One of the most intriguing men of the Bible was Enoch. What little we know of him paints an inspiring and yet mysterious picture.
Enoch was Noah’s great-grandfather and lived during the period that eventually led to the flood and Noah’s ark. God was grieved that He had made man because He saw the great wickedness, violence and perversion that filled the earth. But even in those dark and troubled days, Enoch found a way to be one of the godliest men to ever live on earth. How could he do that in the midst of so much evil?
One of the things I find intriguing about Enoch is how little is mentioned about his life in the Bible, although we do know that he never died. There are only two mentions of Enoch and his life in Scripture.
“Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away” (Genesis 5:24 NIV).
We get a little more detail on the picture of Enoch and his life in Hebrews:
“By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God” (Hebrews 11:5 NIV).
Three things stand out about Enoch in these passages, and perhaps through them, we can gain some insight into this unusual man of God.
First - Enoch walked with God. What’s unusual about this? A lot of us today talk about walking with God, but Scripture is not as free with the use of this phrase as we seem to be. There are only two men in the Bible that this phrase is used with: Enoch and Noah (Genesis 6:9). The ancients used the word “walking” to describe the manner or conduct of a person’s life. Contemporary usage tends to be more casual like, “I’ve kinda hooked up with God. I’ve prayed to receive Jesus and I’ve quit gambling and drinking and I go to church a couple of times a year. I’m walking with God!”
One of the best ways to understand a Scripture is to let other Scriptures expound on the subject, and so it is with this passage. The prophet Amos says: “Can two walk together, except they are be agreed?” (Amos 3:3) The word “together” reflects a harmony of intent, purpose and direction.
Second - The statement, “He did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away.” There has been a lot of conjecture about what happened at this point. Some call it a translation and liken it to what happened in the eighth chapter of Acts and Philip’s encounter with the Ethiopian (Acts 8:39). Most of that conjecture is a waste of good energy. Who cares about the technical side of this? I certainly don’t. What I believe we see here is just a glimpse of what will happen to the church when Jesus returns. “Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord…” (1 Thessalonians 4:17 NKJV). We see in Enoch a kind of prototype of last-day believers (that’s us) who are suddenly caught away into God’s presence at the rapture.
Finally – Here we have the most insightful part of this very brief story: “For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God” (Hebrews 11:5 NIV). Scripture is very spare in its use of this phrase to describe a person. This is the only reference I am aware of that directly uses this phrase in describing God’s pleasure with one of his servants.
How should we understand this phrase “who pleased God”? Again, let’s let Scripture unwrap that for us. The very next verse in Hebrews 11 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (11:6 NIV). Enoch was a man of faith who lived his life accordingly. He trusted God with his life, he followed God’s commands, and in faith he worshipped Him. Enoch’s walk of faith pleased God and God caught him away into His presence.
May God be pleased with our walk today!
Friday, January 29, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
HE PROVOKES ME
Sitting on my desk with my Bible is a leather-bound copy of Oswald Chambers’ classic devotional, “My Utmost for His Highest.” The devotional was first published in 1927 and is the most read book in Christendom outside of the Bible, no matter what Rick Warren’s publicist says.
I have read this devotional for years, not because I agree with everything that Chambers says, because I don’t, but because this very godly and passionate man provokes me to do better in my walk with God.
Several years ago I was talking with a friend about this book and he suddenly blurted out, “I hate that book!” When I pushed him a bit to find out why he was so vehement, he explained, “It’s like the chapters are movable and they get rearranged during the night. When I pick up the book to read early in the morning, it speaks right to me, to where my life is. That’s why I hate it.” I must say there was kind of a smile on his face when he said the last, “I hate it!”
Oswald Chambers died in 1917 in Egypt while ministering to soldiers from Australia and New Zealand who were engaged in fighting World War I. Chambers was only 43 when he died of complications from appendicitis. At his funeral were hundreds of soldiers he had ministered to, battle-hardened men, many of whom had never gone to church. But they solemnly stood and wept as their friend, the man who had introduced them to a loving Savior, was honored.
Chambers didn’t actually write “My Utmost for His Highest,” his wife did. Biddy was a very accomplished stenographer who could take dictation at the astonishing rate of 250 words per minute. All during their marriage, Biddy carefully took down Chambers’ teachings and preserved them in her files. After he died, at the insistence of friends, she compiled the devotionals that have become the most read and celebrated book in the church world for over eighty years.
I need to be provoked from time to time. I am not talking about an angry confrontation when I use this word. I am talking about someone or something that pushes me to action and causes me to think outside my comfort zone, who encourages me to greater heights and a more intense passion in my pursuit of the “things of God.” Years ago I was talking with a very accomplished worship leader about the beautiful way he would lead a group of people into worship and he told me, “One of my responsibilities is to provoke those who are not worshipping to worship.”
We need people in our lives who provoke us in the right ways. There are plenty of people around who will provoke you in the wrong way and what arises is not righteous. A word of correction or a challenge from a friend is never meant to hurt or damage but to encourage and provoke to righteous action, to do better. “Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful” (Proverbs 27:6).
I was talking with a close friend one day about a stressful situation in my life. I was tired and worn down from the constant strain and was looking for a friendly shoulder to cry on. My longtime friend was too smart to let me do that and after I had poured out my tale of woe, he looked at me and what came out of his mouth at first angered me. I wasn’t looking for a Scripture, I really wanted someone to pat me on the head and say, “There, there, Dave, it’ll be okay, this will soon be over.” Instead, my friend said, “If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small” (Proverbs 24:10 NKJV). That was not what I wanted to hear! But he was right and what he shared with me did me more good than just a word of encouragement.
I guess we could call my friend a “provocateur.”
Thank you, Oswald Chambers, and thank you to all the provocateurs who keep trying to stir me up. Don’t quit now!
I have read this devotional for years, not because I agree with everything that Chambers says, because I don’t, but because this very godly and passionate man provokes me to do better in my walk with God.
Several years ago I was talking with a friend about this book and he suddenly blurted out, “I hate that book!” When I pushed him a bit to find out why he was so vehement, he explained, “It’s like the chapters are movable and they get rearranged during the night. When I pick up the book to read early in the morning, it speaks right to me, to where my life is. That’s why I hate it.” I must say there was kind of a smile on his face when he said the last, “I hate it!”
Oswald Chambers died in 1917 in Egypt while ministering to soldiers from Australia and New Zealand who were engaged in fighting World War I. Chambers was only 43 when he died of complications from appendicitis. At his funeral were hundreds of soldiers he had ministered to, battle-hardened men, many of whom had never gone to church. But they solemnly stood and wept as their friend, the man who had introduced them to a loving Savior, was honored.
Chambers didn’t actually write “My Utmost for His Highest,” his wife did. Biddy was a very accomplished stenographer who could take dictation at the astonishing rate of 250 words per minute. All during their marriage, Biddy carefully took down Chambers’ teachings and preserved them in her files. After he died, at the insistence of friends, she compiled the devotionals that have become the most read and celebrated book in the church world for over eighty years.
I need to be provoked from time to time. I am not talking about an angry confrontation when I use this word. I am talking about someone or something that pushes me to action and causes me to think outside my comfort zone, who encourages me to greater heights and a more intense passion in my pursuit of the “things of God.” Years ago I was talking with a very accomplished worship leader about the beautiful way he would lead a group of people into worship and he told me, “One of my responsibilities is to provoke those who are not worshipping to worship.”
We need people in our lives who provoke us in the right ways. There are plenty of people around who will provoke you in the wrong way and what arises is not righteous. A word of correction or a challenge from a friend is never meant to hurt or damage but to encourage and provoke to righteous action, to do better. “Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful” (Proverbs 27:6).
I was talking with a close friend one day about a stressful situation in my life. I was tired and worn down from the constant strain and was looking for a friendly shoulder to cry on. My longtime friend was too smart to let me do that and after I had poured out my tale of woe, he looked at me and what came out of his mouth at first angered me. I wasn’t looking for a Scripture, I really wanted someone to pat me on the head and say, “There, there, Dave, it’ll be okay, this will soon be over.” Instead, my friend said, “If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small” (Proverbs 24:10 NKJV). That was not what I wanted to hear! But he was right and what he shared with me did me more good than just a word of encouragement.
I guess we could call my friend a “provocateur.”
Thank you, Oswald Chambers, and thank you to all the provocateurs who keep trying to stir me up. Don’t quit now!
Friday, January 15, 2010
HAITI AND PAT ROBERTSON
I have been preoccupied these last few days with thoughts of Haiti and the terrible devastation that has taken place there.
I first went to Haiti in 1968. My boss at that time, David Wilkerson, had a great love for the people of that nation. He had mentioned his affection for the Haitian people a few times in his meetings and in one of his books and subsequently began to get requests from various ministries asking for his support for their works in Haiti. David asked me to go and personally look at what these ministries were doing.
Initially, two things overwhelmed me in Port-au-Prince. The first was the overwhelming poverty and the primitive living conditions. The poorest nation in the western hemisphere, Haiti had a great lack of sanitation and many of the people were surviving on less than one dollar a day. For someone raised in a middle-class home in Canada, I was numb and overwhelmed that this country was in our backyard, so to speak.
The second thing that overwhelmed me and also made me angry was a small segment of the American ministries that were claiming to have thriving ministries, orphanages, feeding programs, churches and medical outreaches in Haiti. Several of these had made financial requests to David Wilkerson. On the second or third day of my stay, I went to visit one of these “ministries” and found only an empty building with no children or adults in residence. One of the neighbors told us that when the “American pastors” (they called all of us pastors) came, they rounded up children from the neighborhood, gave them a little money, and took pictures of them in front of the building. These “missionaries” flew into Haiti for a few days each year, took hundreds of pictures, and then went back home and used the pictures in their newsletters and magazines, raising thousands of dollars, very little of which went to Haiti. These people are not missionaries. They are parasites, the carrion of the church world who feed themselves by preying on the poor and needy. Until this time I had no idea that such people existed; I had seen their magazines and read their newsletters and I thought they were legit. May the Lord have mercy on them when they get to the White Throne Judgment, if they get there at all.
After visiting several “ministries” like this, I was ready to tell David that we could surely find another country for our missions giving. But then I met two people who helped me put things back in perspective. One was a humble woman from a church called Soul Saving Station in Harlem. This sweet-spirited woman showed me a side of missions that is not flashy and is not often well funded…they just get the work done. She was laboring in one of the poorest sections of Port-au-Prince ministering to children and taking in those who had no parents. She had little support but she had a clear understanding of her call from God. She was a true servant of the Lord and I was blessed and encouraged to meet her.
The other person I met was an Assemblies of God missionary. I visited with him and his family and we talked for hours about the need, what they were doing, and what we could do to help. Again I was touched by the commitment and the willingness to serve. They were true, loving, humble servants of the Lord and I was honored to meet them. Several years later two of my friends and I raised the money for this missionary to buy a building in Petionville (just a short distance from Port-au-Prince and it appears to be the epicenter of the quake) and establish a thriving church there.
As I viewed the recent devastation, I wondered how long it would be before the appeals for funds would begin. Just about 24 hours after the earthquake, the appeals started and that’s not bad. Carol and I have chosen to make our donations to help in Haiti through David Wilkerson’s ministry, World Challenge. They have a great track record of proven ministry in Haiti with feeding programs, medical outreaches, orphanages and schools. If you are looking for a place to put your gift for Haiti, let me encourage you to do it through World Challenge. You can trust them implicitly and your gift will go where it is supposed to. Their track record is unblemished. Here is their Web site: www.worldchallenge.com. Go the section on Missions and read about what they are doing in Haiti and make a donation if you can.
One more thing and then I will get off this soapbox. Pat Robertson has taken a lot of heat because of his statements about Haiti having made a pact with the devil. Pat may not have chosen the right words and he may have chosen the wrong time, but he was not wrong in his history. In 1791 when the slave revolt began that eventually led to Haiti’s independence, the one event that sparked the revolt was a voodoo ceremony where people opened themselves to be possessed by demonic spirits. After this demonic outpouring, the influence of the revolt spread throughout the island and the slave revolt in Haiti became the only slave revolt in history that was truly successful in throwing off the tyranny of an occupying nation. Unfortunately, the Haitian slaves threw off the outward tyranny of France and embraced the inward tyranny of demonic power that is clearly evident all over Haiti.
Jesus said there would be birth pains that would point to the increasing nearness of His return. How much clearer does He have to be? Time to wake up and be ready!
I first went to Haiti in 1968. My boss at that time, David Wilkerson, had a great love for the people of that nation. He had mentioned his affection for the Haitian people a few times in his meetings and in one of his books and subsequently began to get requests from various ministries asking for his support for their works in Haiti. David asked me to go and personally look at what these ministries were doing.
Initially, two things overwhelmed me in Port-au-Prince. The first was the overwhelming poverty and the primitive living conditions. The poorest nation in the western hemisphere, Haiti had a great lack of sanitation and many of the people were surviving on less than one dollar a day. For someone raised in a middle-class home in Canada, I was numb and overwhelmed that this country was in our backyard, so to speak.
The second thing that overwhelmed me and also made me angry was a small segment of the American ministries that were claiming to have thriving ministries, orphanages, feeding programs, churches and medical outreaches in Haiti. Several of these had made financial requests to David Wilkerson. On the second or third day of my stay, I went to visit one of these “ministries” and found only an empty building with no children or adults in residence. One of the neighbors told us that when the “American pastors” (they called all of us pastors) came, they rounded up children from the neighborhood, gave them a little money, and took pictures of them in front of the building. These “missionaries” flew into Haiti for a few days each year, took hundreds of pictures, and then went back home and used the pictures in their newsletters and magazines, raising thousands of dollars, very little of which went to Haiti. These people are not missionaries. They are parasites, the carrion of the church world who feed themselves by preying on the poor and needy. Until this time I had no idea that such people existed; I had seen their magazines and read their newsletters and I thought they were legit. May the Lord have mercy on them when they get to the White Throne Judgment, if they get there at all.
After visiting several “ministries” like this, I was ready to tell David that we could surely find another country for our missions giving. But then I met two people who helped me put things back in perspective. One was a humble woman from a church called Soul Saving Station in Harlem. This sweet-spirited woman showed me a side of missions that is not flashy and is not often well funded…they just get the work done. She was laboring in one of the poorest sections of Port-au-Prince ministering to children and taking in those who had no parents. She had little support but she had a clear understanding of her call from God. She was a true servant of the Lord and I was blessed and encouraged to meet her.
The other person I met was an Assemblies of God missionary. I visited with him and his family and we talked for hours about the need, what they were doing, and what we could do to help. Again I was touched by the commitment and the willingness to serve. They were true, loving, humble servants of the Lord and I was honored to meet them. Several years later two of my friends and I raised the money for this missionary to buy a building in Petionville (just a short distance from Port-au-Prince and it appears to be the epicenter of the quake) and establish a thriving church there.
As I viewed the recent devastation, I wondered how long it would be before the appeals for funds would begin. Just about 24 hours after the earthquake, the appeals started and that’s not bad. Carol and I have chosen to make our donations to help in Haiti through David Wilkerson’s ministry, World Challenge. They have a great track record of proven ministry in Haiti with feeding programs, medical outreaches, orphanages and schools. If you are looking for a place to put your gift for Haiti, let me encourage you to do it through World Challenge. You can trust them implicitly and your gift will go where it is supposed to. Their track record is unblemished. Here is their Web site: www.worldchallenge.com. Go the section on Missions and read about what they are doing in Haiti and make a donation if you can.
One more thing and then I will get off this soapbox. Pat Robertson has taken a lot of heat because of his statements about Haiti having made a pact with the devil. Pat may not have chosen the right words and he may have chosen the wrong time, but he was not wrong in his history. In 1791 when the slave revolt began that eventually led to Haiti’s independence, the one event that sparked the revolt was a voodoo ceremony where people opened themselves to be possessed by demonic spirits. After this demonic outpouring, the influence of the revolt spread throughout the island and the slave revolt in Haiti became the only slave revolt in history that was truly successful in throwing off the tyranny of an occupying nation. Unfortunately, the Haitian slaves threw off the outward tyranny of France and embraced the inward tyranny of demonic power that is clearly evident all over Haiti.
Jesus said there would be birth pains that would point to the increasing nearness of His return. How much clearer does He have to be? Time to wake up and be ready!
Saturday, January 9, 2010
SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP!
Psalm 46 is one of my “comfort food” passages. When I am overtired, under stress or have just generally been bumped around by life a little more than I can handle I indulge myself in one or several “comfort food” passages. I have written about “comfort food” before and you can go to the archives on the right side of the page and select the articles written in 2007 and then go to Sept. 9, 2007.
In this article I will touch on a few of the truths contained in Psalm 46. It is worthy spending quality time in this rich and comforting Psalm.
God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear,
Even though the earth be removed,
And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
Though its waters roar and be troubled,
Though the mountains shake with its swelling. (Psalm 46:1-3)
I learned to appreciate the first verses of Psalm 46 during the years we lived in California. It seemed like every few years there would be a “word” on the Charismatic grapevine that California was going to have a major earthquake and part of it would slide into the ocean. Verse two and three brought a lot of comfort to those of us who have lived through earthquakes.
Verse 4 begins with “There is a river” a few months ago I wrote about the river (August 15). I believe that these verses remind us that God is in the midst of His kingdom and His kingdom people .
Verse 5 “ God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved;” the later part of the sentence is referring to a violent shaking that would culminate in the destruction of God’s kingdom and God says “no that will not happen”.
The second part of verse 5 is a declaration of faith “God shall help her, just at the break of dawn”. The Psalmist uses metaphorical language here to describe what happens when God’s help is displayed. In some of the older translations the wording is “and that right early”. When the dawn breaks darkness is pushed back by the light. When God steps into a situation, that which was unfixable is suddenly made whole, that which was broken is mended, that which was near death is made fully alive. More than once Carol and I have been confronted with ministry situations that were totally beyond us, they were far beyond our skill level, there was nothing humanly possible for us to do and so we prayed and gave it to Him. When we gave it to Him what had seemed so totally impossible to be resolved or mended was suddenly fixed, suddenly mended, suddenly over and that is “the break of dawn”.
Only one thing conquers and vanquishes darkness and that is light. When the dawn breaks darkness is pushed back. Light represents understanding and victory. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness….” (John 8:12)
Verse 9 “He makes wars to cease”.
It’s easy to look at this statement and make a broad generalized application that someday God will bring peace to the earth and make all wars to cease. True, but he also wants to put an end to the wars that engulf you. What are your battles? Are you fighting a battle with temptation, a problem, another person? What ever it is that we are battling with “He makes wars to cease.”
Verse 10 is probably the best known verse of this passage. “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”
During a particularly difficult transition time that I was involved in leading a ministry through, nearly 30 years ago, a dear friend encouraged me to get hold of this verse “Be still and know that I am God”. My friend was encouraging me to quiet my spirit and listen to the voice of the Lord. It was good advice.
But, that it not the full application of this statement “Be still and know that I am God”. This was primarily a declaration on the part of God to the nations that harassed and warred with Israel, that were clamoring for Israel’s demise. God was saying to them, and this is my paraphrase “Sit down and shut up, stop all your threats. I am God. I will be exalted in this situation. I will be exalted in all the earth.” This has the ring of victory to it!
“Be still and know (yada) that I am God”. To His people the Lord says, “Sit down, stop all your frantic activity and get to know Me!" When we do that we exalt Him in our hearts and then He will be exalted in our circumstances and that’s His promise! “Be still” is a command. To “be still” is an act of recognition and reverence, it is our response to God’s statement “I will be exalted”.
In this article I will touch on a few of the truths contained in Psalm 46. It is worthy spending quality time in this rich and comforting Psalm.
God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear,
Even though the earth be removed,
And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
Though its waters roar and be troubled,
Though the mountains shake with its swelling. (Psalm 46:1-3)
I learned to appreciate the first verses of Psalm 46 during the years we lived in California. It seemed like every few years there would be a “word” on the Charismatic grapevine that California was going to have a major earthquake and part of it would slide into the ocean. Verse two and three brought a lot of comfort to those of us who have lived through earthquakes.
Verse 4 begins with “There is a river” a few months ago I wrote about the river (August 15). I believe that these verses remind us that God is in the midst of His kingdom and His kingdom people .
Verse 5 “ God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved;” the later part of the sentence is referring to a violent shaking that would culminate in the destruction of God’s kingdom and God says “no that will not happen”.
The second part of verse 5 is a declaration of faith “God shall help her, just at the break of dawn”. The Psalmist uses metaphorical language here to describe what happens when God’s help is displayed. In some of the older translations the wording is “and that right early”. When the dawn breaks darkness is pushed back by the light. When God steps into a situation, that which was unfixable is suddenly made whole, that which was broken is mended, that which was near death is made fully alive. More than once Carol and I have been confronted with ministry situations that were totally beyond us, they were far beyond our skill level, there was nothing humanly possible for us to do and so we prayed and gave it to Him. When we gave it to Him what had seemed so totally impossible to be resolved or mended was suddenly fixed, suddenly mended, suddenly over and that is “the break of dawn”.
Only one thing conquers and vanquishes darkness and that is light. When the dawn breaks darkness is pushed back. Light represents understanding and victory. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness….” (John 8:12)
Verse 9 “He makes wars to cease”.
It’s easy to look at this statement and make a broad generalized application that someday God will bring peace to the earth and make all wars to cease. True, but he also wants to put an end to the wars that engulf you. What are your battles? Are you fighting a battle with temptation, a problem, another person? What ever it is that we are battling with “He makes wars to cease.”
Verse 10 is probably the best known verse of this passage. “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”
During a particularly difficult transition time that I was involved in leading a ministry through, nearly 30 years ago, a dear friend encouraged me to get hold of this verse “Be still and know that I am God”. My friend was encouraging me to quiet my spirit and listen to the voice of the Lord. It was good advice.
But, that it not the full application of this statement “Be still and know that I am God”. This was primarily a declaration on the part of God to the nations that harassed and warred with Israel, that were clamoring for Israel’s demise. God was saying to them, and this is my paraphrase “Sit down and shut up, stop all your threats. I am God. I will be exalted in this situation. I will be exalted in all the earth.” This has the ring of victory to it!
“Be still and know (yada) that I am God”. To His people the Lord says, “Sit down, stop all your frantic activity and get to know Me!" When we do that we exalt Him in our hearts and then He will be exalted in our circumstances and that’s His promise! “Be still” is a command. To “be still” is an act of recognition and reverence, it is our response to God’s statement “I will be exalted”.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
THE SHOUTING METHODISTS
“But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him” (1 Corinthians 1:27-29 NIV).
I had never heard of the “shouting Methodists” until I was directing a crusade in Salem, OR, in the mid-1980’s. We were at the State Fairgrounds with about 5,000 in attendance at each service. Sitting beside me on the front row of the stage was the retired pastor of the visiting evangelist. Twenty years earlier, the evangelist had come to faith in Christ in this Methodist pastor’s church and this crusade service was the first time the pastor had heard the evangelist preach. Needless to say, he was “all ears.”
It was a great service. One of those you wish you could bottle and take everywhere. The music was excellent, the crowd was alive and responsive, and the evangelist was preaching up a storm. In the middle of the sermon, the evangelist paused for just a moment and suddenly the eighty-year-old retired pastor, sitting next to me, let out the loudest shout of “GLORY” I have ever heard in my life. This was not a Sunday morning, polite “Praise the Lord” that only you and one or two around you could hear. No, this was a bellow that every person in that audience heard.
I didn’t know that I could jump that high from a sitting position. Funny what an adrenaline rush will do and only my dry cleaner really knows how surprised I was.
The evangelist turned sheepishly to all of us sitting on the front row and said, “I forgot to tell you that he was a “shouting Methodist.”
In 1794 in Cornwall County, England, a boy named Billy Bray was born. Cornwall is the tin mining area of England. Bray’s father died was he was young and Billy was raised by his grandfather. At age 27 Billy married a backslidden Christian girl. Working in the tin mines and raising seven children was overshadowed by Billy’s addiction to alcohol. He would spend his earnings each week drinking and carousing.
In 1823 two things occurred that changed Bray’s life. The first, a near-death experience during an accident in the mine, deeply troubled him. Not long after the accident, a friend gave him a copy of John Bunyan’s book entitled “Visions of Heaven and Hell.” Although reluctant to do so, Bray felt drawn to read the book. He talked to his backslidden wife about the Lord and she told him that her memories of serving the Lord were wonderful. Bray went to bed that night knowing that he needed to pray but he could not do so in front of his wife. At three in the morning Bray got up, and under deep conviction, he got down on his knees and cried out to God for forgiveness.
The change in Billy was immediate. He stopped drinking forever and became a devoted family man. Seeing the change in her husband, Billy’s wife recommitted her life to Christ. Billy became active in the local Methodist church and within one year of his conversion he had begun preaching in area churches.
Bray became a great evangelist, mostly to the poor miners of southwest England. He became widely known for his continual joy and excitement about the Lord and he was called the “Praising, Shouting, Dancing Preacher.” Bray was controversial, mostly to the clergy, but people would flock to his meetings, and thousands were converted. One day, when questioned about his abundant joy, he responded, “He has made me glad and no one can make me sad. He makes me shout and no one can make me doubt. He it is that makes me dance and leap, and there is no one that can keep down my feet.” He went on to say, “I sometimes feel so much of the power of God that, I believe, if they were to cut off my feet I should heave up [get up] and walk on the stumps.”
Although Bray’s conduct irritated the pious, God used him for over forty years to win souls and build churches. A typical Bray sermon contained no Scripture. He normally would start singing a song, move into a story or an extended illustration, and follow up with a call for salvation. This uneducated, unorthodox former drunk became a useful vessel in the Lord’s army.
During the latter years of Bray’s life, a young man rising to prominence was a Baptist preacher by the name of Charles Spurgeon. I came across an interesting statement that Spurgeon made regarding Billy Bray: “I remember once hearing him speak with great effect to a large congregation, principally miners. There was excitement in some of his meetings, more than sufficient to shock the prejudices of highly sensitive or refined persons. Some even who had the fullest confidence and warmest affection for Billy could not enjoy some of the outward manifestations they occasionally witnessed to the extent that he himself did. Billy could not tolerate ‘deadness,’ as he expressively called it, either in a professing Christian or in a meeting. He had a sympathy with persons singing, or shouting, or leaping for joy.”
Billy Bray was a “shouting Methodist.” When the doctor told Bray that he was going to die in a few days, his response was to shout, “Glory! Glory be to God! I shall soon be in heaven.”
We could use a few more like Billy Bray today!
“But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him” (1 Corinthians 1:27-29 NIV).
I had never heard of the “shouting Methodists” until I was directing a crusade in Salem, OR, in the mid-1980’s. We were at the State Fairgrounds with about 5,000 in attendance at each service. Sitting beside me on the front row of the stage was the retired pastor of the visiting evangelist. Twenty years earlier, the evangelist had come to faith in Christ in this Methodist pastor’s church and this crusade service was the first time the pastor had heard the evangelist preach. Needless to say, he was “all ears.”
It was a great service. One of those you wish you could bottle and take everywhere. The music was excellent, the crowd was alive and responsive, and the evangelist was preaching up a storm. In the middle of the sermon, the evangelist paused for just a moment and suddenly the eighty-year-old retired pastor, sitting next to me, let out the loudest shout of “GLORY” I have ever heard in my life. This was not a Sunday morning, polite “Praise the Lord” that only you and one or two around you could hear. No, this was a bellow that every person in that audience heard.
I didn’t know that I could jump that high from a sitting position. Funny what an adrenaline rush will do and only my dry cleaner really knows how surprised I was.
The evangelist turned sheepishly to all of us sitting on the front row and said, “I forgot to tell you that he was a “shouting Methodist.”
In 1794 in Cornwall County, England, a boy named Billy Bray was born. Cornwall is the tin mining area of England. Bray’s father died was he was young and Billy was raised by his grandfather. At age 27 Billy married a backslidden Christian girl. Working in the tin mines and raising seven children was overshadowed by Billy’s addiction to alcohol. He would spend his earnings each week drinking and carousing.
In 1823 two things occurred that changed Bray’s life. The first, a near-death experience during an accident in the mine, deeply troubled him. Not long after the accident, a friend gave him a copy of John Bunyan’s book entitled “Visions of Heaven and Hell.” Although reluctant to do so, Bray felt drawn to read the book. He talked to his backslidden wife about the Lord and she told him that her memories of serving the Lord were wonderful. Bray went to bed that night knowing that he needed to pray but he could not do so in front of his wife. At three in the morning Bray got up, and under deep conviction, he got down on his knees and cried out to God for forgiveness.
The change in Billy was immediate. He stopped drinking forever and became a devoted family man. Seeing the change in her husband, Billy’s wife recommitted her life to Christ. Billy became active in the local Methodist church and within one year of his conversion he had begun preaching in area churches.
Bray became a great evangelist, mostly to the poor miners of southwest England. He became widely known for his continual joy and excitement about the Lord and he was called the “Praising, Shouting, Dancing Preacher.” Bray was controversial, mostly to the clergy, but people would flock to his meetings, and thousands were converted. One day, when questioned about his abundant joy, he responded, “He has made me glad and no one can make me sad. He makes me shout and no one can make me doubt. He it is that makes me dance and leap, and there is no one that can keep down my feet.” He went on to say, “I sometimes feel so much of the power of God that, I believe, if they were to cut off my feet I should heave up [get up] and walk on the stumps.”
Although Bray’s conduct irritated the pious, God used him for over forty years to win souls and build churches. A typical Bray sermon contained no Scripture. He normally would start singing a song, move into a story or an extended illustration, and follow up with a call for salvation. This uneducated, unorthodox former drunk became a useful vessel in the Lord’s army.
During the latter years of Bray’s life, a young man rising to prominence was a Baptist preacher by the name of Charles Spurgeon. I came across an interesting statement that Spurgeon made regarding Billy Bray: “I remember once hearing him speak with great effect to a large congregation, principally miners. There was excitement in some of his meetings, more than sufficient to shock the prejudices of highly sensitive or refined persons. Some even who had the fullest confidence and warmest affection for Billy could not enjoy some of the outward manifestations they occasionally witnessed to the extent that he himself did. Billy could not tolerate ‘deadness,’ as he expressively called it, either in a professing Christian or in a meeting. He had a sympathy with persons singing, or shouting, or leaping for joy.”
Billy Bray was a “shouting Methodist.” When the doctor told Bray that he was going to die in a few days, his response was to shout, “Glory! Glory be to God! I shall soon be in heaven.”
We could use a few more like Billy Bray today!
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