come to me, I am the source of true love, security and significance.

Professor Joad, who was converted from atheism to Christ said, “Trying to find happiness from this world is like trying to light up a dark room by lighting a succession of matches. You strike one, it flickers for a moment, and then it goes out. But when you find Jesus Christ, it’s as though the whole room is suddenly flooded with light.”

So let’s be honest, some questions to reflect on:

Am I hungry? If yes, how hungry? Maybe even before that – Hungry for what?

Power, peace, recognition, vindication, acceptance, validation, escape, anonymity, breakthrough, hope, success? Some of those are better than others; whatever the case, they are our reality. Jesus deals with our reality. And he says come to Me, you will be filled, I will satisfy your hunger, I am the bread of life.

John Piper wrote: “If you don’t feel strong desires for the manifestation of the glory of God, it is not because you have drunk deeply and are satisfied. It is because you have nibbled so long at the table of the world. Your soul is stuffed with small things, and there is no room for the great.”

How much do you want of God?…

…because no one has less of God than they want.

D.L.Moody was perhaps the greatest evangelist of the 19^th century. The encounter he had with the Holy Spirit in New York transformed his ministry. After one service, two old ladies called Mrs Cooke and Mrs Hawkhurst approached him and told him, “You are good, but you haven’t got it… we have been praying for you… you need power!” Moody, an already well-respected minister, was unimpressed. “I need power?” asked Moody. “Why, I thought I had power!”

The ladies poured out their hearts that he might receive the anointing of the Holy Ghost and soon there grew a great hunger in his soul. “I felt I did not want to live any longer if I had not this power for service.”

There began a period of deep spiritual hunger and desperation, of six months’ pleading with God for more. “I began to cry as never before for a greater blessing from God. The hunger increased; I really felt that I did not want to live any longer. I kept on crying all the time that God would fill me with His Spirit. Well, one day in the City of New York – oh! What a day, I cannot describe it, I seldom refer to it. It is almost too sacred an experience to name. Paul had an experience of which he never spoke for fourteen years. I can only say, God revealed Himself to me, and I had such an experience of His love that I had to ask Him to stay His hand.”

He was never the same again. Although his sermons and doctrine had not changed, his effectiveness in winning thousands to Christ was evidence of this new power.

Walter Lewis Wilson was an American doctor born towards the end of the nineteenth century. He was a faithful Christian who often hosted visiting missionaries to his church. One visitor from France didn’t mince words, asking him, “Who is the Holy Spirit to you?” Wilson’s answer was doctrinally correct, “One of the Persons of the Godhead… Teacher, Guide, Third Person of the Trinity.” But it was an empty and rehearsed response. His friend pushed him harder, challenging him, “You haven’t answered my question.” Wilson opened up with real candour, “He’s nothing to me. I have no contact with him and could get along without him.” There was no spiritual hunger, rather resigned acceptance of going through the motions.

The following year, Wilson listened to a sermon at church from Romans 12 on the challenge to offer his body as a living sacrifice. The preacher called out from the pulpit, “Have you noticed that this verse doesn’t tell us to Whom we should give our bodies? It’s not the Lord Jesus. He has his own body. It’s not the Father. He remains on his throne. Another has come to earth without a body. God gives you the indescribable honour of presenting your bodies to the Holy Spirit, to be his dwelling place on earth.”

Wilson was struck to the core and rushed home to seek the Lord. So hungry for an encounter with the Lord. He fell on his face and pleaded with the Lord, “My Lord, I’ve treated you like a servant. When I wanted you, I called for you. Now I give you this body from my head to my feet. I give you my hands, my limbs, my eyes and lips, my brain. You may send this body to Africa, or lay it on a bed with cancer. It’s your body from this moment on.”

The next morning, Wilson was working in his office when two ladies arrived, trying to sell him advertising. He immediately led them to Christ. The previous night’s surrender had enabled him to access new power from on high. From that day onwards, his life entered a new dimension of evangelistic fruitfulness. He went on to pioneer a church plant, a mission organisation, and a Bible College, as well as becoming a best-selling author.

Do you want to be entrusted with that same power from the Holy Spirit? Well, who is the Holy Spirit to you? And how hungry are you? Like the early Wilson, can you get along perfectly well without him? Or are you truly willing to offer him your body as a living sacrifice, without conditions or caveats? There’s so much more power that I want to plug into for God’s glory. But will I trust him for every aspect of my life? Will I “consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3v8)? These are big, big questions. Here’s inviting you to total surrender, to deep hunger.

The members of the Punjab Prayer Union (John ‘Praying’ Hyde amongst them), who experienced revival in their midst, signed the following declaration to become members. It was in the form of questions:

1. Are you praying for quickening in your own life, in the life of your fellow-workers, and in the Church?
2. Are you longing for greater power of the Holy Spirit in your own life and work, and are you convinced that you cannot go on without this power?
3. Will you pray that you may not be ashamed of Jesus?
4. Do you believe that prayer is the great means for securing this spiritual awakening?
5. Will you set apart one half-hour each day as soon after noon as possible to pray for this awakening, and are you willing to pray till the awakening comes?