*Thursday Reflection*
*August 13, 2020*
*The Outpouring of the Holy Spirit in 1727*
*Good day friends!*
Today is marked as the August Thirteenth Festival, which is known for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on a group of Moravians at their Communion Service in Saxony (now known as Germany). Today I share the thoughts and reflections of Oswald J. Smith, a Canadian pastor and evangelist who wrote the book ‘The Spirit at Work’ and who also dedicated a chapter of this book to the Great Moravian Revival.
I read..
One of the greatest outpourings of the Spirit since the days of the Apostles occurred on Wednesday morning, August 13, 1727, among the Moravian Brethren at Herrnhut, Germany, on the estate of Count Zinzendorf, in Saxony. For centuries the followers of John Huss (1373-1415), the martyred Bohemian reformer, had endured persecution and death. Fleeing from imprisonment and torture, they at last found a refuge in Germany where Count Zinzendorf, a young Christian nobleman, offered them an asylum on his estates.
Speaking of what occurred that memorable thirteenth day of August, historians tell that they left the House of God “hardly knowing whether they belonged to earth or had already gone to Heaven.” Zinzendorf, in his description of it, says: “The Saviour permitted to come upon us a Spirit of whom we had hitherto (previously) not had any experience or knowledge. Hitherto (Until then) WE had been the leaders and helpers. Now the Holy Spirit Himself took full control of everything and everybody.”
All agreed that it was a definite, unmistakable outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the entire congregation, so wonderful that it was absolutely indescribable. The brethren had been judging one another; doctrinal disputes were common; heated arguments that threatened division and discord were the order of the day. Instead of love, bitterness. Instead of brotherly unity, strife.
“When God intends great mercy for His people,” says Matthew Henry, “the first thing He does is to set them apraying.” And so it was at Herrnhut. The more spiritual among them, utterly dissatisfied with themselves, commenced to cry mightily to God for help. That their prayer was answered, there is abundant proof.
*Salvation by Faith*
The first experience that the revived brethren constantly emphasized was a definite knowledge of salvation by faith in Christ alone. They made the discovery that the Church could not save them; that there was no salvation in its creeds, doctrines or dogmas; that good works, moral living, commandment keeping, praying and Bible reading, could not avail; much less culture, character or conduct. They found that Christ alone could save; that He was willing and able to receive sinners at a moment’s notice; that justification, the forgiveness of sins, the new birth, etc., were instantaneous experiences received the very moment a sinner believed on Christ; that salvation was through grace and by faith, apart from the deeds of the law; that when a man is saved he has peace with God, and that he receives the assurance of salvation by the witness of the Holy Spirit in his heart.
The second experience that came to the brethren was a personal anointing of the Holy Spirit for life and service. In the power of that anointing they went forth and accomplished impossible tasks.
*Results of the Outpouring*
The first of the two great results was hymns and spiritual songs. Most of their hymns are prayers to Christ. Many of them are expressions of joy and gratitude for what He has done.
The other outstanding result of the Moravian revival at Herrnhut was a vision of worldwide missions.
In the West Indies, among the North American Indians, on the cold, bleak shores of Greenland, far away in Africa, as well as in South America, and practically every country in Europe and Asia, the Moravians planted the cross and won thousands of souls to Jesus Christ. It was the spirit expressed in their leader’s great motto that inspired them: “I have one passion,” exclaimed Zinzendorf, “it is Jesus, Jesus only.”
*What about Us?*
But now arises the question: What about us? Do we need a revival? What is the greatest need of the Church of our day? Men, machinery, money, organization? No. The supreme need of the hour is a mighty outpouring of the Holy Ghost. Oh that there might come upon us a spirit of prayer such as came upon the brethren at Herrnhut over two centuries ago, that we, too, both individually and as a Church, might experience an anointing of the Holy Spirit that would cause the world to wonder at the “signs following!” God grant it may be so!
*Arranged from The Spirit At Work by Oswald J. Smith.*
*Until next week let us pray for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit*
*Shalom*
*Christopher Euphfa*