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The Heartbeat of

The RemnantSpecial Edition 2008

Volume 14 Number 4

The Heartbeat of The Remnant � SPECIAL EDITION 20082

Publisher

Charity Christian FellowshipPublication Office

400 W Main St Ste 1 • Ephrata, PA 17522

Denny Kenaston • Chairman &Overseeing Editor

Ben Beiler • TreasurerNathan Zeiset • SecretaryMose Stoltzfus • AdvisorMyron Weaver • AdvisorMark Brubaker • Advisor

Dean Taylor

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C O N T E N T SThe Heartbeat of

The Remnant

The Heartbeat of The Remnant ispublished quarterly by Charity Chris-tian Fellowship. ©2008 by CharityChristian Fellowship. Subscription isavailable at no cost upon request.However, there is considerable costinvoloved in printing The Remnant. Itis financially supported by the gifts ofGod’s people as they respond to thepromptings of His Spirit. We requestyour prayerful consideration of thisneed. Send subscriptions or contribu-tions to:The Heartbeat of The Remnant400 W Main St Ste 1Ephrata, PA 17522You can call 1-800-227-7902 or717-721-7775.

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4 LANCASTER REVIVAL OF 1951• by Dean Taylor •

A DIFFERENT KIND OF WAR• by Denny Kenaston •

A CHANGE OF ALLEGIANCE• Book Review by David Bercot •

DANGERS IN REVIVAL• by George R. Brunk II •

DESPERATION AND REVIVAL• by Vance Havner •

REVIVAL PRAYER• by Jonathan Edwards •

SATAN HATES REVIVAL• by Ira Martin •

HEIRS TOGETHER• by Rachel Weaver •

A DESPERATE APPEAL FOR MODESTY• by Adoniram Judson •

THE CIRCUIT RIDER VS.THE TELEVANGELIST

• by Michael Edds •

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SPECIAL EDITION 2008 � The Heartbeat of The Remnant 3

Greetings to all in the name of Jesus! It is with great ex-citement that we present another special edition of TheHeartbeat of the Remnant. In this issue we’ve chosen to

highlight the Lancaster Revival of 1951. The front and backcovers are both pictures from this revival. Preparing for thisarticle was full of a lot of excitement and surprises. I had theopportunity to interview several people who were present atthe revivals, and each one of them had something interesting to say. I combed through the newspapers and otherresource materials at the Lancaster library and even in the basement of the Lancaster Mennonite Historical So-ciety. All the newspaper clippings were interesting, but I think my favorite one was the headline from the frontpage of the Lancaster paper, “Revival Meeting Leads Boy to Confess $10,000 Barn Fire!”

The Historical Society proved to be the most successful collection of information. As I had looked at the Lan-caster revival in the past, I had never before noticed what a place prayer had in the preparation of the revival. Inmost all of the historic revivals that I had read about in the past, prayer was a definite initiating factor. In the base-ment of the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society, I found more than I could have ever dreamed of. I found afew articles in old issues of the “Gospel Herald” that gave an overwhelming witness to the place of prayer in thisrevival. I was very blessed by what I found there. I hope they were equally blessed with my presence there… Yousee, I had decided to bring my three-year-old son John Wesley along the day I visited. I showed him the door withthe clear sign “Quiet please”, and he said, “Okay, Daddy.” It was indeed very quiet in there. A man was there,Jacob Stahl, who I started to talk to at the help desk. I soon found out that when Jacob was a young man, he wasat the revivals himself. But while we were talking—not more than three minutes—my three-year-old had dis-covered a nifty-looking red lever and proceeded to pull the fire alarm! Every siren and light started flashing, andin a few short minutes, even the fire department showed up! Luckily, they were very kind and even offered myson a tour of one of the fire trucks. All in all, it turned out to be a small distraction and I soon was able to con-tinue with the purpose for my visit.

For those of you “history buffs”, you might be interested to know that the Lancaster revival started across thestreet from the East Chestnut Street Mennonite Church. This church sits on the corner of East Chestnut andSherman streets, next door to what is now a Turkey Hill convenience store. They thenmoved to the corner of Manheim Pike, between Service Road and Steelway. For alandmark, that’s a bit behind the Home Depot store. Also, notice that the LancasterPump building is virtually unchanged since the 1951 picture.

Who are we? The Heartbeat of the Remnant is a quarterly magazine of CharityMinistries of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Starting out as an outreach newslet-ter, The Heartbeat of the Remnant has now grown to reach thousands of readers allacross the globe. Springing from the rich Anabaptist heritage of Lancaster County, Charity Christian Fellow-ship has endeavored to maintain a strong biblical orthodoxy with a genuine heart-cry for revival and radicalChristian living. While maintaining an Anabaptist direction overall, the magazine does not desire to lift upany specific denomination, church or man. We desire only to glorify the name of Jesus.

The magazine features articles from a wide variety of Christian sources, ranging from ancient to modern-day testimonies. We frequently reprint articles from revival preachers and histories, missionary stories, earlyChristian trials and martyrs, challenging Puritan writers and Methodist circuit riders, as well as modern-daypreachers. We hope you will be blessed and inspired by this special edition of The Heartbeat of the Remnant!

~Bro. Dean Taylor

From the editor…


Speaking directly to the crowd in a tent meeting thatwas conducted a little over a year after the Lancasterrevivals began, George R. Brunk II directly ad-

dressed the crowd:

It is thrilling to witness the sea of faces likethis. It is challenging. It makes one tremblewhen it comes to the responsibility of preach-ing the Word of God. So many people. Youcome here for something I trust, and I am goingto assume you are here for a sincere motive.You’re here because you love God. You wantthe truth from God’s Word. I want each of youhere who acknowledge Jesus Christ to pray forthe progress of this service. This is God’s workand not the work of man.

Our policy and our declared position is thatGod shall have the glory for every victory won.These campaigns have let no human thingtouch it, because God shall be praised for everyblessing that comes to it. And let’s look to Godtonight and expect from him the blessing thatwe need. I like to have that ready and, well, andclear response from you as I ask you a few ques-

tions. I want you to come back at me with aclear and ready response. With a yes or no, ei-ther one, I’d like for everybody to respond—yes or no.

Do you believe that the devil is against thisrevival?

Audience: “Yes.”All right. Do you believe that God is for it,

not only this revival, but for the cause of re-vival—Yes or no?

Audience: “Yes.”Thank you. Are you looking in simple faith

to God tonight for the blessing that we need—Yes or no?

Audience: “Yes.”Now the vital question comes last, and I

want you to give me the answer, yes or no. Willyou be obedient to the Spirit of God as hespeaks to you tonight—now come on!

Audience: “Yes.”Thank you.I wish that we might be in prayer not only

for this meeting but for others, for other evan-gelists around the country and around the


world who are preaching the gospel of JesusChrist. We believe that God is making a visita-tion to the nation and to the world today, thatthere is something unique about it. It is re-markable. Something is happening. The Spiritof God is moving across the countryside. 1

The Spirit of God did indeed move across the coun-tryside. In the spring of 1951, a group of believers fromthe small, semi-rural community of Lancaster County,Pennsylvania, started a se-ries of prayer meetingsthat culminated into a se-ries of revival meetingswith attendance of over15,000 people! From Lan-caster the revival spreadto several states and eveninto Canada. The revivalwas distinctive for speak-ing out strongly againstsin and spiritual compla-cency. Its influence af-fected the community andenacted lasting change inpeople’s lives that is stillbeing testified to today.

Extraordinary PrayerAlmost without exception, every great work of God

has had its starting place in the fervent, effectual prayerof God’s people. Jonathan Edwards, the man God used inthe Great Awakening called these special prayer groups“extraordinary prayer”. Jonathan Edwards even pub-lished a book encouraging this type of prayer in his day.The long title of his little book was:

A humble attempt to promote the agreement andunion of God’s people throughout the world in ex-traordinary prayer for a revival of religion and theadvancement of God’s kingdom on earth, accord-ing to Scriptural promises and prophecies of thelast time.

What Edwards meant by “extraordinary prayer” wasspecial prayer meetings that happen outside and beyondour normal everyday prayers. He spoke of a specificgathering of people crying out to God for His outpour-ing and change in their lives.

As I was digging around at the Lancaster Mennon-ite Historical Society, I found testimony of this type of“exceptional prayer” powerfully demonstrated in theLancaster revival of 1951. In an old 1951 article from theGospel Herald entitled The Lancaster Revival, a clear andchallenging witness to the power of prayer surfaced.

The Prayer MeetingMuch like the spiritual

condition during theWelch revival in the early1900s, Lancaster Countywas an area that fearedGod and had a respect forHis Word, but underneaththis saintly veneer thelives of many people suf-fered from extremes ofboth religious formalismand licentious carnality.However, a few prayingbelievers moved by God,developed a burden forthings to change. Maurice

E. Lehman, who was one of the pastors of the East Chest-nut Street Mennonite Church, tells the story of how oneof these “extraordinary prayer” groups started and grewinto the Lancaster revival. Writing a testimony of the re-vivals just days after they had happened, Lehman re-ported to the Gospel Herald this inspiring account.

One great factor in the success of this pro-gram was that the saints of God prayed. OnGood Friday of this year [1951] we had a specialday of fasting and prayer at the Vine StreetMennonite Church. There, it was announcedthat we would have special prayer meetingsonce a month besides our regular prayer meet-ings. The next special prayer meeting was heldon a Sunday afternoon at the East ChestnutStreet church. The meeting was well attendedand many prayers were offered and tearsflowed freely. We prayed for revival and for lostsouls. This type of meeting was followed bymany more.

Daily Prayer for RevivalSomeone in the prayer meeting suggested

that there should be an early morning prayer

Entire revival tent prayingon their knees


meeting. So a meeting was called from 6:00 to7:00 a.m. The early morning meetings began ina large Sunday-school room. The Lord pouredout His Spirit upon us. As the numbers in-creased, we moved to the main room of thechurch. In one of the morning meetings Bro.Brunk said, ‘So far in our prayer meetings wehave been observing the second part of James5:16 that the effectual fervent prayer of a right-eous man availeth much. I think tomorrowmorning we ought to consider the part ofJames 5:16 where it says “confess your faultsone to another”’. Bro. Stoner Krady said, ‘Whywait till tomorrow? Let’s start right now’. Atthat point, liberty was given to the group forconfession. People confessed many sins andpraised God.

Confession of SinsMany prayer meetings that followed had a

period for confession. Many sinsof the spirit were confessed andtears were shed as the Holy Spiritsearched our hearts. The specialearly prayer meetings were in ses-sion each morning from May 21 toJuly 22 [1951]. We believe that itwas prayer that brought the re-vival and it will take prayer tocontinue it. Bro. Brunk said theearly morning prayer meeting onJuly 22 was the largest prayermeeting he ever saw.

Others Prayed AlsoOne cannot attribute the re-

vival alone to the prayer meetingheld in the church. We are surethat many aged people and otherswho could not attend throughoutthe conference were also prayingfor such an event. During the meetings, Bro.Brunk received many letters from different partsof the world and people said they were prayingfor the meetings. Since we see what prayer willdo for a church in such a short time, we aremade more responsible to keep praying. 2

George Brunk’s daughter Barbara Brunk Gascho,who was a little girl at the time remembered the prayermeetings 50 years later saying,

As a very young child, I was keenly awareof the pledge to prayer that many personsmade weeks before each crusade was sched-uled to begin. The first service would take placeand our family and the staff would wait in an-ticipation to see if people would come. PeopleWOULD come! 3

Two Willing VesselsA few years before the Lancaster Revivals, George

R. Brunk II and his brother Lawrence were coming backfrom a revival meeting that they had concluded in Rich-mond, Virginia. Their sister Katie reports that the triphome was one they would remember for a long time.She wrote in her book Revival Fires that their “heartsthrobbed with a newly awakened zeal and a greater con-cern for the lost as they began to recognize the chal-lenge which the world offered.” Katie reports that after

this Lawrence just couldnot let the vision go.Lawrence had actuallybeen dreaming and pray-ing about this for a longtime. Eventually Lawrencedared to consider the ideaof stepping out in faithand purchasing the tent,trailer, and equipmenttrusting that God wouldprovide an evangelist. 4

One afternoonLawrence Brunk “stood inthe midst of his poultryflock of five thousandbroilers and asked the Lordto give him as many soulsas there were chickens. Hepromised God that if he

could make $5,000 clear, he would place the entire suminto the needed evangelistic equipment. By 1951,Lawrence was surprised bountifully by not only the$5,000 profit, but the astounding sum of $35,000!Lawrence placed this sum into expensive tents and trav-eling equipment, and soon the first revival campaignbegan in Lancaster.” 5

In an early sermon from 1951, Lawrence looked outover the people sitting in the tent meeting and noticedthe similarity between the “flocks”. After he told the con-


gregation (and apologized for the comparison!) heblessed the Lord for the fulfillment of the vision.

George R. Brunk IIGeorge and Lawrence’s father George Brunk I was

the bishop of their conference and was a godly and apowerful influence in his day. The boys were raised onfiery preaching with clear denunciation of sin. GeorgeR. Brunk II had been called to preach from a young age.

Without any strings pulled by his father, George R.Brunk II was ordained by lot when he was only 22 yearsold. These ordinations by lot were done by placing thenames of the selected men in a hymnal, which was thenshuffled with other hymnals without names. The hymn-books would then be chosen by the men at random. Eachman selected a book, and whoever had the chosen lot inhis hymnal would become the next minister. George re-members that before the ordination he had a dream inwhich it was revealed to him which book he shouldchoose. At the ordination, George selected that book andwas ordained the same day.

The DecisionWhile Lawrence was busy shopping for tent equip-

ment, George was teaching Bible at Eastern MennoniteCollege. George remembers getting an urgent tele-phone call from Lawrence in the middle of class oneafternoon informing him that he was about to buy therevival tent and needed to know a definite answer—yes or no. He asked George the question: If he boughtthe tent, would George come and do the preaching?George said yes, and their lives—as well as the lives ofcountless others—were changed forever. Once on theroad, reminiscent of the Ira D. Sankey and D. L. Moodyrevivals, Lawrence led the singing while George didmost of the preaching.

East Chestnut StreetOnce George and Lawrence got to Lancaster, the

prayer meeting was already strongly underway. Theoverwhelming response of the prayer meeting resultedin an opening night attendance at East Chestnut Streetof over 2,000! By Sunday night, crowds of over 7,000were reported. 6 It was said that many were turned awaybecause of the congestion in the city.

In the face of such an overwhelming turnout, GeorgeBrunk did not succumb to the temptation of merely tick-ling ears. Local resident Irene Deiter remembers that firstcrusade. She said that George started right off challeng-ing the sleeping Lancaster community with, “The peoplein Lancaster County keep their fence rows trimmed andtrained better than they keep their children trimmed andtrained.” She remarked, “When I heard him say that, Iknew he was going to preach the Word—and he did.” 7

Maurice E. Lehmantold Gospel Herald:

The Evangelistpreached against sinfor many nights atthe beginning of therevival. This preach-ing brought convic-tion of hidden sin ofthe flesh and spirit.Many church mem-bers confessed sinand ‘got right’ withGod. Brother George

Lawrence Brunk...asked the Lordto give him as many souls as there were

chickens. He promised God that ifhe could make $5,000 clear, he would place

the entire sum into the neededevangelistic equipment.


Brunk made the statement that this is acleanup program as well as an evangelistic cam-paign.… We who have witnessed this great re-vival can say we will long remember it as one ofthe greatest events in our day.

More EyewitnessesAnother eyewitness who gave a detailed description

of the meetings said:

Most of us who are accustomed to sittingin our regular Mennonite services have a newexperience when we witness those who walkforward in response to the invitation. For threenights, as I attended the meetings in my homecommunity, I satawed. One, two,three persons soonwalked forward. Thenumber mounted—increased so, that Iwas unable to watchthe whole proceed-ing. I saw friends, rel-atives, and otherswalk to the front.

There were callsfor additional per-sonal workers. Theevening hour be-came late, 10:00p.m., and the meet-ings were still goingstrong, although someparents with children hadwended their way out ofthe tent.

As personal workersdealt with those seekinghelp, opportunity wasgiven for those whowished to give their testi-mony for their Lord.There was no difficultywhatever in obtainingwitnesses. As those in theprayer room found peace with God they wereurged to testify before the large audience.

Plain WitnessI sat in my seat entranced, tears flowing

down my cheeks at times, as I entered into thejoys and concerns of those who spoke. Therewas the seventy-year-old Christian who pro-claimed his love for Christ. The very young, theyouthful, the middle-aged, and the silver-hairedgave their testimonies. To be sure, no golden-tongued oratory appeared. These were largelypeople who knew not what it means to standbefore others to witness. They stumbled intheir speech; they walked timidly; many did notsay all they wanted to say, for one forgets onsuch occasions.

Testimonies continued while those in theprayer room filed out to the platform. I wasamazed to see an Amish man walk to the mi-

crophone. He stumbled a little in hisspeech, said something about finding hisway, and then reached into his coatpocket and pulled out a pack of ciga-rettes. He handed them to George, whowas standing nearby guiding the folks tothe microphone. The cigarettes wereplopped on the pulpit, and the joyfulman completed his testimony. Anothercigarette ‘sucker’, as George put it, foundhis release. Soon another speaker wastelling his story.

Confession of SinIt was evident that many Christians

had now really found their Saviour mean-ingful. An approxi-mate ten-minuteperiod producedthe following: A rel-ative of mine, in hishalting English, toldof the many chil-dren he has andhow he wants themto know JesusChrist as Saviour.Next, two younggirls sang theirpraises. Then camea young man whohad been a Sunday

school superintendent in a large church for sev-eral years. He said that he had malice in his heart,

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that he wanted to confess it. He had been influ-enced to make this confession, he explained, be-cause his pastor had made a similar confessionseveral days before, and that certainly he tooshould confess if his pastor could do it.

It was after eleven when the meetingswere dismissed, although generally the hugetent was nearly empty, except for those wholingered, some with loved ones who had foundthemselves anew, others with acquaintances,all marveling at this thingwhich had come to pass.

Marriages Put Back To-gether

One evening I saw a young man whom Ihave known for twenty years suddenly walkout from his position to go to the front wherethose seeking help were standing. In a mo-ment, he returned—with a small, sleeping childon his shoulder. I soon understood what he haddone. He had obtained the child from the armsof his sister and her unfaithful husband so thatthey could go into the prayer room unhin-dered. Soon the couple stood before the mi-crophone asking for prayers, and the youngman, known to be unfaithful to his wife,pledged a new start.

On another evening, previous to theevening which I at-tended, the evan-gelist George hadgiven the invita-tion, and the usualnumbers walked tothe front. Sud-denly, a man and awoman, both ofwhom had walkeddown differentaisles, raced acrossthe front andthrew themselvesupon each other’sshoulders. Neitherhad known theother was present,and, you see, theywere man and wifeseparated formonths. 8

Overflow—to the Old Airport

Due to the overwhelming congestion, the city revivalcould no longer fit on East Chestnut Street; so theymoved adjacent to the old Lancaster Airport and

stretched out yet another tent. Topull this off, volunteers got busy anderected a primary electric line witha transformer for the electricity, and500 feet of the newly designed plas-tic piping for the water. Wood was

borrowed from the local lumberyard to build the stageand the wood benches.

Effect on theCommunity

The revivals had a significant effect on the commu-nity. Michael D. Beckler, who was personally affected byone of the revivals that spread from these days said of hiscommunity:

Our communitywas never thesame after that.Some of the Chris-tians who recom-mitted their livesto Christ after thisdropped whatevertheir life’s vocationwas prior to thatand went into min-istry…I will neverforget the spiritualfervor that grippedthe community.People were prais-ing God all daylong whereverthey were work-ing. I can remem-ber a cousin ofmine saying thatthe grocery store

The two tents to the right were purchasedbefore the first campaign began and wereused at Lancaster. During the campaign atSouderton, in August 1951, the large tentto the left was purchased and also set up.

This tent can seat 5,000 people.


where he worked was like attending church allday long, because all that these new convertsand recommitted Christians talked about allday long was the Lord and how He had changedtheir life.” 9

Paul A. Neuenschwander, one of the volunteer elec-tricians for the tent, mentioned his surprise of howmany different groups of Christians were coming seek-ing revival.

The six-week crusade opened on Sundayevening with the large tent nearly filled. Mostarea Mennonite churches were represented,regardless of the conference affiliation; andnon-conference churches attended as well. Itwas the first time a Mennonite sponsoredmeeting attracted so many evangelical groupssuch as Christian Missionary Alliance,Nazarene, Brethren, and many others. Thegeneral public was affected. It was easy tostart a spiritualc o n v e r s a t i o nwith most any-

one on the street or in a place of business dur-ing these weeks. 10

As God poured out His Spirit again in Lancaster,the Lancaster Airport site saw an unprecedentedturnout for such a small area. The Sunday evening serv-ice of July 15, 1951 had more than 15,000 in attendance!This was just seven weeks after the meetings began.During the campaign, over 1,500 people had publiclyconfessed their sins, made decisions to follow Christ,or reconsecrated their lives.

Real ChangeFord Berg, writing of the change in peoples’ lives

said,

An outward indication of the effectivenessof the meetings was demonstrated by Men-nonite farmers who plowed up their fields of

tobacco. Othersthrew cigarettes,pipes, whiskey,

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playing cards, jewelry, and other itemswhich they felt had been a hindrance totheir lives into an offering rack marked “Of-fering for Baal.” 11

Gospel Herald records that the wood cratepictured in front of the Lancaster airport revivaltent [picture on front cover] was used “as a re-ceptacle into which people threw pulp and othersinful articles.”

On the Road—Spread to West of

PhiladelphiaShortly after the unprecedented outpouring in Lan-

caster, the Brunk brothers headed to a community westof Philadelphia, and on July 29th started a series of meet-ings in the Franconian area. The church there could havejust tried to catch the wave of excitement and ride on thecoattails of the Lancaster revival. However, the prayingmen and women there knew what real revival wouldcost. They knew itneeded a church thatwould prevail in prayer.Writing to Gospel Her-ald right after the revivaltents had left, Paul M.Ledrach tells the story.

The revival inFranconia Confer-ence did not beginJuly 29, the firstnight of the cam-paign, nor did it endSeptember 3, 1951.Rather, it was dur-ing those days that the revival fires werepoured out in this community. The revivalbegan long ago as brethren individually prayedfor a revival in the Church. The five weeks ofmeetings were but the beginning of the work-ing of the power of God in answer to theseprayers. And now that the three huge tentshave gone from the 17-acre field one mile westof Souderton on route 113, the revival is notover. It continues, and the Lord alone knows

what the outcome will be. At least FranconianConference will never be the same.

In many revival meetings it is necessaryfirst of all to build attendance, interest, andconvictions. Not so in this campaign! From thevery first thousands attended, souls weresaved, sins were confessed, and people gainedChristian victory and assurance.

The crowds attending the services werelarge. They ranged from 2,500 on Monday andFriday evenings, to 10,000 to 12,000 on Sunday

evenings and theclosing nights of thecampaign. Largecrowds, however,are not the heart ofthe revival. Thelarge crowds wereonly symptoms thatsomething was hap-pening…The Gospelwas being preachedin entirety andpower…The HolySpirit was convict-ing men ofsin…Many were ac-

cepting Christ as Savior…Many were repentingand confessing sin…many were surrenderinglife in a new way to Christ. People were begin-ning to understand and experience the glory ofthe Lord in their hearts and lives!...God was vis-iting His people.

An eyewitness from the revivals reported thatthere was genuine repentance of sins and changedlives. Writing about a particularly hardened group of


young men that were con-verted, it was recorded,

“In the FranconiaConference there hadbeen for years a gang ofyoung Mennonite boyswho delighted in reck-less driving and daringstunts, much to thechagrin of other Chris-tians and fellow churchmembers. They wereremarkably convertedat the meetings andnow engage in prayermeetings and Christian work instead of the for-mer “rough stuff.”

Lasting TestimonyWillard Bergey, who was one of the “Franconian cow-boys” that were converted at the meetings, said of hisown conversion over 50 years later:

“I went on doing the worldly things that Iwas doing, going to shows, carnivals, and driv-ing my car in a way that was unfit—to shame.This was what gave us the name ‘FranconianCowboys’. I also was doing many things toplease myself. Now, all at once I saw myself asan ungodly person. And thank God, He did awonderful change in my heart”… “In Augustof 1951 the Brunk Brothers came to Franconia.After the meetings were going a couple ofweeks, we decided to give it a try to see whatthese meetings were about. The Spirit of Godkept drawing us backagain and again. Finallyone night, as George wasgiving the invitation, myheart was filled with con-viction and condemnationof my sin. My head wasdown and the tears wereflowing, but I didn’t havethe courage to go forward.A brother put his armaround me and said, ‘Would you like me to goup front with you?’ So I went, and there on the

shavings in the prayertent, I cried out to Godin repentance. Godshowed me the sinful-ness of my heart. As I re-pented, God did amiraculous work in myheart. I was dead in sin,and now I was alive. Iwas blind, but now Isee. My night hadturned to day. Godchanged my heart in amoment. 12

From Franconia therevivals quickly overflowed into Ohio, Indiana, andCanada. The outpouring was moving beyond denom-inational boundaries, and the Brunk brothers pur-chased four semi trucks to haul the equipment in anattempt to meet the demands. A church magazine re-ported in July 1952:

During the winter of 1951-52 the Brunkbrothers held two series of meetings inFlorida, one in a Mennonite center, and theother in a non-Mennonite location. Calls toconduct revivals have come from many states,and meetings are now booked for a couple ofyears in advance. Many requests have beenturned down. 13

TIME MagazineBy August of 1952 the revival caught the attention

of TIME Magazine which reported:

“This week, after 14 months ofevangelizing through the U.S.and Canada, the Brunks arepreaching the word in Goshen,Ind., to crowds of nearly 3,000a night. At their previous stop,Waterloo, Ont., attendancewas even larger: 105,000 dur-ing four weeks of steadypreaching (including 1,500who made formal ‘decisions

for Christ’). Local Canadian pastors were sopleased with the results that some canceled


their own services to let their congregationshear the Brunks preach.”

At their first meeting in Lancaster, Pa.,Lawrence led the singing and George gave hismaiden sermon, a vigorous appeal to elect forChrist and escape damnation, a topic whichMennonites have always stressed. The firstnight more than 2,000 jammed their way intothe tent. Dozens were converted. Before theweek was out, the Brunks had to order a newtent. Said Preacher George, ‘We preach a fun-damental brand of religion, but we aren’t fun-damentalists. We aren’t modernists, either.You don’t have to be one or the other.’ 14

Blessing to the LocalChurch

In a personal interview toward the end of his life,George R. Brunk II was asked if he sought the supportof the local body of Christ. Brunk reported that inevery crusade except one he had the full consent andsupport of the localbody. Instead of beingin competition with thelocal churches as somepara-church ministriesare today, the Brunkbrothers worked withlocal pastors to assurethat new convertsfound essential neededdiscipleship.

Remembering theeffect on the localchurch, one magazinereported:

“Obviously, the effect of the revivals in thelocal churches is profound. In the large Franco-nia Mennonite Church, near Philadelphia, forexample, in a regular Sunday morning service,over 130 responded to an invitation to confes-sion of sin and reconsecration. Significantly,this was the first invitation ever given in thatchurch. In another church nearby there were 85confessions and testimonies on a Sunday morn-ing during an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Un-told other miracles, including many acts of

restitution, known only by God, prevailed andstill continue. 15

This past August, 2008, I held a personal interviewwith Luke Horst, an 83-year-old retired Mennonitebishop and church elder of this time. He said that he re-members all the elders and bishops sitting up on the plat-form during the meetings. He remembers that at theLancaster Airport meetings, in order to avoid the ten-dency of preaching a Gospel-lite message, early serviceswere conducted that taught on biblical doctrines anddared to draw lines, even on controversial issues.

Not Meant to Enter-tain or Amuse

Unlike many modern church gatherings wherekeeping the attention of the people is carefully choreo-graphed and orchestrated by rock bands, videos, andeven “spirit-dancing”, the Lancaster revivals consisted ofsimple, heartfelt gospel singing and anointed preachingon subjects such as sin, hell, and getting right with God.

John E. Sharp in hisbook Gathering at theHearth reports whatthe meetings were like:

What are the serv-ices like? There aredaily prayer meet-ings, some preced-ing the eveningmeetings whichbegin at 7:30.Lawrence opensthe meetings byhaving the audi-ence sing many

hymns and gospel songs. The a cappella, con-gregational-type singing seems never to fail inlifting the spirits of those present.

After a short devotional period and furthersinging, George begins his sermons. He speakson such subjects as God’s Barriers to Hell, Fromthe Glory of Jericho to the Disgrace of Ai, andThe Sins of the Flesh and the Spirit. The ser-mons generally average an hour in length. Afterthe sermon the invitation is given. By this timethe audience has heard much direct preaching,


some which is new, and much which is familiar.The speaker draws his illustrations from life,from children, and practical experiences, all ofwhich have tremendous effect in leading peo-ple to make decisions for Christ.

Supported by GodIn the sermon “How the Revivals Began”, preached

in August of 1951, George Brunk said that when he andLawrence began, they determined that their provisionswould be totally met on faith. George recalled that whenthey were dreaming about a real revival crusade, one ofthe things that had grieved them about the meetings theyhad been to was all of the time spent begging for money.“We thought it a terrible pity that a campaign in whichthe Gospel is preached had to be spoiled by begging peo-ple for money.” The Brunk brothers took an offering, andsometimes even that was considered scandalous. How-ever, through the years they went into each new area onfaith, with no promise of how things would work out.

Since ThenThe blessing that came to Lancaster County during

the revival is still felt today. As I have talked to peoplewho were alive during the Lancaster revivals, even if theythemselves are not too keen on the idea of revival, Ifound that they still admit that what happened here in1951 was a real move of God.

Since the 1950s Lancaster County, along with manyother areas around the country, was “sifted like wheat”,especially during the latter part of the 1960s. Divisionsseparated the county into various camps, ranging fromextremely liberal to extremely conservative. Drivingdown a road in Lancaster County today, you could seeone parking lot filled with people with plain dress, allcoming into church on their horse and buggies. Then onthe other side, you could see another church with a con-spicuous lack of modest dress, all on their way in to heartheir female preacher expound on the need to have tol-eration with the new homosexual members. What is sur-prising—and sad—is that both of these churches sharethe same denomination name on the front of theirchurch buildings. It doesn’t have to be this way.

Ironically, both of these extremes have tended todrop the cause of revival. Sadly, today many ultra con-servative churches have actually grown fearful of re-vival meetings and foreign missions. Likewise, liberal

churches can hardly dream of a church-life that expe-riences daily prayer meetings, speaking directly aboutsin, or encouraging separation from the world. Both ex-tremes make the Church of Jesus Christ saltless intoday’s world.

Just MenInevitably, the Brunk brothers made their share of

mistakes, but they were just men. Moreover, becausethey were just men there is an important lesson to belearned from them, as well as all other historic revivals.Whether it be the revivals under John Wesley, the GreatAwakening under Jonathan Edwards, or the Welsh re-vivals of 1904, there is an important lesson to be learned.

Throughout history, there is no doubt that God hasused willing vessels to accomplish His will. However,when we look at them in hindsight, many inconsistenciesemerge. Even in the Bible, looking at the revivals underAsa and Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles, chapters 15through 21, we could look from the outside at thesemighty works of God and see their mistakes, their un-finished business, their failures in later life, and concludethat God really never did anything in their day. However,I believe that doing so is an insult to God and the workof the Holy Spirit.

It is notable that after all the mighty works that Goddid through King Asa during his time, God still tooknote that the work was incomplete. However, what iseven more surprising is that even after all of Asa’s bla-tant mistakes, God still recognized the good that wasdone. “But the high places were not taken away out ofIsrael: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all hisdays” (2 Chron 15:17).


1 George R. Brunk II revival sermon, “God’s Supreme Position of Power.” Harrisonburg, Virginia, September, 1952.2 “Gospel Herald”, Sept. 4, 1951, p. 853.3 All Praise Be to the Lord: Memories of George R. Brunk II, 21 Century Press, 2003.4 Revival Fires, by Katie Florence Shank, 1952.5 “Mennonite Life”, July, 1952, pp. 119, 122-124.6 “Pennsylvania Mennonite Heritage”, January, 1996, quoting “Mennonite Weekly Review”, June 28, 1951, “Thousands Attend Evangelistic Services”. 7 All Praise Be to the Lord: Memories of George R. Brunk II, 21 Century Press, 2003.8 “Mennonite Life”, July, 1952, pp. 119, 122-124.9 Praise Be to the Lord, Memories of George R. Brunk II, 21 Century Press, 2003, pg. 92.10 Ibid., pg. 138.11 Gathering at the Hearth: Stories Mennonites Tell: A Collection of Twenty-Eight Stories from Mennonite History, by John E. Sharp, Herald Press, 2001.12 Praise Be to the Lord, Memories of George R. Brunk II, 21 Century Press, 2003, pp. 103-104.13 “Mennonite Life”, July, 1952, pp. 119, 122-124.14 “TIME Magazine”, Monday, Aug. 25, 1952.15 “Mennonite Life”, July, 1952, pp. 119, 122-124.

Lessons from TheLancaster Revival—

and All RevivalsI have found that when looking back at the mighty

works that God has done throughout history, problemscan arise from two extremes: both focusing on the fail-ures of revival and ignoring them. For example, to usetheir failures as an excuse not to go further and pursuethose “high places”, by reasoning that God will send re-vival without us worrying about such things as “highplaces” is a big mistake. On the other hand, to cancelout what God has done in history because we now no-tice their imperfections, is both a disservice to the pre-vious work of God, as well as a great hindrance in Godrevealing to us our own blinding incon-sistencies today.

No doubt about it—when God’s peo-ple repent of their sins, get right withGod, and pray—God sends revival. Andwhen He does, the lives of men changeand God alone is glorified. Men will fail,movements will fail, and denominationswill fail. Even whole nations will fail, butthe promise of God stands—“ If I shut upheaven that there be no rain, or if I com-mand the locusts to devour the land, or ifI send pestilence among my people; If mypeople, which are called by my name,shall humble themselves, and pray, andseek my face, and turn from their wickedways; then will I hear from heaven, andwill forgive their sin, and will heal theirland” (2 Chron 7:13-14).

Do it Again, Lord!As I studied the Lancaster revival, my heart rejoiced.

This revival clearly demonstrated the enormous power ofa praying people and willing servants. No one personal-ity stood out as deserving all the credit—not even GeorgeR. Brunk II. It became clear to me that when God has apraying people who are serious about their sins thingsbegin to happen. I believe that Bro. Maurice E. Lehman,the praying pastor at the beginning of the Lancaster re-vival, encapsulated the secret of the Lancaster revivals,as well as any other revivals when he said —“We believethat it was prayer that brought the revival and it will takeprayer to continue it.” My prayer is, “Lord, please do itagain! Please do it again here in Lancaster County, andacross the world!” �


The Apostle Paul makes many references to war inhis writings. He uses terms like enemy, soldier andwarfare. He also clearly defines a different kind of

war than what comes to the mind of the natural man.This different kind of war is the true, spiritual war that isbehind all wars that mankind has fought. Man, becauseof his lack of knowledge, has played into the hands of anevil, unseen enemy whose goal has always been “to steal,

and to kill, and to destroy” (John 10:10). Oh how foolishmen would feel if for only a few minutes the veil of theunseen spirit world could be pulled back. They wouldsee how Satan is using them to kill and to mutilate theirfellow men. They would see how he has used their ownselfish desires to pit one against another. He gets themfighting over borders, money and power so that he canfill hell with the souls of men.

This is a very sad reality. We grieve over the loosesand destruction that Satan has wrought behind thescenes. We shouldn’t be too hard on our unconvertedfellow humans. We are guilty of some of the same kindof ignorant employment. Believers in Jesus Christ donot see how many times they have also been used inthis unseen war. There are often “wars and fightingsamong you” as in James chapter four. Brother is setagainst brother, and divisions occur among muchneeded troops. We Christians are sadly ignorant of theamount of activity we are involved in with evil spirits.Have you ever considered the possible number of evilspirits that have gone out into the world? Revelationchapter five mentions one hundred million angels

A

DifferentKind

of

Warby Denny Kenaston

We wrestle not against flesh and blood—We wrestle against principalities,

against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world,against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Eph. 6:12 (adapted)


singing around thethrone. If that numberrepresents the twothirds of angels thatdid not rebel, then thatleaves fifty millionfallen ones loose onthis earth. That won’tput a demon behindevery rock, but doesreveal more of themthan most of us everthink. These lying spir-its whisper many things into the minds of God’s people,turning them against each other.

My meditations go to one of my favorite testimoniesin the Bible. I remember the account of unseen forcesrecorded in II Kings 6:8-17. The armies of Syria encom-passed the city where Elisha was staying, waiting to killhim. The servant saw this formidable army in the morn-ing and went in haste to tell his master of the dilemma.I love the prophet’s sanctified response. He calmly reas-sured his servant, “They that be with us are more thanthey that be with them.” Elisha knew the other war verywell. It seems he could even see behind the veil at times.He very calmly prayed that God would open the eyes ofhis servant, so his servant could see some of the soldiersin the real war in the spirit world. Lord, open our eyesthat we may see beyond the realm of flesh and blood.

A Spiritual War

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not warafter the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfareare not carnal, but mighty through God to thepulling down of strong holds;)....” II Cor. 10:3-4

Every war has defined perimeters which help thosefighting to know how to engage their enemy. It wouldbe ridiculous to come against an army of tanks with ri-fles, or to march in full formation against people whoare hiding behind rocks in the woods. Warriors mustdiscern the battle lines and engage the enemy accord-ingly. This holds true in the spiritual war. Paul writesabout spiritual weapons, spiritual armor and evil spir-its who are our enemies. He also speaks about strate-gies which will aid us in overcoming this enemy. We arein a different kind of war. We must learn about this warand how to engage our enemy. So many times God’s

people have an imagi-nary idea of the war. Itis more of a pseudowar. They know thereis a war because theBible says so, but theydon’t have a clue whatthis war is really allabout. Our enemy hasdone this, lest weshould see him andarise and overcomehim. It seems silly to

me. We are in a war where we are promised victory, andmost of us never engage the enemy.

As there are rules in every war, there are rules in thisspiritual war. How are we going to fight? Have you everheard of foot boxing? It is a way of fighting in which youonly use your feet. If you are going to engage an enemy infoot boxing, then you must learn how to box with yourfeet. Those who choose this method of boxing practiceand become very good at it. Why do they do this? Becausethey must learn to fight by the rules. Brothers and sisters,we are in a spiritual war. Like the foot boxer, we must ac-knowledge the rules revealed in scripture, master themand engage the enemy. I would like to give some definitionto the warfare that is raging all around us. Let us considerour weapons, consider our enemy and his strategies. Thenwe can see clearer and enter into the battle.

The Enemy in ThisSpiritual War

LuciferHe is a fallen archangel who rebelled against God

Almighty. He is the god of this world and ruler over allthat is evil. He is an unseen enemy who functions in theseen and unseen realms. He is a formidable foe and anenemy of all righteousness. His goal is to dethrone GodAlmighty in every way he can. He is a destroyer and hasset himself to damn as many human beings as he can.

Wicked SpiritsThese are fallen angels who followed Lucifer in his

rebellion against God. They are called demons in theNew Testament. They are filthy, unclean spirits who stillserve their master as they did in the rebellion in heaven.They join with him to defy God in every way they can,

We are in a different kind of war.So many times God’s people have an

imaginary idea of the war. They knowthere is a war because the Bible saysso, but they don’t have a clue what thiswar is really all about. We are in a war

where we are promised victory, andmost of us never engage the enemy.


to damn the souls of men in perdition and destruction.These wicked spirits are also invisible to our eyes. Theyare given many different names in the Bible. Many timesthey are named according to their evil character.

Evil PeopleThe Apostle Paul used the phrase “enemies of the

cross of Christ” when he was warning the Church atPhilippi of certain men. Many wicked humans are usedby these unseen hosts to attack and destroy God’s workand His people. We must recognize this fact: we have en-emies who walk in bodies. Remember, we do not warwith them after the flesh. This is a different kind of war.Some of these humans know what they are doing, andsome of them are very ignorant of how they are beingused by the devil.

The Strategiesof the Enemy

He Uses HumansAs I stated above, our fellow human beings are used

to attack us in a multitude of ways. Some attack us onpurpose, and some don’t have a clue what they are doing.We must be alert to what they are doing, or we fall intothe traps of our enemy. The prophet Daniel teaches usthat in the last days our enemy will “wear out the saints.”Many times this is done by humans. There is a phrasethat I have adopted and use often in the ministry. It hashelped me to remember this strategy. I will often say tomyself, “Don’t take it personally,” as I walk through thereal world of ministry to my fellow man.

He is a LiarThis tactic is one of the enemy’s most subtle

weapons against us. He lies! Jesus said, “He is a liar andthe father of it.” He hasn’t changed a bit from the be-ginning when he said to Eve, “Yea, hath God said?” Hetakes the truth and twists it. He sends forth lying spir-its to whisper in our ears. He uses people to speak to usand try to convince us to go the wrong way. We mustremember that a lie has no power over us whatsoever,unless we foolishly believe it.

He is an AccuserThe Bible calls our enemy “the accuser of the

brethren.” Oh, how he uses false condemnation to dis-

courage us from serving God! Many times he will causeus to sin and then beat us unmercifully with condemna-tion. He will say, “So you say you love God? You don’tlove God. How could you and do such a thing?”

He Tempts UsOur enemy wants us to sin and lose fellowship with

God. He wants us to sin and bring reproach to the holyname of our God. He loves it when we fail and fall intosin. He uses all means to make this happen. Evil spiritswill whisper suggestions to us. Evil people will live atempting life before us. Some will even out-and-out tryto convince us to live in sin. This is a great deception andis most destructive in a spiritual war. Remember the sinof Achan. It affected the whole of Israel.

He Uses PrideThis is his most powerful weapon. It is the very

essence of his being. By pride he brought destruction onhis own life. Many mighty warriors have fallen by pride.Oh, the foolish thoughts that he puts in the minds ofmen who have won victories over him!

The Weaponsof our Warfare

When we think of the word weapon, we usuallythink of weapons to attack with, like a knife or a gun.This is not always the case in the Bible. The Bible usesthe word to describe offensive and defensive equipment.A sword would be an offensive weapon; a shield wouldbe a defensive weapon. As soldiers in this war, we receivegreat courage when God says to us, “the weapons of ourwarfare are mighty through God.” This statement givesus tremendous insight into the nature of the war and thenature of our weapons. It puts our God in the center ofthe battle. Like the psalmist said, “through God we shalltread down our enemies.” Spiritual weapons, against anunseen enemy, make a different kind of war. Lets look atsome of our weapons:

Prevailing PrayerOur most powerful stance in this war is the kneeling

position. A soldier learns very quickly that his stance, orstand, is very important. If he loses his footing, he is at agreat disadvantage. Satan and his demons tremble at akneeling, praying Christian. He knows that God answersprayer, and therefore he will do all he can to distract you


from this holy exercise. He is very happy when we gettoo busy in the battle to check our stance and set ourfooting again. Through prayer in the Spirit, we see theunseen enemy advancing.

The Word of GodGod says that His Word is the Sword of the Spirit.

This powerful weapon is used to pierce the enemy andtear down his lies. How foolish it is to go into the battlewithout a knowledge of the Bible. We must become stu-dents of the Word. This Word is “quick and powerful,and sharper than any two-edged sword.” We are also toldthat the Word is part of ourdefensive weaponry. We pro-tect ourselves against the liesof the enemy by having thetruth hidden in our hearts.

FastingThis weapon is probably

hell’s best kept secret. The fast-ing prayer breaks the yoke ofbondage placed on the souls ofmen. Fasting brings spiritualalertness. As I reflect upon myown experiences and the re-sults that came, I don’t see howwe can even enter into the battle if we don’t practice fast-ing from time to time. I have observed that when God’speople begin to fast, you will soon see clear spiritual vic-tories in the war.

The Name of Jesus ChristJesus was given a name that is above every name. As

we consider the inner dynamics of this spiritual war, it isnice to know that we are on the winning side. I knowsometimes it doesn’t seem that way, but that is because wedon’t enter into the victory that we have in Christ. Whenour Lord Jesus went to the cross, He “spoiled principalitiesand powers.” The name of Jesus Christ is a mighty weaponto a Spirit-filled believer. These unseen forces must obeyus who use this powerful name in the fear of God.

The Blood of Jesus ChristWe sing that there is power in the blood. Sometimes

I’m not sure if we know what we are singing. The bloodsaves us, and the blood sanctifies us. The blood hasopened the way for us warriors to stay in the presence ofGod, which is the key to victory. Revelation twelve says,“They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb.”

To Speak with Our MouthRevelation chapter twelve also says, “They overcame

him by the word of their testimony.” In this we see theforce we have against the enemy when we open up ourmouth. The devil will fight you more on this point thanany other. This is because God has ordained that peopleget saved when we preach the gospel to them. Thatmeans they make a change of kingdoms. This is the lastthing that the dragon wants. Through our words the eyesof the blind are opened. Let us get aggressive and seek

and save that which is lost.

Strategies inthe War

HumilityThe devil has his devices. We must not

be ignorant of them. Our enemy tries toderail us through pride. God’s counterstrategy is lowliness of heart. Humility re-leases grace into our lives, which in turngives us power over the enemy. I can notemphasize enough the need of a humble,dependent heart. Many times in my own

life I have felt like I was fighting a battle all alone. In mydesperation, I broke before God and cried for help. Godwas there, wisdom was there, and I knew what to do. Ourloving, all-wise God designed the war in such a way thatwe depend on Him all the way through. The enemy can-not defeat us if we are humble.

Praise and WorshipSome may say, “This is a strange strategy to use in a

war.” Yes, in a natural sense this is true. If you understandthe rules of this war, you will see the power and anoint-ing that comes when we praise and magnify our God.There are several examples in the Bible when the battlewas won through singing. God gave this strategy to Is-rael. It had powerful results. It confounds the enemy andsends him running in every direction. It will cause ourfoes to fight each other.

The Power of LoveSatan is ultimate hate personified. He openeth not

the house of his prisoners. The dear lost people of thisworld serve a very hard taskmaster. He rules by hatred

continued on page 21


There are a number of books available on the sub-ject of nonresistance, but A Change of Allegianceby Dean Taylor is one of the best I’ve ever read.

One of the things that makes this book unique is that itis written from the perspective of a soldier. Both DeanTaylor and his wife Tania were soldiers in the U. S. Armywhen they came to the conviction from reading Scrip-ture that war is wrong.

Much of A Change of Allegiance reads like an excit-ing novel (with a surprise ending!) as Taylor tells thestory of what happened after Tania and he applied to bedischarged from the army as conscientious objectors. Atthat point in time, they were stationed in Germany, andthe Gulf War of 1990 was just beginning. All of theseevents in their lives were happening against the backdropof the fall of communism in Eastern Europe and the tear-ing down of the Berlin Wall.

As Taylor unfolds the suspenseful drama of his ownsituation, he also explains the biblical basis for his deci-sion, together with the facts of Christian history helearned. He discusses the early Christians and their firmstand against war and then describes how thingschanged with Constantine. He goes on to talk about theCrusades, the endless wars between professing Chris-tians throughout history, and even how German “Chris-tians” fought for Hitler in Nazi Germany.

Taylor also details how various individual Chris-tians, like Erasmus, and various Christian groupsthrough the centuries—such as the Waldensians, CzechBrethren, and Anabaptists—embraced nonresistance.Taylor’s graphic description of the training he wentthrough as an American soldier to kill others shouldopen the eyes of even the staunchest God-and-countrypatriots.

A Change of Allegianceby Dean Taylor

Rick and I hammering on the Berlin Wall


One particularly valuable aspect of Taylor’s book ishis sensible answers to some of the most common ques-tions that are asked to nonresistant Christians:

• Why was war allowed in the Old Testament if it’swrong for Christians?

• What if someone broke in your house and werethreatening your wife and children?

• Why didn’t John the Baptist tell the soldiers whocame to him to leave the army?

• What about Cornelius, the Roman centurion?• Isn’t there such a thing as a “Just War”?• Doesn’t Romans 13 tell us to obey our govern-

ments when we’re drafted?

A Change of Allegiance is enhanced by photos (in-cluding one of the belt buckles worn by Nazi soldiers thatsay “God Is With Us”). The book also includes an in-

valuable reference guide for someone who is presentlyin the military and is convicted to apply for a conscien-tious objector discharge.

and fear. Nothing will open the eyes of the lost morethan genuine, “lay-down-your-life” love. It is one of therules of this war. We must learn to love at all times.When the battle is raging the highest, we must mani-fest more love. I wonder how many executors were con-verted because they looked into the face of a martyr andsaw love shining back at him.

Endure HardnessSuffering and self-denial is part of a soldier’s nor-

mal life. This is true with an earthly warrior. It is thesame for us. We must arm ourselves with a mind to suf-fer. Soldiers do that. It is no problem for them to havesome hard times. They expect it. We must put on thismind. We will overcome our foe as we “love not ourlives unto the death.”

The Christian’s Armor

Paul the Apostle gives a list of our defensive weaponsin Ephesians chapter six. We find protection in the heatof the battle in our armor. Paul pleads with us to put iton. I wonder how many Christian soldiers he watchedfall in the day of battle. This is no make-believe war. Thedevil is playing for keeps. Many of those who call them-selves God’s people view the world as a playground. In

reality, it is a battlefield. Souls are perishing all aroundus, all the time. When we consider this different kind ofwar, these pieces of armor become our very life. Loinsgirt with truth; heart covered with righteousness; feetshod with a motivation to go and preach; these are a de-fense for us. A shield of lively faith can stop the strongestfiery lies the enemy shoots at us.

Conclusion

This different kind of war is a vast subject. It can notbe fully covered in as short of an article as this. My desireis to stir you up unto the war that lies ahead of you. Wemust become students of these strategies. A good soldierwill study the battle before he engages his enemy. In Is-rael all the youth prepared for war. All men twenty yearsold and upward went out to war. The young men knewthis, and it stirred them in their youth. They dreamed ofthe day when they could set out in battle array with thebrethren. We must do the same. I don’t believe in killingmy fellow man; however, I am not a pacifist. I am an ac-tivist. I see a different war. As Christians we need to befull of zeal and holy grit. We need to learn the rules, en-list in the war and serve our generation. Will you do it,my friend? Let us rise up and engage the enemy. We arewell able, by the grace of God. �

A Change of Allegiancesells for $9.95 and can be

ordered directly from:

Radical Reformation Bookswww.RadicalReformation.com

or

Scroll Publishing Co.PO Box 122, Amberson, PA 17210

(717) 349-7033www.scrollpublishing.com

Continued from page 19, A Different Kind of War by Denny Kenaston


The moving of the Spirit in revivalhas been preceded by many prayersfrom burdened Christians across the

Church. There are anxious souls who haveprayed long for revival in our time.

Some of these have revealed in tearshow they had hoped almost against hopethat they might witness mass revival. Maythe Lord bless and renew all those prayerwarriors who are holding on to God for amighty revival in our time which willsweep the unsaved into the Kingdom andrestore or renew those whose first lovehas been lost.

But there is need also for caution.It has been rightly said that re-

vivals are dangerous. To deny this is anextreme position as also it is to refuseto recognize the good. For example, thereis danger that revival will create or in-tensify division. The revivals of thelast two hundred years, though greatsources of blessings, were divisive...butwho would therefore conclude that re-vivals like these of the past were notneeded? The churches at that time weredue a mighty shaking. Some were willingfor it. Others were not. Division was theresult.

We can learn something from the pastwith respects to this by avoiding any un-necessary occasion for offense, though wedare not compromise truth to satisfy car-nal men.

There is the danger of excess andextreme, both in word and in act. Theevangelized individual, however much hemay need to be moved out of hislethargy and indifference, must experi-ence the stabilizing effect of the

truth of God’s Word to hold and to de-liver him from fanaticism with its un-justified judgments upon others.

There is danger too that revivalistsmay minimize the place and importance ofother agencies or offices in the church.We must remember that God has distributedgifts not all of which are alike. Each isimportant in relation to the other, asare the parts of the human body. For ex-ample, the pastor who shepherds and feedsthe flock is filling a place in thechurch which is second to none.

Revival may lead out into an emo-tional stream in which there are nodoctrinal moorings. This is not truerevival. The experiences of men must berooted in the Word of God. When we comeback to the doctrine of the Word, wehave had revival. The biblical revivalsconfirm this.

Perhaps the greatest of all dangersis that of a sleeping church which re-fuses to be aroused. There is the type ofindividual that demands that every “i”should be dotted and every “t” crossed.A s long as men are connected with revivalthere will be imperfections. Wisdom andgrace are needed from God that pitfallscan be avoided and dangers overcome.

We should pray unitedly that Godwould send us this kind of revival thatwe need, even if not according to ourspecifications. It would seem that such arevival would result in uniting thechurch, not only each to the other butaltogether to the Word both written andliving. God alone knows what power wouldbe demonstrated among us even yet.

Dangersin Revival

by George R. Brunk II (1951)


This is an hour that tries thesouls of men, especially ofthe saints. Wiseacres may

laugh at the idea of demonism andspurn the thought that this presentpagan, anti-Christian world-orderis of the devil, but true believers

who have really contended with satanic forces in theheavenlies understand whereof we speak. Satan, know-ing that his time is short, is using every wile and device,as a roaring lion, an angel of light or a great accuser, todevour, deceive or discourage God’s people. He attacksbody, mind and spirit.

While the Great Avenger tarries, the great adversarybesets the widowed Church. Truth is on the scaffold,wrong on the throne. Bible students generally agree thatour Lord’s message in Luke 17 concerning His return,and the parable of the importunate widow in Luke 18,are one discourse. Woven together, they reveal that thelast days will be marked by worldliness, as in the days ofNoah and Lot; by corruption, as the carcass awaits thevultures; and by faithlessness: ‘When the Son of mancometh, shall he find faith on the earth?’ In such an hourthe Church, like a widow beset by adversaries, must findher greatest weapon in importunate prayer, lest she faint.The prayer is not for vengeance but for justice: ‘Vindi-cate me against my adversary,’ says a new translation.

Certainly we have today the worldliness, the cor-ruption and the faithlessness. Surely we have the ad-versary. But the Church has not yet learned to pray andnot faint. The situation is desperate, but we are not des-perate. We have not come experientially to holy des-peration, the extremity which is God’s opportunity. Weare still trying to save our faces, puttering around withpet projects and halfway measures. We have not learnedthat we are too far gone, that it is too late in the day forall that. When we find that out we shall quit boasting ofour great numbers, our big preachers, the money we

have raised. We shall quit bargaining with the adver-sary, letting the King of Sodom make Abraham rich. Aslong as we have a few tricks left up our sleeves, we shallnever get down to importunate prayer. We need to be“shipwrecked on God.”

We have done and are doing a lot of strange things.We have failed to condemn sin. We have tried to adaptour gospel to trends and tendencies, instead of de-manding that the age conform to the Gospel. We haveacted as though we felt better about our religion everytime a scientist spoke favorably of it, instead of lettingGod be true if Science never spoke in His behalf. Wehave let higher criticism almost scare us out of takingtexts. We have made man and not God the center of theuniverse. We have confused evangelism with revivaland added numbers to churches already loaded downwith members that have been “starched and ironed butnot washed.” We have imagined that we had a revivalevery time a church paid out of debt. We have seenModernism sneak in while shepherds have failed towarn of wolves in sheep’s clothing. We have succumbedto the fad for tolerance until we have become “dumbdogs [that] cannot bark.” (Isa. 56:10)

“The Savior, in the parable of the importunatewidow, spoke concerning His return. That precious truthhas become a poor relation in the family of doctrines,recognized with embarrassment, if at all. Yet it may bequestioned whether there will ever be another awaken-ing until the Church, aware of her desperation, recoversthe prayer, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus; avenge me ofmine adversary.” One does not hear that often, for sinceConstantine we have been building the kingdom herebut not looking for the King hereafter.

But how could such a prayer produce revival? Be-cause when men really have this hope within them, theypurify themselves—and that is revival.

When the saints become as desperate as the situa-tion, something will happen! �

Desperation and Revivalby Vance Havner (1948)


The Future Glorious Stateof Christ’s Church

This is what the LORD Almighty says: “Many peo-ples and the inhabitants of many cities will yetcome, and the inhabitants of one city will go to

another and say, ‘Let us go at once to entreat the LORDand seek the LORD Almighty. I myself am going.’ Andmany peoples and powerful nations will come toJerusalem to seek the LORD Almighty and to entreathim” (Zech. 8:20-22).

In this chapter Zechariah prophesies of the future,glorious advancement of the Church. It is evident thereis more intended than was ever fulfilled in the Jewishnation during Old Testament times. Here are plainprophecies describing things that were never fulfilled

RevivalPrayer

by Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758)

Originally titled:A humble attempt to promote the agreement

and union of God’s people throughout the world inextraordinary prayer for a revival of religion and

the advancement of God’s kingdom on earth,according to Scriptural promises and prophecies

of the last time.

In this work Edwards speaks of the promise of God tobless His people when they come together to pray for revival.Throughout history this little work has influenced thou-sands of people and spurned countless little prayer groups tocome together for meaningful revival prayer. Missionary pi-oneer William Carey tells in his biography that this workwas one of the very things that inspired him to the missionfield. Take special notice that Edwards challenges the readernot to seek revival per se, but to seek the very presence ofGod. When God comes, revival is there.

By way of disclaimer, I will say that I believe Edwardsenvisions more of an end-time “mass revival” movementthan I am comfortable with. Perhaps this is due to his un-derstanding of the two kingdoms. From a perspective now ofover 250 years later, I would feel that such a “mass-church”concept has propagated an unhealthy ecumenism includingsuch groups as Roman Catholics and sometimes even Mor-mons. While I believe that in the “last days” a great revivalwill come, I still believe that comparatively, the church willstill look like a remnant—not a mass, one-world church.

Jesus said, “And shall not God avenge his own elect,which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long withthem? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Never-theless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith onthe earth” (Luke 18:7-8)? Then there is the Isaiah proph-esy, “Except the Lord of hosts had left unto us a very smallremnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we shouldhave been like unto Gomorrah” (Isaiah 1:9). Also consider-ing Paul’s thoughts to the Roman Church, “Even so then atthis present time also there is a remnant according to theelection of grace” (Romans 11:5).

One more thing…It should not be overlooked that oneof the hallmark passages in this litany of revival propheciesquoted by Jonathan Edwards is that the prophecies of thisrevived church predict that they “will beat their swords intoplowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation willnot take up sword against nation, nor will they train for waranymore.” I feel that it would be a bit dishonest to take thepraying part of the prophecy without the “beating-the-sword-into-plowshares part”. Rival historian, J. Edwin Orrtook notice that the progress in the early revivals of the1900s ended conspicuously when WWI began. Revival didnot surface again on a large scale until after WWII. We can-not expect to be praying for revival in the hearts of peoplein “other lands” if we are shooting them while we pray.Could this be yet one more reason—why revival tarries?

All that being said—regardless of your belief about thesize of the end-time revivals, the prophecies of Zachariah andIsaiah still stand; and these passages clearly speak of a pray-ing people who trust the promises of God for His fullness andHoly Spirit outpouring. For that reason, I feel that this workis invaluable for its simple, straight-forward application ofGod’s design for true heaven-sent revival. The second part ofthis work is a living example of how revival praying was usedto bring about a move of God in Scotland in 1744. I hope toput that in a future issue. ~Bro. Dean Taylor


before the coming of Messiah, particularly what is saidin the two last verses in the chapter where Zechariahspeaks of “many people and strong nations worship-ing and seeking the true God,” and of so great an ad-dition of Gentiles to the Church that the majority ofvisible worshipers consist of Gentiles, outnumberingthe Jews ten to one.

Nothing ever happened, from the time of Zechariahto the coming of Christ, to fulfill this prophecy. It’s ful-

fillment can only bein the calling of theGentiles during andfollowing apostolictimes, or in the fu-ture, glorious en-largement of God’sChurch in the endtimes, so often fore-told by Old Testa-ment prophets,particularly byZechariah. It is mostlikely that the Spirit ofGod speaks here ofthe greatest revivaland the most gloriousadvancement of theChurch on earth, the

blessings of which will benefit the Jewish nation.Indeed, there is great agreement on this point, be-

tween this prophecy of Zechariah, and other prophe-cies concerning the Church’s latter day glory. ConsiderIsaiah 60:2-4:

“See, darkness covers the earth and thick darknessis over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon youand his glory appears over you. Nations will cometo your light, and kings to the brightness of yourdawn. Lift up your eyes and look about you: Allassemble and come to you; your sons come fromafar, and your daughters are carried on the arm.”

Without doubt, this entire chapter foretells the mostglorious state of the God’s Church on earth, as does Isa-iah 66:8, Micah 4:1-3 and Isaiah 2:1-4:

“In the last days the mountain of the LORD’Stemple will be established as chief among themountains; it will be raised above the hills, andpeoples will stream to it.”

“Many nations will come and say, ‘Come, let usgo up to the mountain of the LORD, to the houseof the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, sothat we may walk in his paths.’”

“The law will go out from Zion, the word of theLORD from Jerusalem. He will judge betweenmany peoples and will settle disputes for strongnations far and wide. They will beat their swordsinto plowshares and their spears into pruninghooks. Nation will not take up sword against na-tion, nor will they train for war anymore.”

Nothing whatsoever has happened to fulfill theseprophecies. Moreover, since the prophecy in my text(Zech. 8:20-22) and the following verse agrees withthem, there is reason to think it addresses the sametimes. Indeed, there is remarkable agreement in thedescription given throughout this chapter with therepresentations of those times elsewhere in theprophetic books.

Though the prophet is at times referring to the fu-ture smiles of heaven on the Jewish nation, yet the Spiritof God doubtless refers to events far greater than these,of which these are but faint resemblances. The Jews hadjust returned from the Babylonian captivity, Chaldea andother countries, and resettled in Canaan where they wereexperiencing great increase of both numbers and wealth.

We find it common in the prophecies of the Old Tes-tament that when the prophets are speaking of the favorsand bless-ings of Godon the Jews,attending orf o l l o w i n gtheir returnfrom theBabyloniancaptivity, theSpirit ofGod takesthe opportu-nity fromthere tospeak of the incomparably greater blessings on theChurch, that will attend and follow her deliverance fromthe spiritual Babylon, of which those were a type.

The prophet, in this chapter, speaks of God’s bring-ing his people again from the east and west to Jerusalem(vs. 7-8), and multitudes of all nations taking hold ofthe skirts of the Jews. Although this prophecy literallyrefers to the Jews return from Babylon, its fulfillment


cannot be seen there for no such things spoken of hereattended their return. Therefore, it must refer to thegreat calling and gathering of Jews into the fold ofChrist, and to them receiving the blessings of His king-dom, after the fall of the Antichrist and the destructionof the spiritual Babylon.

The Power of Prayer

In Zechariah 8:20-22 we have an account of howthis future advancement of the Church should occur.It would come to fruition as multitudes from differ-ent towns resolve to unite in extraordinary prayer,seeking God until He manifests Himself and grantsthe fruits of his presence. We may observe severalthings in particular:

1. THE NECESSITY OF PRAYER

Some suppose that prayer includes the whole ofworship to God and that prayer is a part of worshipduring the days of the gospel when sacrifices are abol-ished. Therefore, this can be understood as a prophecyof a great revival of religion with true worship of Godamong His people, repentance from idolatry, andgrowth of the Church.

However, it seems reasonable to me to suppose thatsomething even more special is intended regardingprayer given that prayer is not only repeatedly men-tioned, but that this prophecy parallels many otherprophecies that speak of an extraordinary spirit of prayerpreceding that glorious day of revival and advancement

of the Church’s peace and prosperity. It particularly par-allels what the prophet later speaks of the ‘pouring out ofa spirit of grace and supplications’ as that which intro-duces the great religious revival (Zech. 12:10).

2. THE GOOD WHICH SHALL BE BROUGHT BYPRAYER: GOD HIMSELF

Scripture says, ‘They shall go to pray before the Lord,and to seek the Lord of Hosts.’ The good that they seek foris ‘The Lord of Hosts,’ Himself. If ‘seeking God’ means nomore than seeking the favor or mercy of God then ‘pray-ing before the Lord,’ and ‘seeking the Lord of Hosts’ mustbe looked upon as synonymous. However, ‘seeking theLord’ is commonly used to mean something far morethan seeking something from God. Surely it implies thatGod Himself is what is desired and sought after.

Thus, the Psalmist desired God, thirsted after Himand sought after Him:

‘O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee.My flesh longeth for thee, in a dry and thirstyland, where no water is, to see thy power and thyglory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary...Mysoul followeth hard after thee...Whom have I inheaven but thee? And there is none upon earththat I desire besides thee.’

The Psalmist earnestly pursued after God; his soulthirsted after Him, he stretched forth his hands untoHim. All of God’s saints have this in common: they arethose that seek God. ‘This is the generation of them thatseek Him.’ ‘Your heart shall live that seek God,’ etc.

The Psalmist earnestlypursued after God;

his soul thirsted after Him,he stretched forth his

hands unto Him.All of God’s saints have

this in common:they are those that seek God.


If this be the true sense of this phrase ‘seeking theLord of Hosts,’ then we must understand that God whohad withdrawn Himself, or, as it were, hid Himself,would return to His Church, granting the fruits of Hispresence and communion with His people, which Heso often promised, and for which His Church had solong waited.

In short, it seems reasonable to understand thephrase, ‘seeking the Lord of Hosts’ means not merelypraying to God, but seeking the promised restoration ofthe Church of God after the Babylonian captivity and thegreat apostasy occasioning it is called their ‘seeking God,and searching for Him;’ and God’s granting this prom-ised revival and restoration called His being ‘found ofthem.’ (See Jer. 29:10-14)

The prophets occasionally represent God as beingwithdrawn and hiding Himself: ‘Verily thou art a Godthat hideth thyself, O God of Israel, the Savior. I hid me,and was wroth.’ The prophets then go on to representGod’s people seeking Him, searching and waiting for andcalling after Him. When God answers their prayers andrestores and advances His people, according to Hispromise, then He is said to come and say, ‘Here am I’ andto show Himself, and they are said to find Him and seeHim plainly.

‘Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;you will cry for help, and he will say: Here amI....’ (Isa. 58:9)

‘But Israel will be saved by the Lord with aneverlasting salvation ... I have not said to Jacob’sdescendants, ‘Seek me in vain.’ I, the Lord, speakthe truth; I declare what is right.’ (Isa. 45:17,19)

‘The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears fromall faces; he will remove the disgrace of his peoplefrom all the earth. In that day they will say, ‘Surelythis is our God; we trusted in him, and he savedus. This is the Lord, we trusted in him; let us re-joice and be glad in his salvation.’ We wait for you;your name and renown are the desire of ourhearts.’ (Isa. 25:8-9)

3. WE MAY OBSERVE WHO IT IS THAT WILLBE UNITED IN SEEKING THE LORD

‘...the inhabitants of many cities...yea, many peopleand strong nations.’ Many people from all over the worldwill unite to seek the Lord.

From the prophecy, it seems reasonable to assumethat this will be fulfilled in the following manner: First,God’s people will be given a spirit of prayer, inspiringthem to come together and pray in an extraordinarymanner, that He would help his Church, show mercy tomankind in general, pour out his Spirit, revive His work,and advance His kingdom in the world as He promised.

In short, it seems reasonable to understand the phrase, ‘seeking the Lord of Hosts’means not merely praying to God...The prophets occasionally represent God as

being withdrawn and hiding Himself...The prophets then go on to representGod’s people seeking Him, searching and waiting for and calling after Him.


Moreover, such prayer would gradually spread andincrease more and more, ushering in a revival of religion.This would be characterized by greater worship andservice of God among believers. Others will be awakenedto their need for God, motivating them to earnestly cryout to God for mercy. They will be led to join with God’speople in that extraordinary seeking and serving of Godwhich they see around them. In this way the revival willgrow until the awakening reaches whole nations andthose in the highest positions of influence. The Churchwill grow to be ten times larger than it was before. In-deed, at length, all the nations of the world will be con-verted unto God.

Thus, ten men, out of all languages and nations, will‘take hold of the skirt of ’ the Jew (in the sense of theApostle), saying ‘We will go with you, for we have heardthat God is with you.’ Thus will be fulfilled, ‘O thou thatheareth prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come.’

4. WE MAY ALSO OBSERVE THE MANNER OFTHEIR UNITY IN PRAYER

It is a visible and voluntary union that was first pro-posed by some of God’s people with others readily join-ing in over time. Those who live in one city will declareto those of another city, ‘Let us go’ etc. Many of thosewho hear their declaration will not only join with thembut will make the call for the unity in prayer known tostill others. As a result, the movement will grow, prevailand spread among God’s people.

Some suppose that the words, ‘I will go also,’ are to betaken as words spoken by the one making the proposal.He states this expressing his willingness and desire to dowhat he is asking his hearer to do. But this is to supposeno more than is expressed in the phrase, ‘Come and letus go ...’ itself. It seems more natural to me to understandthese words as being the consent or reply of the one towhom the proposal is made.

This is much more agreeable to the flow of the textwhich represents the compliance of great numbers ofpeople in this movement. And though if these words arethus understood, we must suppose something under-stood in the text that is not expressed: Those of othercities will say, ‘I will go also.’ Yet, this is not difficult toconceive of as such figures of speech are common in theScripture (Jer. 3:22; Ps. 1:6,7).

5. NEXT, WE CAN OBSERVE THE MANNER INWHICH THEY AGREE TO PRAY

‘Let us go speedily to pray,’ or, as it says in the mar-gin: let us go continually. Literally translated this means,‘let us go in going.’ The Hebrew language often doubleswords for emphasis (e.g., the holy of holies signifies thatwhich is most holy). Such doubling of words also denotesthe certainty of an event coming to pass. For example,when God said to Abraham, ‘in multiplying, I will mul-tiply thy seed,’ God implies that He would certainly mul-tiply his seed, and multiply it exceedingly.

6. FINALLY, THIS PROPHECY GIVES US APICTURE OF THIS UNION IN PRAYER BEINGAN INVITING AND A HAPPY THING

We sense God’s pleasure, and the results provetremendously successful. From the whole of thisprophecy we may infer that it is well pleasing to God formany people, in different parts of the world, to volun-tarily come into a visible union to pray in an extraordi-nary way for those great outpourings of the Holy Spiritwhich shall advance the Kingdom of our Lord JesusChrist that God has so often promised shall be in the lat-ter ages of the world. �

...such prayer would graduallyspread and increase more and more,

ushering in a revival of religion.This would be characterized by

greater worship and service of Godamong believers. Others will be awakenedto their need for God, motivating them to

earnestly cry out to God for mercy.


Areal heaven-sent re-vival puts Satan onthe job with all his

available followers, in orderto counteract the influenceof revival. Let us not con-fuse a genuine soul awak-ening revival with thesuperficial run-of-mine“not-more-than-one week”variety where so much for-mality prevails that theHoly Spirit has very littlechance to work. We have nodesire to minimize the decisions which are made, but un-less the lukewarm and cold ones are awakened to theirdangerous condition and revived, it is hardly a revival.Rev 3:15-16: I know thy works, that thou art neither coldnor hot : I would thou wert cold or hot. So then becausethou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spuethee out of my mouth.”

Genuine revival must be preceded by muchprayer and by Spirit-filled preaching of the Word ofGod and denouncing of sin. Revival can never comeabout unless people are made aware of their own sin-fulness and coldness.

What are some of the conditions that indicate theneed of revival? A church that is spiritually asleep is eas-ily recognized (unless we also are sleeping) by its dor-mancy in soul-winning. A second evidence of the needof revival is the committing of spiritual adultery by em-bracing and fellowshipping with the world with its testi-mony-weakening paraphernalia.

What happens when a real revival begins? Satan ison the alert and his influence can easily be detected bythe lies and nasty remarks which are circulated. CertainlySatan will try to wet-blanket revival because he hatesspiritual awakening in the sinful heart.

A revival will uncover sin in the church and cause itto be confessed and forsaken. Admittedly it is a shamefor these things to need to be confessed, but it is a fargreater shame to allow them to remain covered, quietly

choking the life of the indi-vidual and the church.

Revival would bringsome church members tothe realization that merelybeing a member withoutbeing truly reborn is a falsesecurity of the first degree.

Revival can be a bless-ing to any church that reallywants to be awakened, butwhere the church and theworld are bedfellows, re-vival has a hard time com-

ing in. Worldliness must and will go out of a churchwhen true revival comes in. There seems to be some dif-ferences of opinion as to what worldliness is and what itis not. Satan says fellowshipping with his world is harm-less. God says, “Friendship of the world is enmity withGod” (James 4:4). Satan has in many cases succeeded inblinding us to the great truths of separation and non-conformity. A Holy Spirit revival can give Satan a mightydefeat on that point, too.

To stifle or control revival in the Mennonite Churchwill be to continue our program of slow growth, and thechurch will continue to act as a harbor for cold memberswith anemic Christian experience—or no experience at all.

To seek, promote, pray for, and support revival, andto start a revival in our own hearts, can be instrumentalin determining the eternal destiny of many unsaved soulswho may be won by a church that is on fire for God,doing a God-ordained task.

What would be the result if each of us would win onesoul, and those won would in turn do likewise?

We seldom appreciate the alarm clock’s ring while weare still half asleep, but having become wide awake wethink of the work to be done and the appointments wemust meet and we are thankful that it did not fail us. MayGod bless those whom He has raised up to be His alarmclocks, and may the church, becoming fully awakened, re-alize the lateness of the hour and the fact that each one,prepared or not, has an appointment with God. �

Satan Hates Revivalby Ira Martin

Originally printed in the Gospel Herald, June 17, 1952


As I have meditated on this verse the Lord hasshown me some areas in my life that need atten-tion. Let me share them with you. Perhaps you

can benefit by my struggles, and hopefully you will notmake the same mistakes.

Please read 1 Peter 3:1-9 to get the context of theverse. Now, allow me to quote from the Amplified Bible.

“In like manner, you married women be submis-sive to your own husbands [subordinate your-selves as being secondary to and dependent onthem and adapt yourselves to them] so that evenif any do not obey the Word [of God] they may bewon over, not by discussion, but by the godly livesof their wives; When they observe the pure, mod-est way in which you conduct yourselves, togetherwith your reverence [for your husband]. You areto feel all that reverence includes; to respect, deferto, revere, honor, esteem, appreciate, prize, and inthe human sense to adore him, that is to praise, bedevoted, to deeply love and enjoy your husband.Let not yours be the external adorning. . . But letit be the inward adorning and beauty of the hid-den person of the heart, with the incorruptibleand unfading charm of a gentle and peaceablespirit, which [is not anxious or wrought up but] isvery precious in the sight of God. For it was thusthat the pious women of old who trusted in Godwere [accustomed] to beautify themselves andwere submissive to their husbands [adapting

themselves to their husbands as secondary to anddependent upon them]. It was thus that Saraobeyed Abraham [following his guidance and ac-knowledging his headship by] calling him lord[master, leader, authority]. And now you are hertrue daughters if you do right and let nothing ter-rify you [not giving way to hysterical fears or let-ting anxieties unnerve you]. . . ye are joint heirs ofthe grace [God’s unmerited favor] of life in orderthat your prayers be not hindered and cut off [oth-erwise you cannot pray effectively]. Finally all ofyou should be of one and the same mind [unitedin spirit] sympathizing [with one another] loving[each other] as brethren [of one household] com-passionate and courteous [tenderhearted andhumble]. Never return evil for evil or insult for in-sult [scolding, tongue lashing or berating] but onthe contrary, blessing [praying for their welfare,happiness and protection and truly loving them].For know, that to this you have been called, thatyou may yourselves inherit a blessing from God—that you may obtain a blessing as heirs [bringingwelfare and happiness and protection].”

That is a real commission! If you meditate on theseverses with an open heart and seek to find how you arefitting into God’s plan for you, you may be surprised. Ihave always believed this teaching and wanted to live byit. However, it seems that I continue to see new areas anddimensions of this principle that I need to give to God so

“Heirs Together”by Rachel Weaver

Heirs together of the grace of life;that your prayers be not hindered. (I Pet. 3:7)


that I can be fully under His blessing. Perhaps it is thetime of life in which I find myself. I am daily confrontedwith the reality of “who” I am, as I try to impart thesetruths to my growing, maturing daughters. It is one thingto teach with your mouth how to be a godly woman, andquite another to live it out daily. I am keenly aware thatmy daughters catch more from my example than theywill ever glean from what I say. The challenge is here.Live it! Live it!

We had been facing some challenges and strugglesin our family. There were things that needed to bechanged, and attitudes that needed attention. I was strug-gling, crying out to God, and feeling like the changeswere not really taking place. Why? I was seeking the Lordearnestly for answers, when the verse “that your prayersbe not hindered” came to my mind. As I looked them upand studied them I was deeply touched, rebuked andchallenged.

Let’s take a look at a few areas that spoke loudly to me.

“.....the incorruptible and unfading charmof a gentle and peaceable spirit”

Amid the hurry and scurry and the hustle and bus-tle of life’s many needs, responsibilities and pressures, Itend to lose that gentle and peaceable spirit. Some daysI hurry around and get work done but forget to take thetime to enjoy my children and husband and “smell theroses.” Sometimes I get irritable and pushy and do notminister that peaceable spirit to my family. When I losethat gentle, peaceable touch, everyone around me mir-rors my failure. My husband needs a wife that has aChrist-like spirit. My family needs it! I need it! Perhaps,hmm...I may well be part of the answer to my ownprayers. I meditated on the next phrase.

“... Which is not anxious or wrought up,but is very precious in the sight of God”

I have been distressed, discour-aged and anxious about the thingsthat I see that need help. In fact, Ihave been so discouraged that Iwas not sure that I could do whatwas set before me. How can oneperson do all the mommy-man-aging details, all the school, all thewifely responsibilities, not to men-tion hospitality and ministering tothe needs of others whom God bringsinto my path? I was extremely concerned

that in the middle of all of this I would miss importantthings that would have a serious effect on the rearing ofa godly family. I felt like a failure. And the more I thoughtabout the whole situation, the worse I felt. There seemedto be no solution at hand for me. It was in the middle ofthis muddle that this verse ministered to me. My anx-ious heart was a breach of faith. Once again, I was nottrusting. I repented of my fear and lack of faith, and theload vanished. It may sound simplistic to you. Nothingelse changed. I still had all my responsibilities, but I wasat rest. I had chosen, once again, to have that spirit whichis, “in the sight of God of great price.” Why?

“... it was thus that Sara obeyed Abraham,”(following his guidance and acknowledging

his headship) “whose daughters ye areif you do right and let nothing terrify you ...”

A true daughter of Sara rests in her husband’s deci-sions. She follows his plans and desires even when shehas no idea how everything will turn out. Yes, but.... Doyou know what Abraham did to Sara? He gave her awayto the harem of the heathen king. I am sure that she didnot think that everything was all right, but she rested infaith that God would work everything out, and He did.We tend to think that our circumstances are extreme,don’t we? They may well be, but let us give them to Godand He will work them out for His glory and our good.

“...that your prayers be not hindered”

What a lot of work needed to be done in my life sothat my prayers would not be hindered! I was the needyone first! How often we see the mote in our husband’sand children’s eyes and completely forget about thebeam in our own.

“Finally be united in spirit, sympathizing,compassionate and courteous...”

As God dealt with me about my own at-titudes and I repented, I was able to

discuss my struggles with my hus-band, without a critical spirit. We

were able to pray and talk to-gether about my problems and

discouragement. This opennessbrought about a healing in my

spirit. My husband is better able tominister to me because he under-

stands my needs and truly cares. I am


more understanding of him because God is dealing withmy own critical spirit. We are heirs together of the graceof life. Finally, in blessing my husband and children, I in-herit a blessing! God has promised it.

This change in attitude answered some of my ownprayers. My children were more happy and contented,my husband ministered to me and I was not living in the“Castle of Defeat!” I still am not perfect but I am seekingto rise every morning and put my hand in God’s big oneand let Him deal with that “giant”.

One of the ways that you can do this is conveyed bythe following article. I reprinted the ideas by permissionfrom Val Yoder. Krystal has since gone home to be withJesus, leaving a husband and a family, but her preciouswords of encouragement remain to inspire us to walkwith God daily.

Creatively Practicing the Presence of God

He is risen as He said!” Our God is alive. He is avail-able for you and I. Every day is His—and I am His child.I want to walk in the light as He is in the light and glo-rify Jesus in all that I do and say. This article is abouthow to communicate with the best friend that I have. Itcame to my attention just when I needed it. I was feel-ing pressure to get my column finished and at the sametime facing an energy crisis. I had no idea how I wouldfind the extra time to bless you all and yet. . . God is so

faithful. He renewed my spiritual man through thesweet meditations that Krystal shared and gave mesomething to share with you until I can finish my nextarticle. Read it. Share it. Copy it and hang it in yourkitchen, bedroom and/or bathroom to ponder and med-itate on. (Krystal has walked through the valley of sor-row. She mothered and gave up a little one who was illall of her short life. Truly, fellowship with the Master islearned as we lean on Him.)

I am convinced that the reason so many of us feelspiritually dry is that we have not learned how to medi-tate and fellowship with God as we walk through the day.We all have a real need for this kind of fellowship withHim. God created us to walk and talk with Him and tobring Him glory. So often, we plod through our busy,busy days and do not stay in touch with Him. He stepsaside for a bit, just like a parent does to an independenttwo-year-old. He lets us run ahead or lag behind and tripand get a bit scuffed up. Then He calls to us to “Comeunto me all ye that are weary and heavy-laden and I willgive you rest...” If we are wise, we will come. We will letHim take hold of our hands again and help us over therough places, for with Him, “His yoke is easy and Hisburden is light...”

Enjoy with me, Krystal’s thoughts on keeping Godin the forefront of your life. It is such a positive, upliftingway of talking to God throughout the day. May it spreadsunshine on your path. Her article follows:

How to Creatively Practice the

Presence of God in Your Day

As you pull back the curtains:Lord, may Your sunshine fill my heart today.

As you get dressed:Lord, I put on the garment of praise this morning for the spirit of heaviness. I purpose to praise You andother people today.

As you comb your hair and put on your covering:Lord, may I be submissive to my husband/father and have a meek spirit. Cause me to die to self.


As you brush your teeth:Lord, place a guard at my mouth to stop any unkind, untrueor unnecessary words from escaping today. I pray I will be asthe virtuous woman. “She openeth her mouth with wisdomand in her tongue is the law of kindness.”

As you greet family members:Lord, I realize that because You live in the members of myfamily I am actually greeting You, and all day long as I inter-act with them, I am ministering to and speaking to You.

As you take a shower:Wash all the sin and self out of my life today, Lord. I imagine Your blood flow-ing over me, cleansing me and wiping out the strongholds of the devil.

As you wash your face:Lord, may I reflect Your radiance and glory today. May my eyes and smile reflect Your love.

As you perform your household duties:(washing dishes, laundry, cleaning the house)

Lord, as I remove the clutter from my home, likewise remove all the sin from my life, especially__________. Because You dwell here in my home, it is as the “Holy of Holies.” I am standing on holyground, surrounded by Your presence.

As you eat:Lord I am being filled with Your power to overcome sin today. I take in Your grace, Your holiness, Yourbody and Your blood. Just as I have all this food which I need to be strong and healthy; so also I need Yourpower and grace to be more than a conqueror. May I desire food for my soul to a greater degree than Idesire physical food.

As you drink water:Lord, my thirsty spirit longs for the water You so freely supply from the fountain of life. You have madestreams to flow into the deserts of my life; You have caused springs to flow into the ravines. I will getthirsty and unsatisfied again after this physical water. But as I consistently drink deeply of the eternalwater of life I need never experience spiritual dryness again.

As you sew and do crafts:Lord, You are a God of precision. As I am con-cerned with the details of this project, You areeven more concerned with the details of my life.(Remember, the backsides of many projectsdon’t look nice, but the tops are a beautiful mas-terpiece!)

As you go to bed and pull up the covers:Lord, I am laying down in Your arms of security.Your arms are around me.


Dear Sisters in Christ,

Excuse my publicly addressing you. The necessityof the case is my only apology. Whether you willconsider it a sufficient apology for the sentiments

of this letter, unfashionable, I confess, and perhaps un-palatable, I know not. We are sometimes obliged to en-counter the hazard of offending those whom of all otherswe desire to please. Let me throw myself at once on yourmercy, dear sisters, allied by national consanguinity, pro-fessors of the same holy religion, fellow pilgrims to thesame happy world. Pleading these endearing ties, let mebeg you to regard me as a brother, and to listen with can-dor and forbearance to my honest tale.

In raising up a church of Christ in this heathen land(Burma), and in laboring to elevate the minds of the fe-male converts to the standard of the Gospel, we have al-ways found one chief obstacle in that principle of vanity,that love of dress and display (I beg you will bear with

ADESPERATE

APPEALFOR

MODESTY

From the Perspective

of the Missionary Pioneer:

Adoniram Judson

As I was preparing Adoniram Judson’s scathing appeal formodesty, I found myself at many times saying—“ouch!” I ques-tioned, “Wow, that statement seems way too strong.” Or Iwould find myself thinking, “I should probably clip that partout.” However, as much as I tried—I could not let myself softenthe message. This letter was from the pen of a very godly manwith a real burden. How could I soften his message just to ap-pease modern tastes?

Adoniram Judson was a pioneering, cross-cultural mis-sionary like none other. This letter came from a deep burden Jud-son was having about the worldliness he was seeing in theChurch, particularly concerning the ungodly dress and fashionsthat he observed from the visiting missionaries. As Judson wasdaring to take the whole Gospel to the heathen tribes of the FarEast, he did it with the commitment to follow Jesus’ words “teachthem all things.” However, as he went forward, he looked backand found that his own church was dropping the very convic-tions that he was trying to uphold.

As you continue through this letter—reader be warned—Judson holds nothing back. You might ask, “Is this message toopointed for today’s church? Certainly, somewhere—somehow—something has drastically changed. Perhaps the question weshould ask is, “Are we more sophisticated now? Or have werather grown so accustomed to the world that the distinctionsthat Judson makes here are almost irrelevant—even funny?” Oh, fellow pastors, missionaries and brethren, please read this

with a prayerful heart. Dare to read this letter as if it was writ-ten to your church—or to your family. Then, dare to read itagain, only this time to conceive just how much worse—not bet-ter—things have become since Adoniram Judson penned thisletter from his mission post in Burma in 1831.

~Bro. Dean Taylor


me), which has, in every age and inall countries, been a ruling passionof the fair sex, as the love of riches,power, and fame has characterizedthe other. That obstacle lately be-came more formidable, throughthe admission of two or three fash-ionable females into the church,and the arrival of several mission-ary sisters, dressed and adorned inthat manner which is too prevalentin our beloved native land. On mymeeting the church, after a year’sabsence, I beheld an appalling pro-fusion of ornaments, and saw thatthe demon of vanity was layingwaste the female department. Atthat time I had not maturely con-sidered the subject, and did notfeel sure what ground I ought totake. I apprehended, also, that Ishould be unsupported, and per-haps opposed by some of my coad-jutors. I confined my efforts,therefore, to private exhortation,and with but little effect. Some ofthe ladies, out of regard to theirpastor, took off their necklaces andear-ornaments before they enteredthe chapel, tied them up in a cor-ner of their handkerchiefs, and onreturning, as soon as they were outof sight of the Mission-house,stopped in the middle of the streetto array themselves anew.

On the Mission FieldIn the mean time, I was called to visit the Karens, a

wild people, several days’ journey to the north of Maul-main, Burma. Little did I expect there to encounter thesame enemy, in those “wilds, horrid and dark with over-shadowing trees.” But I found that he had been there be-fore me, and reigned with a peculiar sway from timeimmemorial. On one Karen woman I counted betweentwelve and fifteen necklaces, of all colors, sizes, and ma-terials. Three was the average. Brass belts above the an-kles, neat braids of black hair tied below the knees, ringsof all sorts on the fingers, bracelets on the wrists and

arms, long instruments of somemetal, perforating the lower part ofthe ear, by an immense aperture,and reaching nearly to the shoul-ders; fancifully constructed bags,enclosing the hair, and suspendedfrom the back part of the head—not to speak of the ornamentalparts of their clothing—these con-stituted the fashions and the ton ofthe Karenesses. The dress of the fe-male converts was not essentiallydifferent from that of their coun-trywomen. I saw that I was broughtinto a situation that precluded allretreat—that I must fight or die.

For a few nights, I spent somesleepless hours, distressed by thisand other subjects, which will al-ways press upon the heart of a mis-sionary in a new place. Iconsidered the spirit of the religionof Jesus Christ. I opened to 1 Tim.2: 9, and read those words of theinspired apostle; “I will also thatwomen adorn themselves in mod-est apparel, with shamefacednessand sobriety; not with broideredhair, or gold, or pearls, or costlyarray.” I asked myself, can I baptizea Karen woman in her present at-tire? No. Can I administer theLord’s Supper to one of the bap-tized in that attire? No. Can I re-

frain from enforcing the prohibition of the apostle? Notwithout betraying the trust which I have received. I con-sidered that the question concerned not the Karens only,but the whole Christian world; that its decision wouldinvolve a train of unknown consequences; that a singlestep would lead me into a long and perilous way.

Again I considered Maulmein and the other stations;I considered the state of the public mind at home. But“what is that to thee? follow thou me,” was the continualresponse, and weighed more than all. I renewedly offeredmyself to Christ, and prayed for strength to go forwardin the path of duty, come life or death, come praise or re-proach, supported or deserted, successful or defeated inthe ultimate issue.

Soon after coming to this conclusion, a Karenwoman offered herself for baptism. After the usual ex-amination, I inquired whether she could give up her or-

Little did I expect thereto encounter the sameenemy, in those “wilds,

horrid and dark withovershadowing trees.”But I found that he hadbeen there before me....I saw that I was brought

into a situation thatprecluded all retreat—that I must fight or die.


naments for Christ. It was an unexpected blow! I ex-plained the spirit of the gospel. I appealed to her ownconsciousness of vanity. I read her the apostle’s prohi-bition. She looked again and again at her handsomenecklace, (she wore but one,) and then, with an air ofmodest decision that would adorn, beyond all outwardornaments, any of my sisters whom I have the honourof addressing, she took it off, saying, “I love Christ morethan this.” The news began to spread. The Christianwomen made but little hesitation. A few others op-posed, but the work went on.

At length the evil which I most dreaded came on me.Some of the Karen men had been to Maulmein, and seenwhat I wished they had not. And one day, when we werediscussing the subject of ornaments, one of the Chris-tians came forward in my face, and declared, that atMaulmein he had actuallyseen one of the great femaleteachers wearing a string ofgold beads around her neck!Lay down this paper, dearsisters, and sympathize a lit-tle with your fallen mission-ary. Was it not a hard case?Was it not cruel for that sis-ter thus to smite down to thedust her poor brother, who,without that blow, was hardlyable to keep his ground? Butshe knew it not. She was notaware of the mischief she wasdoing. However, though castdown, I was not destroyed;though sorely bruised andwounded, I endeavored tomaintain the warfare as wellas I could; after some conflictthe enemy fled the field, and,when I left those parts, thefemale converts were, gener-ally speaking, arrayed in modest apparel.

On arriving at Maulmein, Burma and partially re-covering from a fever, which I had contracted in theKaren woods, the first thing I did was to crawl out to thehouse of the patroness of the gold beads. To her I relatedmy adventures—to her commiseration, I commendedmy grief. With what ease and truth, too, could that sisterreply, “Notwithstanding these beads, I dress more plainthan most ministers’ wives, and professors of religion, inour native land. These beads are the only ornament Iwear; they were given me when quite a child, by a dear

mother, whom I never expect to see again” (another hardcase). She enjoined it on me never to part with them aslong as I lived, but to wear them as a memorial of her.

Oh, ye Christian mothers, what a lesson you have be-fore you! Can you, dare you, give injunctions to yourdaughters, directly contrary to apostolic commands? But,to the honor of my sister, be it recorded, that when sheunderstood the merits of the case, and the mischief doneby such an example, off went the gold beads; and she gavedecisive proof that she loved Christ more than father ormother. Her example, united with the efforts of the rest ofus at this station, is beginning to exercise a redeeming in-fluence in the female department of the church.

But, notwithstanding these favorable signs, nothing,really nothing, is yet done!—And why? This mission andall others must necessarily be sustained by continual sup-

plies of missionaries, maleand female, from themother-country. Your sistersand daughters will continu-ally come out, to take theplace of those who are re-moved by death, and to oc-cupy numberless stations,still unoccupied. And, whenthey arrive, they will bedressed in their usual way, asChristian women at homeare dressed. And the femaleconverts will run aroundthem, and gaze upon themwith the most prying curios-ity, regarding them as thefreshest representations ofthe Christian religion, fromthat land where it flourishesin all its purity and glory.And when they see the goldand jewels pendent fromtheir ears, the beads and

chains encircling their necks—the finger rings set withdiamonds and rubies—the rich variety of ornamentalhair dress—“the mantles and the wimples and the crisp-ing pins,” (see the rest in Isaiah, 3rd chap.) Then they willcast a bitter, reproachful, triumphant glance at their oldteachers, and spring with fresh avidity to repurchase andresume their long-neglected elegancies.

The cheering news will fly up to the Dahgyne, theLaing-bwai, and the Salwen. The Karenesses will reloadtheir necks, and ears, and arms, and ankles. And when,after another year’s absence, I return, and take my seat

I considered that the questionconcerned not the Karens only,but the whole Christian world;

that its decision would involve atrain of unknown consequences;that a single step would lead me

into a long and perilous way.


before the Burmese or the Karen church, I shall beholdthe demon of vanity enthroned in the centre of the as-sembly, more firmly than ever, grinning defiance to theprohibitions of apostles, and the exhortations of us whowould fain be their hum-ble followers.

And thus you, mydear sisters, while sittingquietly by your firesides,or repairing devoutly toyour places of worship,do, by your example,spread the poison ofvanity through all therivers, and mountains,and wilds of this far dis-tant land; and, while youare sincerely and fer-vently praying for theupbuilding of the Re-deemer’s kingdom, areinadvertently buildingup that of the devil.

If, on the otherhand, you divest your-selves of all meretriciousornaments, your sistersand daughters whocome hither will be di-vested of course; the fur-ther supplies of vanityand pride will be cut off;and, the churches athome being kept pure,the churches here will bepure also.

Dear sisters, havingfinished my tale, andtherein exhibited the ne-cessity under which I lay of addressing you, I beg leaveto submit a few topics to your candid and prayerfulconsideration.

1. Motives

Let me appeal to conscience, and inquire, what is thereal motive for wearing ornamental and costly apparel?Is it not the desire of setting off one’s person to the bestadvantage, and of exciting the love and admiration ofothers? Is not such dress calculated to gratify self-love,

to cherish the sentiments of vanity and pride? And is itnot the nature of those sentiments to acquire strengthfrom indulgence? Do such motives and sentiments com-port with the meek, humble, self-denying religion of

Jesus Christ? I wouldhere respectfully suggest,that these questions willnot be answered so faith-fully in the midst of com-pany as when quite alonekneeling before God.

2. Scripture

Consider the words ofthe apostle quoted abovefrom 1 Tim. 2: 9; “I willalso that women adornthemselves in modest ap-parel, with shamefaced-ness and sobriety; notwith broidered hair, orgold, or pearls, or costlyarray.” I do not quote asimilar commandrecorded in 1 Peter 3: 3,because the verbal con-struction is not quite sodefinite, though the im-port of the two passagesis the same. But cannotthe force of these pas-sages be evaded? Yes,and nearly every com-mand in Scripture can beevaded, and every doc-trinal assertion per-verted, plausibly and

handsomely, if we set about it in good earnest. But pre-serving the posture above alluded to, with the inspiredvolume spread open at the passage in question, ask yourhearts, in simplicity and godly sincerity, whether themeaning is not just as plain as the sun at noon-day.Shall we then bow to the authority of an inspired apos-tle, or shall we not? From that authority, shall we ap-peal to the prevailing usages and fashions of the age? Ifso, please to recall the missionaries you have sent to theheathen—for the heathen can vindicate all their super-stitions on the same ground.

And thus you, my dear sisters,while sitting quietly by your firesides,or repairing devoutly to your places ofworship, do, by your example, spread

the poison of vanity...while you aresincerely and fervently praying for the

upbuilding of the Redeemer’skingdom, are inadvertently building

up that of the devil.


3. Pride

In the posture you have assumed, look up and be-hold the eye of your benignant Saviour ever gazing uponyou, with the tenderest love—upon you, his daughters,his spouse, wishing, above all things, that you wouldyield your hearts entirely to him, and become holy as heis holy, rejoicing when he sees one and another accept-ing his pressing invitation, and entering the more per-fect way; for, on that account, hewill be able to draw such pre-cious souls into a nearer unionwith himself, and place them atlast in the higher spheres, wherethey will receive and reflect morecopious communications of lightfrom the great Fountain of light,the uncreated Sun.

4. Future Happiness

Anticipate the happy mo-ment, “hastening on all the wingsof time”, when your joyful spiritswill be welcomed into the as-sembly of the spirits of the justmade perfect. You appear beforethe throne of Jehovah; the ap-proving smile of Jesus fixes youreverlasting happy destiny; andyou are plunging into “the sea oflife and love unknown; without abottom or a shore.” Stop a mo-ment—look back on yonderdark and miserable world thatyou have left; fix your eye on themeager, vain, contemptible articles of ornamental dress,which you once hesitated to give up for Christ, the Kingof glory; and on that glance decide the question in-stantly and forever.

DecisionSurely, you can hold out no longer. You cannot rise

from your knees in your present attire. Thanks be toGod, I see you taking off your necklaces and earrings,tearing away your ribbons, and ruffles, and superfluitiesof headdress, and I hear you exclaim, “What shall we do

next?—An important question, deserving serious con-sideration. The ornaments you are removing, thoughuseless, and worse than useless, in their present state, canbe so disposed of as to feed the hungry, clothe the naked,relieve the sick, enlighten the dark minded, disseminatethe Holy Scriptures, spread the glorious gospel through-out the world. Little do the inhabitants of a free Christiancountry know of the want and distress endured by thegreater part of the inhabitants of the earth. Still less idea

can they form of the awful dark-ness which rests upon the greatmass of mankind in regard tospiritual things. During theyears that you have been wear-ing these useless ornaments,how many poor creatures havebeen pining in want! How manyhave languished and groaned onbeds of abject wretchedness!How many children have beenbred up in the blackest igno-rance, hardened in all manner ofiniquity! How many immortalsouls have gone down to hell,with a lie in their right hand,having never heard of the trueGod and the only Savior!

Some of these miseriesmight have been mitigated;some poor wretch have felt hispain relieved; some widow’sheart been made to sing for joy;some helpless orphan have beentaught in the Sabbath school,and trained up for a happy lifehere and hereafter. The HolyBible and valuable tracts might

have been far more extensively circulated in heathenlands had you not been afraid of being thought unfash-ionable, and not “like other folks”; had you not preferredadorning your persons, and cherishing the sweet seduc-tive feelings of vanity and pride.

O Christian sisters, believers in God, in Christ, in aneternal heaven, and an eternal hell, can you hesitate, andask what you shall do? Bedew those ornaments with thetears of contrition; consecrate them to the cause of char-ity; hang them on the cross of your dying Lord. Delaynot an instant. Hasten with all your might, if not to makereparation for the past, at least to prevent a continuanceof the evil in future.

Thanks be to God,I see you taking off yournecklaces and earrings,

tearing away your ribbons,and ruffles, and

superfluities of headdress,and I hear you exclaim,

“What shall we do next?—An important question, de-

serving seriousconsideration.


Two PrinciplesAnd for your guidance allow me to suggest two fun-

damental principles: the one based on 1 Tim. 2: 9, “all or-naments and costly dress to be disused”: the other on thelaw of general benevolence—the avails of such articles,and the savings resulting from theplain dress system, to be devoted topurposes of charity. Some generalrules in regard to dress, and somegeneral objects of charity, may be eas-ily ascertained and settled. Minorpoints must, of course, be left to theconscience of each individual. Yetfree discussion will throw light onmany points at first obscure. Be notdeterred by the suggestion, that insuch discussions you are conversantabout small things. Great things de-pend on small; and, in that case,things which appear small to short-sighted man are great in the sight ofGod. Many there are who praise theprinciple of self-denial in general, andcondemn it in all its particular appli-cations, as too minute, scrupulous,and severe. Satan is well aware, that ifhe can secure the minute units, thesum total will be his own. Think notanything small, which may have abearing upon the kingdom of Christ,and upon the destinies of eternity.How easy to conceive, from many known events, that thesingle fact of a lady’s divesting herself of a necklace forChrist’s sake may involve consequences which shall befelt in the remotest parts of the earth, and in all futuregenerations to the end of time—yea, stretch away into aboundless eternity, and be a subject of praise millions ofages after this world and all its ornaments are burned up.

False HumilityBeware of another suggestion made by weak and

erring souls, who will tell you that there is more dangerof being proud of plain dress and other modes of self-denial, than of fashionable attire and self-indulgence. Benot ensnared by this last, most finished, most insidiousdevice of the great enemy. Rather believe that he who en-

ables you to make a sacrifice is able to keep you frombeing proud of it. Believe that he will kindly permit suchoccasions of mortification and shame as will preserveyou from the evil threatened. The severest part of self-denial consists in encountering the disapprobation, theenvy, the hatred, of one’s dearest friends. All who enterthe strait and narrow path, in good earnest, soon find

themselves in a climate extremelyuncongenial to the growth of pride.

The gay and fashionable will, inmany cases, be the last to engage inthis holy undertaking. But let nonebe discouraged on that account.Christ has seldom honored the lead-ers of worldly fashion, by appointingthem leaders in his cause. Wait not,therefore, for the fashionable to setan example; wait not for one an-other; listen not to the news from thenext town; but let every individualgo forward, regardless of reproach,fearless of consequences. The eye ofChrist is upon you.

The Final DayDeath is hastening to strip you

of your ornaments, and to turn yourfair forms into corruption and dust.Many of those for whom this letter isdesigned will be hid in the grave be-

fore it can ever reach their eyes. We shall all soon appearbefore the judgment-seat of Christ, to be tried for our con-duct, and to receive the things done in the body. Whenplaced before that awful bar, in the presence of that Being,whose “eyes are as a flame of fire,” and whose irrevocablefiat will fix you forever in heaven or in hell, and mete outthe measure of your everlasting pleasures and pains, whatcourse will you wish you had taken? Will you then wish,that in defiance of his authority you had adorned yourmortal bodies with gold, and precious stones, and costlyattire, cherishing self-love, vanity, and pride? Or, will youwish that you had chosen a life of self-denial, renouncedthe world, taken up the cross daily and followed him? Andas you will then wish you had done, do now.

Dear Sisters, your affectionate brother in Christ,A. JUDSONMaulmeinOctober, 1831 �

Think not anythingsmall, which may have

a bearing upon thekingdom of Christ,

and upon the destiniesof eternity.


In my continued research on the “old wells of re-vival” I have discovered some incredibly con-trasting bits of information. One of the top

televangelists in the nation was recently invited topreach in Baltimore, Maryland. His terms for com-ing were:

� A limousine at the airport must pick him up.� That he must have $1,000 spending money.� That he must be guaranteed at least $10,000 in

offerings.

This same televangelist/pastor lives in a mul-timillion-dollar mansion, eats in the finest restau-rants and wears the most expensive tailor-madesuits. His writings and speaking engagementshave garnered millions of dollars. He brags thathe is a role model of the prosperity message ofour day. He pastors a mega church, appears onnational and international television, has au-thored many books and draws tens of thousandsto hear him. To his credit, he is a powerful, com-manding speaker. However, please contrast thisto the following life and ministry of the great cir-

cuit rider, Francis Asbury in the late 1700s andearly 1800s.

While still in his twenties, Bishop Francis As-bury left his home and family forever in England tocome to a wilderness called America. He came to bea traveling preacher/evangelist in a nation with lit-tle infrastructure such as roads, decent housing, fewhotels and restaurants, poor sanitation and danger-ous drinking water, few medical professionals and

by Michael Edds

While still in his twenties, Bishop Francis Asbury left his

home and family forever in England tocome to a wilderness called America.


limited law enforcement. The nation had recentlyplunged into a violent war of independence againstAsbury’s native land of England. The Americanfrontier was also ablaze with war between thecolonist and Native American tribes.

Asbury was not greeted upon his arrival by alimo. He had to purchase a horse on which he trav-eled 8,000 miles a year for over 40 years. His finan-cial reward was $60 a year, much of which he gaveaway or sent back to England to help his parents. Hewore hand-me-downs, not tailor made suits. He hadno retirement, no insurance, no dental plan, and no401k. He set no fee for his ministry.

What he did receive, he often gave away. Hetraveled on “roads” on which his horse sank manytimes knee-deep in mud. If aroad did not exist, he wouldlead his horse over the steep,rocky inclines of the Appalachi-ans to reach a pioneer commu-nity. Many times, his feet andlegs were bloodied and bruisedby the horrific journey. Whenhe came to a river where therewas no bridge or ferry, hewould swim his horse across.Numerous times, he was nearlydrowned by an angry, swollenstream. His “hotel” on many oc-casions was on a dirt floor in anovercrowded, rat-infested fron-tier cabin. Oftentimes he sleptin the woods, on a mountainledge or in damp cave. Manydays he would travel over 60miles with nothing to eat. Thepaths and roads he traveledwere full of dangers from mur-derers, thieves, wolves, bears,poisonous snakes and roamingbands of Native Americanswith whom the frontiersmenwere at war. If he met someone who needed a cloak,food or money, he would take what he had and giveit to the person in need. Asbury sought out the for-gotten, hidden places of early America. He traveledfrom New England, to the Midwest, and to the Deep

South spreading the Gospel of Christ. When hewould meet a person who was ill, he would minis-ter to their physical needs with the last medicationhe had. He demanded nothing of others in order tocome into a community. The demands he madewere of himself. Frequently, his body would beracked with pain, illness, fever, hunger and weak-ness. His physical being would cry out for rest andnourishment. However, his spirit ruled his body.When truly unable to travel, he would mount hishorse and ride for 8 hours or more through blindingsnowstorms, torrential rain or in oppressive heat.

He too had been invited to Baltimore. In 1816he was traveling by buggy through Virginia headedto the annual conference in Baltimore. However, he

was dying. His last sermon waspreached in Richmond. He had to becarried into the meeting room. Hecommented, “I am too weak to walkbut not to preach.” They sat him on asmall table and he ministered theWord for the last time. He made it asfar as Spotsylvania twenty milesnorth of Richmond. He body wasrapidly failing. He stopped at afriend’s house on Saturday. Shortlybefore he left this world he wasasked, “Do you feel Jesus precious?”

Summoning his last remainingstrength, the great circuit riderraised both hands in victory. Min-utes later he laid his head on afriend’s hand and gently slippedaway to be with the Lord. He ownedno mansion, no land, and no bankaccount. His net worth was what hewore on his body. He was buried ina borrowed grave plot.

When Asbury came to America,there were few Methodist believersand fewer preachers. At the end ofhis ministry, there were over 200,000

Methodist believers and almost 8,000 ministers. Heaffected lives of thousands upon thousands. Hechanged the very course of American history.Among his converts were poor farmers, merchants,governors of several states, frontiersmen, slaves, Na-

He gave all he had.He sought nothing for

himself. His passionwas to bring salvation

and the Light of theGospel to those indarkness of sin. Heloved a nation andmade it his own...


tive Americans, State Supreme Court justices, attor-neys, physicians, housewives, children, youth andpeople from all walks of life. He gave all he had. Hesought nothing for himself. His passion was to bringsalvation and the Light of the Gospel to those indarkness of sin. He loved a nation and made it hisown even though he was not her native son.

Quite a CONTRAST between theCIRCUIT RIDER and the TELEVANGELIST!

Hebrews 11:32-38 speaks about the real heroesof the faith: They were…“tortured, not acceptingdeliverance, that they might obtain a better resur-rection. Still others had trial of mocking and beat-ings, and of chains and imprisonment. They werestoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, wereslain with the sword. They wandered about insheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted,tormented…they wandered in deserts, and moun-tains, in dens and caves of the earth... of whom theworld was not worthy.”

How long are we going to tolerate the “superstarsyndrome” in the church? How long are we going to

feed the ego and pocketbooks of these self-seekingcharlatans, regardless of how articulate they are?How long will we continue to pack their arenas andbuy their CDs, DVDs and books? How long will wepick them up in limos, and line their wallets withthousands and thousands of dollars to spend onself? How long will we tolerate apostasy?

My God, how far we have fallen! God is callingon us as His people to repent and turn from ourwicked ways. He is calling us to seek HIS face. I ampraying that God will cause us to return to the faithof our fathers and will fulfill Jeremiah 3:15 and giveus shepherds after His own heart…just like thebeloved Francis Asbury, humble servant of God. �

� Selfless� People-centered� Kingdom builder� Drew souls into the Kingdom of God� Demanded of himself� Gave freely� A servant

� Ego-centered� An empire builder� Drew the masses into an arena� Demanded of others� Commanded a price� A celebrity� Selfish

Shortly before he leftthis world he was asked,

“Do you feel Jesus precious?”Summoning his last remainingstrength, the great circuit rider

raised both hands in victory.


Opening the Door into the Past…

Twenty-five years ago God began working in thehearts of a former Amish man and a Baptist preacher.Mose Stoltzfus and Denny Kenaston both became bur-dened seeing the lack of spirituality in many churches.Their hearts locked together with a vision to get backto a revived, New Testament, Christ-centered church.With this vision before their eyes, they began CharityChristian Fellowship in 1982.

Five years later revival swept down from heaven.The revival fires burned brightly as the church gotright with the Lord. During this time another MoseStoltzfus and his family started attending Charity.Mose came with a burden to start a tape ministry. Thefamily began taking tapes home after each service tostart a library. Soon Gospel Tape Ministry came alive.The ministry operated out of Tape Mose’s shop withhis children as personnel. People began to order moretapes. Biblical preaching was heard in many homes.

In 1990 the tape ministry was renamed CharityGospel Tape Ministry. In October of 1994, it moved tothe church building, acquired a new director and per-sonnel, and continued to expand.

Stepping into the Present...

In 2001 the tape ministry was moved to where it isnow located in the Ephrata Business Center, Ephrata,PA. We have several full time, as well as a handful ofpart-time volunteers. Mark Brubaker is serving as ad-ministrator of the ministry. Nathan Zeiset serves ascomputer technician and Jason Smith is the produc-tion manager.

We receive phone calls from many parts of the U.S.and Canada, and occasionally from other countries.Orders also arrive in the mail from all over the world.In past years we have sent out as many as 250,000 mes-sages in one year.

With the introduction of the website in 2002, thenumber of messages downloaded has steadily in-

creased over the past five years. Currently there are ap-proximately 45,000 messages downloaded annuallyfrom the website. You will find on our website a com-plete listing of our messages. We also offer messageson CD, cassette tape and MP3 CD. Transcriptions ofour sermons and a catalog are also available.

We offer all our tapes, CD’s, and MP3 CD’s free ofcharge. However, we are a donation based ministry andtherefore rely on the freewill offerings of God’s people.

Our most popular set, The Godly Home, is alsoavailable on DVD. It is loaned out to churches orgroups desiring to view it together. This is a verygood way to reach friends with the gospel and thoseto whom you desire to minister. Brother Denny hasa very thorough presentation of the biblical visionof child training. If you are interested, you may con-tact the tape ministry through the contact informa-tion below.

And Beyond...

Our goal is to provide sound, biblical teaching inan age of compromise and apostasy. It is our desire tobe an encouragement to those who are sincerely fol-lowing Jesus. We also desire that the messages wouldbring a tremendous heart change to seeking souls.

We want the Lord Jesus to be in charge of thisministry. We desire to always stay in the center ofGod’s perfect will. We want to not only exalt Himas our Savior, but also as our Lord. He deserves ourlove and practical obedience as we work to buildHis kingdom.

To Him be all the honor, glory, and praise.

Charity Gospel Tape Ministry

Charity Ministries400 W Main St Ste 1 • Ephrata, PA 17522

1-800-227-7902www.charityministries.org

NonprofitUS Postage

PAIDEphrata, PAPermit #105Charity Christian Fellowship

PUBLICATION OFFICE400 W Main St Ste 1 • Ephrata, PA 17522

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

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