Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Leonard Ravenhill's tombstone
I like this - revivalist Leonard Ravenhill's tombstone. Says "Carried by angels" and "Are the things you are living for worth Christ dying for."
Monday, December 27, 2010
The Gospel of Prayer (Leonard Ravenhill)
There's nothing more transfiguring than prayer. People often ask, "Why do you insist on prayer so much?" The answer is very simple - because Jesus did. You could change the title of the Gospel according to St. Luke to the Gospel of Prayer. It's the prayer life of Jesus. The other evangelists say that Jesus was in the Jordan and the Spirit descended on Him as a dove - Luke says it was while He was praying that the Spirit descended on Him. The other evangelists say that Jesus chose 12 disciples - Luke says it was after He spent a night in prayer that He chose 12 disciples. The other evangelists say that Jesus died on a cross - Luke says that even when He was dying Jesus was praying for those who persecuted Him. The other evangelists say Jesus went on a mount and He was transfigured - Luke says it was while He was praying that He was transfigured. There's nothing more transfiguring than prayer.
The Scriptures say that the disciples went to bed, but Jesus went to pray - as was His custom. It was His custom to pray. Now Jesus was the Son of God - He was definitely anointed for His ministry. If Jesus needed all that time in prayer, don't you and I need time in prayer? If Jesus needed it in every crisis, don't you and I need it in every crisis?
The story goes that a group of tourists visiting a picturesque village saw an old man sitting by a fence. In a rather patronizing way, one of the visitors asked, "Were any great men born in this village?" Without looking up the old man replied, "No, only babies." The greatest men were once babies. The greatest saints were once toddlers in the things of the Spirit.
C. H. Spurgeon was converted at the age of 16 and began preaching in London at the age of 19. When he was 27, they built him a tabernacle seating 6,000 which he packed twice on Sundays - that's 12,000 - and once on Thursday nights. How? He waited on God. He got alone with God. He studied...and he prayed.
Desperate Prayer
God makes all His best people in loneliness. Do you know what the secret of praying is? Praying in secret. "But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, and when you have shut your door..." (Matt. 6:6). You can't show off when the door's shut and nobody's there. You can't display your gifts. You can impress others, but you can't impress God.
I Samuel 1:1-15 gives an account of the yearly trip Elkanah and his wife, Hannah, made to Shiloh to worship and sacrifice to the Lord. During this time, Hannah had been distressed that she was not able to bear a son for her husband. This passage of Scripture gives quite a descriptive account of her time in prayer concerning the barrenness of her womb. It says that Hannah wept. More than this, she wept until she was sore. She poured out her soul before the Lord. Her heart was grieving; she was bitter of soul, provoked, and of a sorrowful spirit.
Now that's a pretty good list of afflictions - sorrow, hardship, and everything else that came upon this woman. But the key to the whole situation is that she was a praying woman. In verse 20 it says that she reaped her reward. "And it came about in due time, after Hannah had conceived, that she gave birth to a son; and she named him Samuel, saying, 'Because I have asked him of the Lord.'"
Now I say very often - and people don't like it - that God doesn't answer prayer. He answers desperate prayer! Your prayer life denotes how much you depend on your own ability, and how much you really believe in your heart when you sing, "Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling...." The more self- confidence you have, the less you pray. The less self-confidence you have, the more you have to pray.
What does the Scripture say? It says that God takes the lowly, the things that are not. Paul says in I Corinthians 1:28 that God takes the things that are not to bring to nothing the things that are, so that no flesh should glory in His presence. We need a bunch of "are nots" today.
The Language of the Poor
Prayer is the language of the poor. Over and over again David, the King of Israel, says, "Incline Thine ear, O Lord, and answer me; for I am afflicted and needy" (Psalm 86:1). And do you remember that one of the greatest psalms he wrote says, "This poor man cried and the Lord heard him..." (Psalm 34:6).
The apostle Paul overwhelms me with his spirituality, his pedigree, his colossal intellect. Yet he says that he's very conscious that when he's weak, he is strong. He was always trying to prove to himself and to others that he was a nobody.
True prayer is a two-way communication. I speak to God and God speaks to me. I don't know how the Spirit makes communication - or why God needs me to pray - but that's how God works.
"Get Up And Pray!"
One day I was at a conference with Dr. V. Raymond Edman of Wheaton College, one of the greatest Christian educators in this country. He told us of an experience he had while he was in Ecuador as a missionary. He hadn't been there long before he was sick and dying. He was so near death that they had already dug his grave. He had great beads of sweat on his brow and there was a death rattle in his throat. But suddenly he sat straight up in bed and said to his wife, "Bring me my clothes!" Nobody knew what had happened.
Many years later he was retelling the story in Boston. Afterward, a little old lady with a small, dog-eared, beaten-up book, approached him and asked, "What day did you say you were dying? What time was it in Ecuador? What time would it be in Boston?" When he answered her, her wrinkled face lit up. Pointing to her book, she said. "There it is, you see? At 2 a.m. God said to get up and pray - the devil's trying to kill Raymond Edman in Ecuador." And she'd gotten up and prayed.
Duncan Campbell told the story of hearing a farmer in his field who was praying. He was praying about Greece. Afterward, he asked him why he was praying. The man said, "I don't know. I had a burden in the spirit and God said, 'You pray; there's someone in Greece that is in a bad situation.' I prayed until I got a release." Two or three years later the farmer was in a meeting listening to a missionary. The man described a time when he was working in Greece. He had been in serious trouble. The time? Two or three years ago. The men compared notes and discovered that it was the very same day that God had burdened a farmer, on a little island off the coast of Scotland, to pray for a man in Greece whose name he didn't even know.
It may seem the Lord gives you strange things. I don't care. If the Lord tells you something, carry on with what the Lord tells you.
Who Shall Ascend to the Hill of the Lord?"
There's another experience Duncan Campbell told about when he was working in Scotland.
"I couldn't preach," he said. "I couldn't get through to God. The heavens were solid. It was as though there was a 10 ft. ceiling of steel." So he quit trying to preach. He asked a young man named John Cameron to pray. The boy stood up and said, "What's the use of praying if we're not right with God?" He quoted the 24th Psalm, "Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord?"
You can't approach God unless your hands are clean, which means your relationships with others are clean and your heart is clean. "Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? He who has clean hands and a pure heart..." (Psalm 24.3-4).
After the boy recited Psalm 24 he began to pray. He prayed 10, 15, 20 minutes. Then he suddenly said, "Excuse me, Lord, while I resist the devil." He turned around and began to tell the devil where to go and how to get there. He fought for all he was worth. You talk about having on the armor of God and resisting the devil! When he finished resisting the devil, he finished his prayer. He prayed for 45 minutes! When he finished praying it was just as though God had pulled a little switch in heaven. The Spirit of God came down on that church, that community, on the dance hall at the other end of town, and the tavern on this end of town. Revival was born in that prayer!
At the end of Malachi it says, "And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly (that's the word I like, suddenly) come to his temple" (Malachi 3:1). Remember what it says about the shepherds? They were watching their flocks by night when suddenly there was the sound of the heavenly host. Do you remember a bunch of men that had been waiting in the upper room? Suddenly the Holy Spirit came on them in that room.
There's a date in history that I love very much. It was Wednesday, August 13, 1737. A little group of people in Moravia were waiting in a prayer meeting. At 11:00 suddenly the Holy Spirit came. Do you know what happened? The prayer meeting that began at 11:00 lasted 100 years! That's right. That prayer room was not empty for a century! It's the longest prayer among men and women that I know of. Even children six and seven years old travailed in prayer for countries the names of which they couldn't even spell.
Why We Don't Have Revival
In an old town in Ireland they'll show you with reverence a place where four young men met night after night after night praying for revival. In Wales, there's a place in the hills where three or four young men only 18 or 19 years old met and prayed night after night. They wouldn't let God go; they would not take no for an answer. As far as humanly possible they prayed a revival into birth. If you're thinking of revival at your church without any inconvenience, forget it. Revival costs a lot.
I can give you one simple reason why we don't have revival in America. Because we're content to live without it. We're not seeking God - we're seeking miracles, we're seeking big crusades, we're seeking blessings. In Numbers 11, Moses said to God, "You're asking me to carry a burden I can't handle. Do something or kill me!" Do you love America enough to say, "God, send revival or kill me"? Do you think it's time we changed Patrick Henry's prayer from, "Give me liberty or give me death," to "Give me revival or let me die"?
In the 30th chapter of Genesis, Rachael goes to Jacob and throws herself down in despair. She says, "Give me children or else I die." Are you willing to throw yourself down before God to seek the spiritual birth of spiritual children in our country?
People say, "I'm filled with the Holy Spirit." If the coming of the Spirit didn't revolutionize your prayer life, you'd better check on it. I'm not so sure you got what God wanted you to get.
We've said that prayer changes things. No! Prayer doesn't change things. Prayer changes people and they change things. We all want Gabriel to do the job. God says do it yourself - with My sufficiency and My strength.
We need to get like this woman, Hannah. What did she do? She wept, she was grieved, she said she had a complaint, she fasted - and she prayed.
Jesus, the anointed of God, made prayer His custom. Paul, with his background and intellect, depended on prayer because he said he was weak. David, the king, called himself a poor man and cried to the Lord. Hannah prayed for a son and gave birth to a prophet. The prayers of a handful of young men sparked revival.
There's nothing more transfiguring than prayer.
Copyright (C)1994 by Leonard Ravenhill, Lindale, Texas - http://www.ravenhill.org/
The Scriptures say that the disciples went to bed, but Jesus went to pray - as was His custom. It was His custom to pray. Now Jesus was the Son of God - He was definitely anointed for His ministry. If Jesus needed all that time in prayer, don't you and I need time in prayer? If Jesus needed it in every crisis, don't you and I need it in every crisis?
The story goes that a group of tourists visiting a picturesque village saw an old man sitting by a fence. In a rather patronizing way, one of the visitors asked, "Were any great men born in this village?" Without looking up the old man replied, "No, only babies." The greatest men were once babies. The greatest saints were once toddlers in the things of the Spirit.
C. H. Spurgeon was converted at the age of 16 and began preaching in London at the age of 19. When he was 27, they built him a tabernacle seating 6,000 which he packed twice on Sundays - that's 12,000 - and once on Thursday nights. How? He waited on God. He got alone with God. He studied...and he prayed.
Desperate Prayer
God makes all His best people in loneliness. Do you know what the secret of praying is? Praying in secret. "But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, and when you have shut your door..." (Matt. 6:6). You can't show off when the door's shut and nobody's there. You can't display your gifts. You can impress others, but you can't impress God.
I Samuel 1:1-15 gives an account of the yearly trip Elkanah and his wife, Hannah, made to Shiloh to worship and sacrifice to the Lord. During this time, Hannah had been distressed that she was not able to bear a son for her husband. This passage of Scripture gives quite a descriptive account of her time in prayer concerning the barrenness of her womb. It says that Hannah wept. More than this, she wept until she was sore. She poured out her soul before the Lord. Her heart was grieving; she was bitter of soul, provoked, and of a sorrowful spirit.
Now that's a pretty good list of afflictions - sorrow, hardship, and everything else that came upon this woman. But the key to the whole situation is that she was a praying woman. In verse 20 it says that she reaped her reward. "And it came about in due time, after Hannah had conceived, that she gave birth to a son; and she named him Samuel, saying, 'Because I have asked him of the Lord.'"
Now I say very often - and people don't like it - that God doesn't answer prayer. He answers desperate prayer! Your prayer life denotes how much you depend on your own ability, and how much you really believe in your heart when you sing, "Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling...." The more self- confidence you have, the less you pray. The less self-confidence you have, the more you have to pray.
What does the Scripture say? It says that God takes the lowly, the things that are not. Paul says in I Corinthians 1:28 that God takes the things that are not to bring to nothing the things that are, so that no flesh should glory in His presence. We need a bunch of "are nots" today.
The Language of the Poor
Prayer is the language of the poor. Over and over again David, the King of Israel, says, "Incline Thine ear, O Lord, and answer me; for I am afflicted and needy" (Psalm 86:1). And do you remember that one of the greatest psalms he wrote says, "This poor man cried and the Lord heard him..." (Psalm 34:6).
The apostle Paul overwhelms me with his spirituality, his pedigree, his colossal intellect. Yet he says that he's very conscious that when he's weak, he is strong. He was always trying to prove to himself and to others that he was a nobody.
True prayer is a two-way communication. I speak to God and God speaks to me. I don't know how the Spirit makes communication - or why God needs me to pray - but that's how God works.
"Get Up And Pray!"
One day I was at a conference with Dr. V. Raymond Edman of Wheaton College, one of the greatest Christian educators in this country. He told us of an experience he had while he was in Ecuador as a missionary. He hadn't been there long before he was sick and dying. He was so near death that they had already dug his grave. He had great beads of sweat on his brow and there was a death rattle in his throat. But suddenly he sat straight up in bed and said to his wife, "Bring me my clothes!" Nobody knew what had happened.
Many years later he was retelling the story in Boston. Afterward, a little old lady with a small, dog-eared, beaten-up book, approached him and asked, "What day did you say you were dying? What time was it in Ecuador? What time would it be in Boston?" When he answered her, her wrinkled face lit up. Pointing to her book, she said. "There it is, you see? At 2 a.m. God said to get up and pray - the devil's trying to kill Raymond Edman in Ecuador." And she'd gotten up and prayed.
Duncan Campbell told the story of hearing a farmer in his field who was praying. He was praying about Greece. Afterward, he asked him why he was praying. The man said, "I don't know. I had a burden in the spirit and God said, 'You pray; there's someone in Greece that is in a bad situation.' I prayed until I got a release." Two or three years later the farmer was in a meeting listening to a missionary. The man described a time when he was working in Greece. He had been in serious trouble. The time? Two or three years ago. The men compared notes and discovered that it was the very same day that God had burdened a farmer, on a little island off the coast of Scotland, to pray for a man in Greece whose name he didn't even know.
It may seem the Lord gives you strange things. I don't care. If the Lord tells you something, carry on with what the Lord tells you.
Who Shall Ascend to the Hill of the Lord?"
There's another experience Duncan Campbell told about when he was working in Scotland.
"I couldn't preach," he said. "I couldn't get through to God. The heavens were solid. It was as though there was a 10 ft. ceiling of steel." So he quit trying to preach. He asked a young man named John Cameron to pray. The boy stood up and said, "What's the use of praying if we're not right with God?" He quoted the 24th Psalm, "Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord?"
You can't approach God unless your hands are clean, which means your relationships with others are clean and your heart is clean. "Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? He who has clean hands and a pure heart..." (Psalm 24.3-4).
After the boy recited Psalm 24 he began to pray. He prayed 10, 15, 20 minutes. Then he suddenly said, "Excuse me, Lord, while I resist the devil." He turned around and began to tell the devil where to go and how to get there. He fought for all he was worth. You talk about having on the armor of God and resisting the devil! When he finished resisting the devil, he finished his prayer. He prayed for 45 minutes! When he finished praying it was just as though God had pulled a little switch in heaven. The Spirit of God came down on that church, that community, on the dance hall at the other end of town, and the tavern on this end of town. Revival was born in that prayer!
At the end of Malachi it says, "And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly (that's the word I like, suddenly) come to his temple" (Malachi 3:1). Remember what it says about the shepherds? They were watching their flocks by night when suddenly there was the sound of the heavenly host. Do you remember a bunch of men that had been waiting in the upper room? Suddenly the Holy Spirit came on them in that room.
There's a date in history that I love very much. It was Wednesday, August 13, 1737. A little group of people in Moravia were waiting in a prayer meeting. At 11:00 suddenly the Holy Spirit came. Do you know what happened? The prayer meeting that began at 11:00 lasted 100 years! That's right. That prayer room was not empty for a century! It's the longest prayer among men and women that I know of. Even children six and seven years old travailed in prayer for countries the names of which they couldn't even spell.
Why We Don't Have Revival
In an old town in Ireland they'll show you with reverence a place where four young men met night after night after night praying for revival. In Wales, there's a place in the hills where three or four young men only 18 or 19 years old met and prayed night after night. They wouldn't let God go; they would not take no for an answer. As far as humanly possible they prayed a revival into birth. If you're thinking of revival at your church without any inconvenience, forget it. Revival costs a lot.
I can give you one simple reason why we don't have revival in America. Because we're content to live without it. We're not seeking God - we're seeking miracles, we're seeking big crusades, we're seeking blessings. In Numbers 11, Moses said to God, "You're asking me to carry a burden I can't handle. Do something or kill me!" Do you love America enough to say, "God, send revival or kill me"? Do you think it's time we changed Patrick Henry's prayer from, "Give me liberty or give me death," to "Give me revival or let me die"?
In the 30th chapter of Genesis, Rachael goes to Jacob and throws herself down in despair. She says, "Give me children or else I die." Are you willing to throw yourself down before God to seek the spiritual birth of spiritual children in our country?
People say, "I'm filled with the Holy Spirit." If the coming of the Spirit didn't revolutionize your prayer life, you'd better check on it. I'm not so sure you got what God wanted you to get.
We've said that prayer changes things. No! Prayer doesn't change things. Prayer changes people and they change things. We all want Gabriel to do the job. God says do it yourself - with My sufficiency and My strength.
We need to get like this woman, Hannah. What did she do? She wept, she was grieved, she said she had a complaint, she fasted - and she prayed.
Jesus, the anointed of God, made prayer His custom. Paul, with his background and intellect, depended on prayer because he said he was weak. David, the king, called himself a poor man and cried to the Lord. Hannah prayed for a son and gave birth to a prophet. The prayers of a handful of young men sparked revival.
There's nothing more transfiguring than prayer.
Copyright (C)1994 by Leonard Ravenhill, Lindale, Texas - http://www.ravenhill.org/
Sunday, December 26, 2010
I will offer up my life (this thankful heart)
As I reflect on the year gone by, I cannot help but be full of gratitude to the Lord for His goodness. Indeed, He is good. While I was in Kwang Lim, I realised I had the greatest blessing possible - knowing God, and being known by Him.
But he's also blessed me with so much more. This week, I realised I am a product of so much grace; and am loved by so many people ... God, family and friends.
Yesterday, as the prayer team gathered for an Xmas party, one of my friends asked how my Korea trip went. Then she asked, "Were you sick at the last leg of the trip?" I nodded. My fellow trippers would know that towards the tailend of the trip, I had a left arm that was in pain, a nose that was dripping like a tap, and fingers that were peeling from the dryness of the cold winter. But how did this intercessor and friend in Singapore know that? I certainly didn't tell her. But the Lord did. And because the Lord did, unbeknownst to me, she and another friend had been interceding for me in Singapore!!! I was tremendously touched, and felt sooooo blessed. In situations like this, it just reinforces to me that the Lord takes care of His sheep! :)) He tells his children supernaturally what his other children might be going through so they can pray for one another. And this is the blessing of being part of the body of Christ - where we cover each other and lift each other up before the Father. WOW!!!! So blessed. So blessed.
Then today, I spent the better part of the day with another Christian friend, just sharing with each other what God has been doing in our lives. And I am grateful for the people God has put in my life, whom I can journey with.
So this song - Matt Redman's "I will offer up my life" that we sang in church today just captures a wonderful 2010 gone by.
Jesus, what can I give, what can I bring
To so faithful a friend, to so loving a King?
Savior, what can be said, what can be sung
As a praise of Your name
For the things You have done?
Oh my words could not tell, not even in part
Of the debt of love that is owed
By this thankful heart
But he's also blessed me with so much more. This week, I realised I am a product of so much grace; and am loved by so many people ... God, family and friends.
Yesterday, as the prayer team gathered for an Xmas party, one of my friends asked how my Korea trip went. Then she asked, "Were you sick at the last leg of the trip?" I nodded. My fellow trippers would know that towards the tailend of the trip, I had a left arm that was in pain, a nose that was dripping like a tap, and fingers that were peeling from the dryness of the cold winter. But how did this intercessor and friend in Singapore know that? I certainly didn't tell her. But the Lord did. And because the Lord did, unbeknownst to me, she and another friend had been interceding for me in Singapore!!! I was tremendously touched, and felt sooooo blessed. In situations like this, it just reinforces to me that the Lord takes care of His sheep! :)) He tells his children supernaturally what his other children might be going through so they can pray for one another. And this is the blessing of being part of the body of Christ - where we cover each other and lift each other up before the Father. WOW!!!! So blessed. So blessed.
Then today, I spent the better part of the day with another Christian friend, just sharing with each other what God has been doing in our lives. And I am grateful for the people God has put in my life, whom I can journey with.
So this song - Matt Redman's "I will offer up my life" that we sang in church today just captures a wonderful 2010 gone by.
Jesus, what can I give, what can I bring
To so faithful a friend, to so loving a King?
Savior, what can be said, what can be sung
As a praise of Your name
For the things You have done?
Oh my words could not tell, not even in part
Of the debt of love that is owed
By this thankful heart
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Back to the heart of the Gospel
“For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is His love toward them that fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us.”
(Psalm 103:11-12)
On Saturday, I attended a YWAM meeting - the worship was just awesome!! As we were worshipping, the scripture verse above came to mind. And this thought came to me:
For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is His love toward them that fear Him. As I thought about this, I mentally drew a vertical line that goes until infinity.
As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us ... I mentally drew a horizontal line that goes on until infinity.
And behold, when I put the two lines together, there is the symbol of the cross - until infinity.
Back to the heart of the gospel.
Wow. Awesome.
(Psalm 103:11-12)
On Saturday, I attended a YWAM meeting - the worship was just awesome!! As we were worshipping, the scripture verse above came to mind. And this thought came to me:
For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is His love toward them that fear Him. As I thought about this, I mentally drew a vertical line that goes until infinity.
As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us ... I mentally drew a horizontal line that goes on until infinity.
And behold, when I put the two lines together, there is the symbol of the cross - until infinity.
Back to the heart of the gospel.
Wow. Awesome.
There's a Place for Us (Carrie Underwood)
Caught the latest Narnia movie "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" at the cinema yesterday and it was enchanting ... as well as heart-convicting and moving at bits. I loved Repicheep the mouse - which Wikipedia describes as "a large, talking mouse who carries a rapier, and wears a red plume tucked in his golden circlet. He is an experienced warrior, utterly fearless, and faultlessly courteous, particularly to noble ladies. He is also pugnacious and quick to defend any affront to his honor". Heheh. Aslan the Lion is of course noble, majestic and kindly, as usual.
But what was a nice surprise was the song which was played as the credits rolled. J and I wondered who the singer is ... only to discover it is Carrie Underwood. The lyrics are below. Someone said it could only be describing heaven. Somehow, I think so too ... what a lovely piece!
There's A Place For Us
There’s a place out there for us,
More than just a prayer or anything we ever dreamed of.
So if you feel like giving up cause you don’t fit in down here,
Fear is crashing in, close your eyes and take my hand.
We can be the kings and queens of anything if we believe.
It’s written in the stars that shine above,
A world where you and I belong, where faith and love will keep us strong,
Exactly who we are is just enough
Yes there’s a place for us, there’s a place for us.
Where the water meets the sky,
Where your heart is free and hope comes back to life,
Where these broken hands are whole again,
We will find what we’ve been waiting for,
We were made for so much more
We can be the kings and queens of anything if we believe.
It’s written in the stars that shine above,
A world where you and I belong, where faith and love will keep us strong,
Exactly who we are is just enough,
Yes there’s a place for us, now there’s a place for us
So hold on, now hold on,
There’s a place for us
We can be the kings and queens of anything if we believe.
It’s written in the stars that shine above,
A world where you and I belong, where faith and love will keep us strong,
Exactly who we are is just enough, exactly who we are is just enough,
There’s a place for us.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Made Me Glad (Hillsongs)
I will bless the Lord forever
And I will trust Him at all times
He has delivered me from all fear
And he has set my feet upon a rock
And I will not be moved
And I'll say of the Lord....
You are my shield
My strength
My portion
Deliverer
My shelter
Strong tower
My very present help in time of need
Whom have I in Heaven but you?
There's none I desire beside you
You have made me glad
And I'll say of the Lord....
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Repentance: Key to revival (The Pyongyang example)
While in Korea, we spent some days at the Osanri prayer mountain. Whilst there, I am always struck and deeply inspired by the fervency with which Koreans cry out to the Lord in prayer. It's hard not to hear these prayers - they are shouted from the mountaintops (literally!) and resound beyond the confines of individual prayer ghettos. It seems to me these prayers are not just uttered; they almost rise from deep within the believers' spirit. It's just incredible to behold.
Another reason I'm inspired by this is that I've been thinking a lot about revivals -and why the Lord has poured out His Spirit to sweep in great numbers into His Kingdom in some lands. As far as I know, these God-breathed revivals are few and far between in modern history ... the Azusa Street revival, the Welsh revival etc, are a few that come to mind. So one question I had in my mind was: How did Korea get Christianised? It's an Asian nation and the spread of Christianity in the East largely occurred in the last 50 years. We had the privilege of dining with a full-time Christian worker in Seoul, whilst there, and she shared that Korea was blessed by the presence of Western missionaries. What surprised me though was when she shared that the first major revival in Korea took place in Pyongyang.
This is what I learnt from my research: the Pyongyang revival of 1907 was triggered by a repentance movement. As people confessed their sins to each other and the Lord, the Holy Spirit fell.
Yahweh is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves those who have a crushed spirit (Psalms 34:18)
Is genuine repentance, hearts broken by our sin, a key to revival in the land?
Article from OMF:
What is the extent of God’s grace and what are its limits? Sometimes we have the tendency to forget that God delights in working the impossible in the most difficult of times. And, indeed, one of the great reminders of His powerful grace and His perfect timing is the Pyongyang Revival, a dramatic revival in 1907 that was later called the “Pentecost of Pyongyang” and which was one of the reasons Pyongyang came to be called the “Jerusalem of the East.”
The northern region of Korea in the early 1900s faced many struggles and was a seemingly unfruitful place for the gospel, in much the same way that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) is perceived today. In 1905, at the end of the Russo-Japanese war, Korea was placed under Japanese protectorate (and later fully annexed by Japan in 1910); this led to a general feeling of disillusionment and despair in the country. Pyongyang, the country’s third largest city at the time, had been known as “the most wicked city in Korea” and “a city of hopelessness” until 1892 when the gospel began to be preached there. By the end of 1906 there were 6,000 Christians out of a population of 40,000, but about two-thirds of all businesses were drinking establishments and the city’s reputation for ungodliness remained.
The beginnings of revival in Korea started in Wonsan (on the Eastern coast of what is today the DPRK) in 1903, with a small group of missionaries who felt led to confess their sins. Similar meetings were held in a few major cities in 1904 and the spirit of confession and repentance began to spread. In 1905 the revival movement spread over the whole Korean peninsula, continued to grow in 1906 and peaked in 1907 in Pyongyang.
The Pyongyang revival was precipitated by reports delivered in 1906 about the manifestations of the Holy Spirit in India and Wales. This caused some Korean Christians to greatly desire the same blessing, for which they began to pray. The revival began in spiritual improvement meetings the missionaries in Pyongyang had planned at the beginning of the year 1907, starting on January 6. People came from as far as 100 miles away to attend the meetings; there were so many attendees from the countryside that locals were barred to make room for visitors. People began these meetings from the start with a great expectation to be blessed by the Spirit, but met for a week with no extraordinary blessings. Saturday, January 12 after the sermon, many testified to a new understanding of what sin was. Then on Sunday, January 13 there was a strange “night of gloom” when everyone had particularly heavy hearts. The following day the missionaries met and prayed for God’s blessing; and that night those who entered the church felt that the place was full of God’s blessing.
As the people prayed, a spirit of heaviness and sorrow came upon those present, and all began to confess their sins and repent. “Man after man would rise, confess his sin, break down and weep…Every sin a human being can commit was publicly confessed, that night. Pale and trembling with emotion, in agony of mind and body, guilty souls standing in the white light of judgment saw themselves as God saw them.” The same experience of prayer, confession and repentance stirred by the Spirit was also experienced at the local missionary-run high schools and elementary schools. In some schools as many as 90 percent of students became Christians. The movement continued until 1910 and spread as far as Manchuria and Japan.
“The impact of the revival movement at Pyongyang was enormous. It changed not only the Christians of Pyongyang but also its entire society. The vast number of bars was gradually closed because business had become unprofitable. The city of Pyongyang cleansed her past and restored her reputation. The result of the meetings was that about 2,000 persons decided to accept Christ as Savior.”
From 1906-1910 in all of Korea there were 79, 221 new converts. There was also a new zeal for sharing Christ with others. Many who couldn’t contribute funds to the work contributed “days,” going outside their local areas to preach the gospel at their own expense, with the result that almost every house in Korea was visited. Clearly believers in Pyongyang in 1907 experienced one of the most remarkable Christian revivals in history.
Now, more than one hundred years later, God is at work in North Korea and is looking for believers worldwide to answer his call. The Lord is establishing ways for Christians to establish relationships that will build a foundation for future work. From the human perspective, revival in North Korea may seem slim. But our God is a God of great wonders and divine timing. Join with us praying for His grace to fall once again on North Korea.
Another reason I'm inspired by this is that I've been thinking a lot about revivals -and why the Lord has poured out His Spirit to sweep in great numbers into His Kingdom in some lands. As far as I know, these God-breathed revivals are few and far between in modern history ... the Azusa Street revival, the Welsh revival etc, are a few that come to mind. So one question I had in my mind was: How did Korea get Christianised? It's an Asian nation and the spread of Christianity in the East largely occurred in the last 50 years. We had the privilege of dining with a full-time Christian worker in Seoul, whilst there, and she shared that Korea was blessed by the presence of Western missionaries. What surprised me though was when she shared that the first major revival in Korea took place in Pyongyang.
This is what I learnt from my research: the Pyongyang revival of 1907 was triggered by a repentance movement. As people confessed their sins to each other and the Lord, the Holy Spirit fell.
Yahweh is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves those who have a crushed spirit (Psalms 34:18)
Is genuine repentance, hearts broken by our sin, a key to revival in the land?
Article from OMF:
What is the extent of God’s grace and what are its limits? Sometimes we have the tendency to forget that God delights in working the impossible in the most difficult of times. And, indeed, one of the great reminders of His powerful grace and His perfect timing is the Pyongyang Revival, a dramatic revival in 1907 that was later called the “Pentecost of Pyongyang” and which was one of the reasons Pyongyang came to be called the “Jerusalem of the East.”
The northern region of Korea in the early 1900s faced many struggles and was a seemingly unfruitful place for the gospel, in much the same way that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) is perceived today. In 1905, at the end of the Russo-Japanese war, Korea was placed under Japanese protectorate (and later fully annexed by Japan in 1910); this led to a general feeling of disillusionment and despair in the country. Pyongyang, the country’s third largest city at the time, had been known as “the most wicked city in Korea” and “a city of hopelessness” until 1892 when the gospel began to be preached there. By the end of 1906 there were 6,000 Christians out of a population of 40,000, but about two-thirds of all businesses were drinking establishments and the city’s reputation for ungodliness remained.
The beginnings of revival in Korea started in Wonsan (on the Eastern coast of what is today the DPRK) in 1903, with a small group of missionaries who felt led to confess their sins. Similar meetings were held in a few major cities in 1904 and the spirit of confession and repentance began to spread. In 1905 the revival movement spread over the whole Korean peninsula, continued to grow in 1906 and peaked in 1907 in Pyongyang.
The Pyongyang revival was precipitated by reports delivered in 1906 about the manifestations of the Holy Spirit in India and Wales. This caused some Korean Christians to greatly desire the same blessing, for which they began to pray. The revival began in spiritual improvement meetings the missionaries in Pyongyang had planned at the beginning of the year 1907, starting on January 6. People came from as far as 100 miles away to attend the meetings; there were so many attendees from the countryside that locals were barred to make room for visitors. People began these meetings from the start with a great expectation to be blessed by the Spirit, but met for a week with no extraordinary blessings. Saturday, January 12 after the sermon, many testified to a new understanding of what sin was. Then on Sunday, January 13 there was a strange “night of gloom” when everyone had particularly heavy hearts. The following day the missionaries met and prayed for God’s blessing; and that night those who entered the church felt that the place was full of God’s blessing.
As the people prayed, a spirit of heaviness and sorrow came upon those present, and all began to confess their sins and repent. “Man after man would rise, confess his sin, break down and weep…Every sin a human being can commit was publicly confessed, that night. Pale and trembling with emotion, in agony of mind and body, guilty souls standing in the white light of judgment saw themselves as God saw them.” The same experience of prayer, confession and repentance stirred by the Spirit was also experienced at the local missionary-run high schools and elementary schools. In some schools as many as 90 percent of students became Christians. The movement continued until 1910 and spread as far as Manchuria and Japan.
“The impact of the revival movement at Pyongyang was enormous. It changed not only the Christians of Pyongyang but also its entire society. The vast number of bars was gradually closed because business had become unprofitable. The city of Pyongyang cleansed her past and restored her reputation. The result of the meetings was that about 2,000 persons decided to accept Christ as Savior.”
From 1906-1910 in all of Korea there were 79, 221 new converts. There was also a new zeal for sharing Christ with others. Many who couldn’t contribute funds to the work contributed “days,” going outside their local areas to preach the gospel at their own expense, with the result that almost every house in Korea was visited. Clearly believers in Pyongyang in 1907 experienced one of the most remarkable Christian revivals in history.
Now, more than one hundred years later, God is at work in North Korea and is looking for believers worldwide to answer his call. The Lord is establishing ways for Christians to establish relationships that will build a foundation for future work. From the human perspective, revival in North Korea may seem slim. But our God is a God of great wonders and divine timing. Join with us praying for His grace to fall once again on North Korea.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Snowy Kwang Lim Prayer Mountain 2010
December 2010. Just returned from the prayer mountains in Korea. What a wonderful time with the Lord! My friends and I reprised our time last year at the Osanri and Kwang Lim prayer mountains ... to spend some time in quiet solitude before the Lord, to seek His face, and to worship. We had an awesome time fellowshipping with Him and one another. This trip is all the more meaningful to me because we nearly didn't make it - primarily because of me! All this talk about impending war between North and South Korea and military exercises (including the presence of a US warship in the Yellow Seas) a week before our planned departure made me very nervous indeed. I knew that unless we had peace in our hearts, there would be no point going - after all, this is a prayer retreat! But God is good, and He spoke to the 4 of us individually, in ways that would convict our hearts, that He would go before us and protect us.
And then, while we were in Kwang Lim, He surprised and delighted us in just the way Father God would! He sent us snow, that completely transformed the bleak wintry landscape into what I thought was breathtaking beauty. I never thought it possible, reckoning that Kwang Lim was not at a high enough altitude. But it snowed over two days. We worshipped with singing as the snow came down, but also had fun pelting each other with snowballs, and sticking our tongues out to taste the snowflakes :)
Indeed, God does all things well!
That night, I chanced upon Psalm 135:5-7, and mused about how God brought snow out from his storehouse, to bless us with scenery that took our breaths away and brought so much joy to our hearts.
Psalm 135:5-7
5 I know that the LORD is great,
that our Lord is greater than all gods.
6 The LORD does whatever pleases him,
in the heavens and on the earth,
in the seas and all their depths.
7 He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth;
he sends lightning with the rain
and brings out the wind from his storehouses.
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