REMEMBERING 50 YEARS OF GOD'S FAITHFULNESS, PART 10

When a Billionaire Encountered the Power of the Holy Spirit

Shortly after planting the congregation in Sue’s hometown of Saint John, we decided to establish a Christian school for grades 1-12. We chose to use the Accelerated Christian Education curriculum commonly known as A.C.E. We began making arrangements to launch this school, which included Eddie attending a seminar in Lewisville, Texas for pastors and principles of new schools.

Knowing we needed an administrator and teachers for the school, we decided to invite a couple, Chuck and Madonna, whom we had met in Bible school in Dallas. Chuck was working in an A.C.E. school at the time and they seemed like the ideal couple to help us launch our school.

We were relieved when they accepted our invitation to move from Texas to Canada and work with us in the school. We knew that school tuition payments would provide a salary once school started, but they were going to need a place to live before school and there was no extra money in the accounts.

Sue and I were living in an apartment at the time, and we decided that if we purchased a duplex we could live in one end and Chuck and Madonna could live in the other end with their two children. It seemed like the ideal solution and I announced to our fledgling congregation that we were believing God for a duplex home for us and the new family that would be arriving in a few days.

I had a list of prayer needs that I was bringing before the Lord each day and I had written the word “house” on the list. One morning I was going down my prayer list, praying over each item. When I came to the word “house,” it seemed that my insides began to glow and I heard the Holy Spirit say, “You have a house.” I was elated and shared with Sue what I had just experienced and heard.

I also shared it with our congregation the very next Sunday morning. After the service, a man who was a realtor and had a construction company, came up to me and told me about a modular home company that had gone bankrupt that week. He said, “A duplex home that sold for $40,000.00 can now be purchased for $20,000.00.”

He went on to say that because of the equity in the house we would have no problem getting a loan from the bank. He also said, “I have a five-acre plot on which we can put the house.” I was elated and exclaimed, “God told me this week that we have a house!”

My mistake in this situation was that I did not take time to ask God if this was the house He had spoken to me about. We must never assume that we know the details of something God says to us. We must pray about everything. God tried to warn me, but I would not listen.

While I was talking with this man on one side of our small auditorium, Sue was on the other side weeping and praying in tongues. She was grieved in her spirit and finally came to us and said, “Something is not right here. I don’t feel good about this.”

However, I was so sure I had heard from God, that I pushed ahead with this man and his plan. It was a big mistake on my part. To make a long story short, the plan fell through and we had no place for Chuck and Madonna when they arrived.

We, therefore, turned our apartment over to this couple with the furniture and food in the refrigerator. We moved into the upstairs floor of the rented building where we were having our church services. There was a commode and sink but no bathtub or shower. Neither were there any kitchen appliances.

It was inconvenient and somewhat humiliating for I had announced to our congregation how God had said to me, “You have a house.” Now they knew we were camping upstairs without a house or even an apartment. God, however, is faithful and will always come through when our eyes are fixed on Him.

During a Thursday midweek service, a woman was there whom we had not met, and it was the only time she attended one of our services during the eight years we were there. God always has the right people at the right place and at the right time when we are trusting him. After the service she asked, “Are you and Sue looking for a place to live?”

I replied, “yes,” and she proceeded to tell me of a woman in Rothesay for whom she worked who was looking for someone to live in her home without cost. She said, “I cannot live in it for I have just moved in with my mother; but if you are interested, I will tell her about you and Sue and you can arrange to meet her.”

My mind perked up when I heard the word “Rothesay” for it was an exclusive area with many fine, luxurious home. We made contact with this woman who turned out to be the daughter-in-law of K.C. Irving who at that time—1982—was the third wealthiest man in the world with an estimated wealth of eight billion dollars. He was into oil, shipping, forestry and owned paper mills and gas refineries.

This woman, Joan, had just gone through a divorce with one of his billionaire sons after 20 years of marriage and was moving to the other side of the continent in British Columbia. We accepted her offer and moved into a luxurious home with eight bedrooms, five bathrooms, and fully furnished with expensive modern and antique furniture.

There was also a sauna and game room in the basement. It was rent free and all utilities were covered. In addition, a maid came in and cleaned twice per week, and a person looked after the grounds.

I got up before our congregation the next Sunday morning and told them what had happened. I then said to them, “This is the house the Lord was talking about.”

But as Sue and I have often said, “It is never about houses, land and cars; it is always about people.” And it turned out that God put us in that house because he was after the owner. He wanted to touch her life, and He positioned us for that to happen.

In the meantime, our Christian school had begun, and Chuck and Madonna were receiving an income from the tuitions. Wanting to be closer to the school, they had moved out of our apartment, leaving it empty, and rented a place near the school.

At the same time, we began to sense that we were to move out of the house and back to our apartment. So, when the owner informed us that she was coming back to her home for a visit, we went back to our apartment and arranged to meet with her while she was there.

As we drove out to meet with this woman on a Saturday afternoon in October, I noticed that Sue was quietly praying in tongues. It was the real thing and not something she had initiated. I sensed that she was praying for this woman, so I asked, “What are you praying about?” She replied, “I feel that I am praying for Joan.”

We arrived and found that Joan’s former sister-in-law, Jean, had joined us. Jean was married to another of the billionaire sons of old K.C. Irving. We had heard of her and knew that she was a Christian and attended a local Wesleyan Church.

We sat down on Joan’s back veranda and when Jean learned that we were pastors, she said, “I would like for us to pray for Joan before she leaves for British Columbia.” Sue was still experiencing the Holy Spirit flowing up from her innermost being and replied, “Yes, we want to pray but it is going to come out in tongues.”

We were sure that Joan, a nominal Presbyterian, knew nothing about praying in tongues and were not sure if Jean would be in agreement with it. Nonetheless, Jean replied, “That’s OK.”

Sue then burst forth with an utterance in tongues but this time it was not prayer; it was a message that needed to be interpreted (see I Corinthians 14). As Sue was speaking in tongues, I looked at Joan and her eyes seemed as big as saucers (so to speak) and I could tell that she was wondering, “What is going on here?” 

By the time Sue had finished speaking, God had given me the interpretation, and it was a message for Joan. I knew I needed to be very clear and simple, so I said to her, “That is God speaking.” With a note of awe in her voice, she replied, “Well what is he saying?”

I then took her hand, looked her in the eye and began speaking the message God had given me for her. It was a message of God’s love and care for her. As I spoke, I noticed that tears began rolling down her cheeks. We learned later that she had been very depressed and seeing a psychiatrist because of the break-up of her twenty-year marriage.

I finished speaking and knowing that she had never committed her life to Christ, I asked if she would like to pray a prayer, committing her life to Jesus. She replied, “yes,” and I led her in a simple prayer in which she committed her life to Jesus Christ.

At this moment, there was a tangible sense of God’s presence as powerful and real as I have ever known, and I knew that God wanted to baptize her in the Holy Spirit. I was sure she knew anything about it, and I didn’t know if her Wesleyan sister-in-law would be in agreement, but I knew I had to act.

I explained to Joan that “in the Bible” after people received Jesus into their lives it was normal for them to be filled with the Holy Spirit and asked, “Would you like to be filled with the Holy Spirit?” She replied, “yes.” I then asked, “Would it be OK if we laid our hands on you and prayed for you to be filled with the Holy Spirit?” She replied, “Yes.”

Sue and I then laid our hands on her and we noticed that her Wesleyan sister-in-law laid her hands on her and joined us in prayer. God’s presence was so very real, and I noted Joan’s eyelids fluttering and her lips quivering but she was not experiencing the breakthrough that was there for her.

We paused praying and I asked, “What are you experiencing?” She responded by placing her hand around the area of her solar plexus and moving it slowly up to her throat and saying, “Something started here and moved up to here and stopped.”

I immediately know what it was, for Jesus, speaking of the coming of the Holy Spirit, had said in John 7:37-38, If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.

I said to her, “That is the Holy Spirit. He has come in and now He wants to flow out.” I told her that we would pray again and this time to open her mouth and let it flow out even if it came out in a strange language. We learned later that she was fluent in five different languages.

She agreed and we laid our hands on her again and began to pray. Suddenly, it was like a dam broke. She began laughing hilariously and shouting praises to God, and praising God in other tongues. It was a glorious moment in time.

She then turned to her Wesleyan sister-in-law, who had been praying for her salvation for many years, laid her hands on her and prayed over her in other tongues. When she finished, her sister-in-law looked at her in amazement and said, “Joan, you were going like an old Pentecostal.”

This woman’s life was forever changed, and we knew that we had completed our assignment in her home. We went back to our apartment and began looking for a duplex, but now for a different reason. Sue’s father had passed away, and her mother was alone in an apartment, so we decided to look for a house with two living areas.

We found the perfect house and just at the right time this woman sent a check that covered the down payment. That was our last contact with her, and she is in heaven today. We had (and still have) the satisfaction of knowing that her life was forever changed by that Divine encounter, providentially arranged by God.

To summarize the lesson here; it was not about the house. It was about this woman that God wanted to help and bring into His kingdom. May we aspire to be the kind of person whom God can trust for any assignment. If he wants to send me to the White House or Elon Musk’s mansion, I can handle it. If he wants to send me to the outback of India where there is no running water and no sewage system (I have been there) I can handle that as well. This is what Paul was speaking of when he said,

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do all this through Him who gives me strength.

 

Drs. Eddie and Sue Hyatt are still active in ministry and their numerous books are available on Amazon and their websites at http://eddiehyatt.com and http://godswordtowomen.org. This article is an excerpt from their upcoming book, Remembering 50 Years of God's Faithfulness. Of particular significance at this moment in history is Eddie's book, America's Reawakening, and Sue's book, In the Spirit We're Equal, which contains a message that "has the power to begin a mass movement from Islam to Christianity, beginning with the women."

4 REASONS ISLAM IS INCOMPATIBLE WITH AMERICA

There are now over 5 million Muslims in America and thousands of mosques and schools. The mayor of America’s largest city is a devout Muslim as well as an economic Marxist. In this article I show 4 Reasons Islam is incompatible with America. I also show why we should not respond in fear or anger, but see it as an opportunity for the kingdom of God

Reason #1
Islam is Both a Religion and a Political System

In Islam, religion and the state are joined at the hip and there is no separating of the two.  Mosque and state are one in Islam. Wherever Islam gains political power they advance their religious ideology with governmental force. This has been the case since Mohammed, who spread his new ideology with the power of the sword.

By way of contrast, Christianity is not a political system, and America is not a religion. But in 1776 the two were joined together in a delicate marriage to form a new nation--a Constitutional Republic guaranteeing such God-given rights as Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness for all. 

Based on the values and principles of Jesus and the Bible, this new American Republic became a nation of unprecedented freedom. There is no Islamic nation that has produced a society even close to the openness and freedoms enjoyed by American citizens.

Reason #2
Islam is About Absolute Rule and Control

The word “Islam” means “submission” and the goal of Islam is to bring all of humanity under submission to its political rule and Sharia law. Any country in the world where you see Muslims in the majority or in control, you will see Sharia law imposed and Christians either outlawed or put under oppressive restrictions.

By way of contrast, the American system offers individual and religious liberty for all. America’s Founders did not reject religion or the Bible. They rejected the idea, which we see in Islam, of merging religion with the civil government and using the government to impose a preferred religion on the populace.

This is what the Founders were addressing in the First Amendment when they wrote, “Congress shall make no law concerning the establishment of religion nor hindering the free exercise thereof.” They were not banning expressions of faith from government; they were creating a level playing field where religious ideas could be freely expressed by all.

Reason #3
No Place for Religious Liberty in Islam

Because mosque and state are one in Islam, there is no place for such religious liberty. When Muslims hold the reins of power, individual and religious liberty disappear. Consider the state of Christians in Afghanistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, northern Nigeria, etc., etc. Liberty is a Christian ideal, not an Islamic one.

In northern Nigeria, Islamists are burning churches, murdering pastors and kidnapping the children of Christians and forcing them into Islam. Only heaven knows what has happened to the Christians in Afghanistan after the Biden administration handed the reins of power back to the Taliban. Even in Islamic countries where Christians are allowed to exist, they must be very careful not to question anything concerning Islam or its prophet.

Reason #4
America Was Founded on Judeo- Christian Values and Principles

While Islam is guided by the Koran, America's Founders were guided by the Bible and the teachings of Jesus. Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence, stated, 

The philosophy of Jesus is the most sublime and benevolent code of morals ever offered man. A more beautiful or precious morsel of ethics I have never seen.

Although they rejected the idea of an official state-sanctioned church, the Founders were unanimous in their belief that only a moral and Christian people could maintain the political freedoms they had implemented. John Adams made this clear when he said, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious [Christian] people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

A ten-year study to discover where the Founders got their ideas for America’s founding documents found that they quoted the Bible more than any other source (Hyatt, America’s Reawakening, 67). In an exchange of letters between two of America’s most prominent Founding Fathers, John Adams wrote to Benjamin Rush,

The Bible contains the most profound philosophy, the most perfect morality, and the most refined policy that was ever conceived on earth. It is the most republican book in the world (Hyatt, America’s Reawakening, 168).

Adams is acknowledging that they found in the Bible the values and principles for the American Republic, which they had formed. They also believed that only that society which respected the teachings of Jesus and the Bible could be a free and open society.

This is why George Washington, who was a devout Christian and avid reader of the Bible, took the first presidential oath of office with his hand on a Bible. When someone swears an oath, they swear by something greater than themselves. For Washington, the Bible was the highest tangible authority by which he could swear to uphold and defend the Constitution.

We Must be Kind But Not Blind

I went into a copy story to copy a document and went to one of their self-serve copiers. The customer before me had left behind some of their copies. I picked one up and saw that it was a flyer promoting events at a local mosque. What caught my attention were the words, "Our goal is to make Tulsa a Muslim city and America a Muslim nation."

This is why every freedom-loving America should be concerned when we see elected officials, such as Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and the newly elected lieutenant governor of Virginia, taking their oath of office with their hand on a Koran. 

This is their way of saying that the Koran, not the Bible, will be their guide for how they carry out their official duties. And because mosque and state are inseparable in the Koran, we can know that these officials, committed to Islam, have an agenda to take political control of America.

This is not prejudice. This is facing reality and speaking the truth in love. We welcome Muslims to this land to enjoy the freedoms of the American system, but not to impose their failed system of oppression on us. 

Our Response

We must see the situation through the eyes of heaven. We must realize, that from God's perspective, these many Muslims have not come to American to convert us. They have come to America to be converted to Jesus Christ and to our way of life. 

We must, therefore, be bold in our faith in Jesus. We must pray for the conversion of all Muslims in America and be ready to share the love of Christ when the opportunity presents itself. I believe that Isaiah 60:1-3 is appropriate and timely here. The prophet declared;

Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the Lord will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you. The Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.

This article is derived from Dr. Eddie Hyatt's latest book, America's Reawakening, available from Amazon and his website at https://eddiehyatt.com.

HE DEMOLISHED DENOMINATIONAL DIVIDING WALLS

The young preacher dressed in his Church of England clerical gown stood before the massive open-air crowd that had gathered to hear him preach in Philadelphia. As he gazed upon this crowd that numbered in the thousands, he determined that he was going to tear down the very things in which they trusted, which also divided them—their deep sectarian and denominational loyalties.

It was 1739 and 25-year-old George Whitefield had already made a name for himself in England where massive crowds had filled Anglican churches to hear him preach about the new birth. The message of the new birth was not a mere doctrine for him but something that had transformed his life.

Despite graduating from Oxford with a degree in theology and being ordained with the Church of England at age 21, he still had no sense of peace and assurance in his heart before God. He went through an intense spiritual and mental battle in which he said, “For days and weeks I lay prostrate on the ground in silent and vocal prayer to God.”

He found peace when he came to the place where he completely trusted himself to Jesus Christ and Him alone for his salvation. The mental anguish lifted and peace filled his heart. He found his soul to be at complete rest. It was so clear to him that it wasn’t the Oxford degree that had brought him peace nor was it his membership and ordination with the Anglican Church. It was Christ and Him alone.

As he gazed out over the massive crowd he knew he had to get this point across to them. He decided to act out a conversation between himself and Father Abraham whom he pictured as looking over the bannister of heaven at the great multitude made up of all sects and denominations.

Turning his face heavenward, Whitefield shouted, “Father Abraham, are there any Anglicans in heaven?” The answer came back, “No, there are no Anglicans in heaven.”

“Father Abraham, are there any Catholics in heaven?” “No, there are no Catholics in heaven.” “Are there any Presbyterians in heaven?” “No, there are no Presbyterians here either.”

“Father Abraham, surely there are Methodists in heaven?” “No, there are no Methodists here either.” “What about Presbyterians, Baptists or Quakers?” “No, there are none of those here either.”

With a sound of desperation in his voice, Whitefield shouted, “Father Abraham, what kind of people are in heaven?” The answer came back, “There are only Christians in heaven; only those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ and been washed in the blood of the Lamb.”

Whitefield then exclaimed, “Oh, is that the case? Then God, help me, God help us all, to forget having labels and names and to become Christians in deed and in truth!”

What was the impact of his Christ-centered message? Benjamin Franklin, who was one of those in that massive crowd, wrote in his Autobiography,

It was wonderful to see the change soon made in the manners of our inhabitants. From being thoughtless or indifferent about religion, it seemed as if all the world were growing religious so that one could not walk through the town in an evening without hearing psalms sung in different families of every street.

The Christ-centered preaching of Whitefield broke down sectarian and denominational walls. For the first time the people of colonial America began to see themselves, not as 13 separate colonies, but as a single people with one Divine destiny—one nation under God.

This is a different era and we face different challenges, but the answer is still the same. The answer is declaring the same message that Whitfield preached, which is the Christ-centered gospel message of the New Testament church. It is the same message Paul preached to the pagan, idolatrous city of Corinth. 

And I brothers and sisters, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God, for I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified (I Cor. 2:1-2).

There is a course we often sing that seems appropriate for concluding this essay.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face.
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

This article is derived from Dr. Eddie Hyatt's latest book, America's Reawakening, available from Amazon and his website at https://eddiehyatt.com.

WILL AMERICA HAVE A REBIRTH OF FAITH AND FREEDOM?

Speaking at an interfaith gathering, New York City's Muslim mayor, Zohran Mumdani, affirmed all faiths present, but gave special attention to the Koran and Islam's prophet, Mohammed, as he condemned America's immigration policy and presented Mohammed as a model for immigration policy in America. 

What we are seeing in New York City and other cities in America is a radical departure from the America in which I was reared and the America of 1776. Mamdani has a vision for America but it is not the vision of Washington, Jefferson, Hamilton and Lincoln. This is a critical moment in time when America must have a rebirth of Faith and Freedom. 

A Nation Dedicated to Jesus Christ

America was NOT founded as a secularist, multicultural, interfaith nation. America was founded by people who were passionate about their faith in Jesus Christ. When the British Major Pitcairn ordered the minutemen at Lexington to "lay down your arms in the name of George the Sovereign King of England," Rev. Jonas Clarke, pastor of the First Parish Church in Lexington, was standing with the minutemen and shouted back, “We recognize no Sovereign but God and no king but Jesus!” 

That cry caught the imagination of American patriots everywhere and soon rang throughout the colonies. This cry became so prominent throughout the colonies that a British-appointed official wrote back to England, “If you ask an American who is his master, he will tell you he has none, nor any governor but Jesus Christ” (Hyatt, America’s Reawakening, 81).

This could happen because Jesus had held preeminence in America from the very beginning. Beginning with the first permanent settlement in 1607, continuing with the Pilgrims 13 years later and right on up to the time of the nation’s founding, America was dedicated to Jesus Christ and the spread of His gospel. 

When the Jamestown settlers landed at Cape Henry, VA on April 30, 1607, their first act was to erect a seven-foot oak cross they had brought from England and then gather around it and dedicate the land of their new home to God. In his dedicatory prayer, their chaplain, Rev. Robert Hunt, declared, “From these very shores the gospel shall go forth, not only to this new world, but to all the world.”

Thirteen years later, the Pilgrims landed further north at Cape Cod with a similar vision. Before disembarking, they formulated the Mayflower Compact in which they stated their two-fold reason for coming to America: (1) for the glory of God and (2) for the advancement of the Christian faith.

As succeeding immigrants poured onto these shores, they came with similar visions to honor God and advance the gospel of Jesus Christ. When the United Colonies of New England was formed in 1643, their constitution clearly stated why they had all come to this New World. It reads,

Whereas we all came into these parts of America with one and the same end and aim, namely to advance the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ and to enjoy the Liberties of the Gospel in purity with peace (Hyatt, America’s Reawakening, 32-33).

It is thus not surprising that the First Continental Congress, which met for the first time in Philadelphia on September 5, 1774, opened with Bible reading and prayer in the name of Jesus. Rev. Jacob Duche read the entire 35th Psalm and then began praying for the delegates and for the liberation of the colonies from the tyranny of Great Britain.

All 56 delegates including, including George Washington, John Adams, Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry and others, joined him in prayer, with many of them kneeling. Duche ended his prayer, saying, “All this we ask in the name and through the merits of Jesus Christ Thy Son and our Savior. Amen.”

Every succeeding session of this Congress was opened with Bible reading and prayer in the name of Jesus. No one complained for Jesus Christ was held in the highest esteem and given ultimate honor throughout the Colonies. Thomas Jefferson spoke for all Americans when he said,

The philosophy of Jesus is the most sublime and benevolent code of morals ever offered to man. A more beautiful or precious morsel of ethics I have never seen.

A prayer journal kept by George Washington is filled with prayers centered in Jesus Christ and making Him known. For example, one prayer reads, “Bless, O Lord, the whole race of mankind, and let the world be filled with the knowledge of Thee and Thy Son, Jesus Christ (Hyatt, America’sReawakening, 161).

It is, therefore, not surprising that after the publication of the Declaration of Independence and the defeat of the British, Washington called on all Americans to make Jesus their role model and emulate His example. In a letter to the governors of the various states, he exhorted,

 I now make it my earnest prayer that God would have you, and the State over which you preside, in his holy protection; that he would incline the hearts of the citizens . . .   to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and pacific temper of mind, which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion, and without a humble imitation of His example in these things, we can never hope to be a happy nation (Hyatt, America’s Reawakening, 138).

Washington was not shy about sharing his faith in Jesus. In a meeting with chiefs from the Delaware tribe, Washington encouraged them to learn “above all the religion of Jesus Christ.” The chiefs had brought some of their youth to be educated in American schools. Washington addressed them as “brothers” and said,

You do well to wish to learn our arts and our ways of life and above all, the religion of Jesus Christ. These will make you a greater and happier people than you are. Congress will do everything they can to assist you in this wise intention (Hyatt,1726:The Year that Defined America, 172).

John Hancock was one of the most prominent of the founding fathers, serving as president of the Continental Congress and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. While serving as governor of Massachusetts, he proclaimed a Day of Prayer in 1793 in which he exhorted the people,

That with true contrition of heart we may confess our sins, resolve to forsake them, and implore the Divine forgiveness through the merits and mediation of JESUS CHRIST our Savior . . . and finally, to overrule all the commotion in the world, to the spreading of the true religion of our LORD JESUS CHRIST, in its purity and power, among all the people of the earth (Hyatt, America’s Reawakening, 39).

America’s founders considered Jesus Christ and the New Testament to be the foundation of the Constitutional Republic they brought into existence. Samuel Adams was a member of the Continental Congress, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and also served as governor of Massachusetts. He based the right for political freedom on the Bible and its revelation of Jesus Christ. He wrote,

The right to freedom being the gift of God Almighty, the rights of the Colonists as Christians may be best understood by reading and carefully studying the institutions of the Great Lawgiver and the Head of the Christian Church, which are to be found clearly written and promulgated in the New Testament (Hyatt, America’s Reawakening, 63-64)

Founded as a Christian Nation

That America was founded as a Christian nation characterized by faith in Jesus Christ was generally understood for the first 150 years of her existence. In giving an account of his 1831 visit to America and his study of her institutions, the French sociologist, Alexis de Tocqueville, exclaimed, "The religious atmosphere of the country was the first thing that struck me on arrival in the United States."

He observed that the means of improving the government were the same means employed in conversion and the advancement of the Christian faith. He concluded that in America, “From the beginning, politics and religion contracted an alliance which has never been dissolved” (Hyatt, America’s Reawakening, 189).

That America was founded on Christian values and principles was stated by the U. S. Supreme Court in 1892 in the case of Church of the Holy Trinity vs The United States. After examining thousands of historical documents, the nation’s highest Court declared,

From the discovery of this continent to the present hour, there is a single voice making this affirmation, this is a religious people. The churches and church organizations which abound in every city, town, and hamlet; the multitude of charitable organizations existing everywhere under Christian auspices; the gigantic missionary associations, with general support, and aiming to establish Christian missions in every quarter of the globe. These, and many other matters which might be noticed, add a volume of unofficial declarations to the mass of organic utterances that this is a Christian nation.

The Key to Our Blessing

It was faith in Jesus and adherence to His teachings that made this nation great and prospered her as no other nation in history. This is borne out by Psalm 33:12, which reads, Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD. A careful study of this passage shows that “LORD” applies to the New Testament revelation of Jesus Christ.

In this passage the word “LORD” is in all caps, which lets us know that it is translated from the Hebrew word Yahweh. The old KJV translates Yahweh as “Jehovah.” In the Old Testament, Yahweh was the personal name of the God of Israel, and it distinguished Him from the false gods of the pagan nations.

The word “God” in this passage is translated from the Hebrew, Elhoim, which was a generic designation for a deity or god. All the pagan nations surrounding Israel had their Elohim. However, the Elohim of Israel had a specific identity and name—Yahweh. This passage literally reads; Blessed is the nation whose Elohim is Yahweh.

Therefore, the promise of Psalm 33:12 is not to the nation that merely believers there is a god or a higher power. The promise is to the nation who believes in a specific God who has a specific personal name, and that name is Yahweh, which is the Hebrew verb “to be” and literally translated as “I Am.”

In John 8:58 Jesus clearly identified Himself with Yahweh (I Am) in a conversation with certain Jews. When the name of Abraham came up, who had been dead for 1800 years, Jesus said, Before Abraham was, I Am. The Jews immediately took up stones to stone Him because in their thinking He had committed blasphemy by identifying Himself with the LORD of the Old Testament.

Since Jesus Christ clearly identified Himself with Yahweh (LORD) on more than one occasion, Psalm 33:12 can read, Blessed is the nation whose God is Jesus Christ. I declare to you that this is the reason America has been blessed as no other nation. 

This is also why this generation must have a rebirth of Faith and Freedom by awakening to our national roots that run deep in faith in Jesus Christ.

This article was derived primarily from Dr. Eddie Hyatt's latest book, America's Reawakening, available from Amazon and his website at https://eddiehyatt.com.

 

3 CHRISTIAN LEADERS WHO DISCOVERED THEY HAD NEVER BEEN CONVERTED TO CHRIST

          

A “nominal” Christian is a Christian in name only. They may be very "religious" but their faith is centered, not in Christ, but in the church to which they belong. Their faith is in the external programs and duties of church, rather than in Christ Himself.

The following are three examples of Christian leaders who came to the stunning conclusion that they had never been truly converted to Christ. Their discovery not only transformed their lives but resulted in them becoming instruments for igniting revival and reform movements that changed the course of history.

The Conversion of John Wesley

“I who went to America to convert the Indians had never been converted myself,” wrote the Rev. John Wesley, a baptized, confirmed and ordained clergyman in the Church of England. He came to this stunning conclusion after a failed mission to George to convert the American Indians. His ineffectiveness and the spiritual emptiness in his soul caused hm to question his own faith.

He came to the shocking conclusion that he had never been truly converted to Christ. He realized that he had put his trust in the externals of Christianity but had never been truly born again through faith in Jesus alone.

It all came to a climax as he sat in a meeting in London where Martin Luther’s "Preface to the Book of Romans" was being read. Luther, of course, emphasized salvation through faith alone in Christ alone. As Wesley listened to how Luther described the change that takes place in a person’s heart when they put their faith in Christ alone, something marvelous happened. He later wrote,

I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for my salvation and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sin, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.

Wesley always considered this the time of his conversion and he was never the same. He began to preach Christ with a new sense of power and urgency. When the Anglican churches closed their doors to him because of his message that church membership will not save you, he took his Christ-centered message to the streets and the open fields.

Everywhere he went, thousands gathered to hear him, and great revival swept across the land. This Methodist revival transformed the UK. It jumped the Atlantic and had a powerful impact in the American colonies and on the founding of America. The church and the world would never be the same after John Wesley’s “warmed heart.”

Martin Luther’s Conversion

Like Wesley, Martin Luther was a baptized, confirmed and ordained priest, but in the Roman Catholic Church. But despite all his religious connections, he had no peace in his heart toward God nor any assurance that he was accepted by God. He wrestled with this in prayer and finally come to the conclusion that he had never been truly converted.

The answer for Luther came while teaching the NT books of Romans and Galatians at the University of Wittenberg where he was a professor of Bible and theology. These letters of Paul clearly delineate that it is only through faith in Jesus Christ, and Him alone, that our sins are forgiven and we are reconciled to God.

When this truth of faith in Christ dawned on Luther’s soul, he wrote, “I felt that the gates of heaven were opened and that I had been born again.” This truth was so real to him that he began to boldly proclaim it and even challenged the pope to begin preaching faith in Jesus Christ alone as the way to heaven. He wrote,

Therefore, no one is obliged to obey the ordinances of the pope, or required to listen to him, except when he teaches the gospel and Christ. And the pope should teach nothing but faith without any restrictions (Hyatt, Apostolic Leadership, 18).

His message that we are saved by faith in Christ alone did not sit well with the Roman Church hierarchy and he was eventually excommunicated. But his discovery that the externals of “church” will not save and that only faith in Christ reconciles us to God, ignited the Protestant Reformation and its sound is still reverberating throughout the church and world today.

The Conversion of Pandita Ramabai

Although of a different time and culture, Pandita Ramabai’s story of conversion is very similar to that of Wesley and Luther. Pandita (1858-1920) was born into a devout Hindu home in India and was taught Sanskrit by her father who was a preacher of Hinduism.

While studying in England, Pandita decided to become a Christian. She joined the Church of England, was baptized and confirmed and began to diligently study her new religion. She also returned to India and founded a home for widows and orphan girls, which she called Mukti Mission.

She continued to diligently read and study her Bible and after eight years came to the realization that she had merely “changed religions.” In her words, she had accepted the Christian religion, “but not Christ Himself.”

She bowed before the Lord, gave her life completely to Him and put her faith in Christ alone for her salvation. Everything changed. Christianity was no longer a religion, but a relationship with the Almighty through faith in Jesus Christ. She now experienced a passion and power in her Christian walk that she had not previously known.

She began a prayer meeting at Mukti Mission and announced that the purpose of the prayer meeting was to pray for the conversion, not of the Hindus and Muslims, but of the Christians of India. She realized that so many were "nominal" Christians as she had been, having the Christian religion but not Christ Himself.

Out of this prayer meeting came a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Regular school classes for the young girls were interrupted by extended times of prayer, weeping, and joyous praises to God.

Many of the young girls were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues like the early Christians in the Book of Acts. The American missionary, Albert Norris, visited the revival and was astounded to hear a young illiterate Indian woman praising God in English, “idiomatically, distinctly and fluently” (Hyatt, 2000 Years of Charismatic Christianity, 154).  

Many of the young girls were so overwhelmed with the love and power of God that they began going out into the surrounding villages and preaching the Gospel to the villagers.

This revival had ripples of effect throughout India and in other parts of the world. Pandita became known as the “Mother of the Pentecostal Movement in India” and because of her social work lifting the status of women and girls, the Indian government issued a postage stamp in her honor in 1980, containing her name and photo.

The Conclusion of the Matter

The Church is the community of faith--the gathering of those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ. It is never the object of faith. Too many churches have been turned into stained-glass idols. This happens when the church itself becomes the object of faith. People are made to think that they are OK with God and their ticket to heaven is punched simply because they have become a member of that church.

That was the mistake of Wesley, Luther, and Ramabai, and is the mistake of millions today. Those three still valued church but now saw church in its proper role. They came to realize that church is not the end and goal. The church is an instrument for calling the masses to Jesus Christ who is the ultimate end and goal of everything. C.S. Lewis nailed it when he wrote,

The Church exists for nothing else but to draw men to Christ, to make them little christs. If they are doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time (Hyatt, Apostolic Leadership, 141).

May we see another great Jesus Awakening sweep across America, Canada, Ireland, Mexico and around the world.

Dr, Eddie Hyatt has been in the ministry, along with his wife, Dr. Susan Hyatt, for over 50 years, Their books are available on Amazon and their website bookstore at https://eddiehyatt.com.

HOW DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISM IS AT ODDS WITH GOD AND HUMAN NATURE

Human beings, made in the image and likeness of our Creator, have a spirt of creativity and innovation; and when free and encouraged, such innovation leads to successful ventures and a better life for everyone.

On the other hand, socialism, which has become a euphemism for Marxism, destroys human creativity and innovation, and this leads to poverty and despair. This has happened everywhere it has been tried. This happens because of oppressive government control that quenches the creative, entrepreneurial spirit that God put in the human soul. 

I will never forget visiting eastern Europe shortly after the fall of the Soviet Empire. I was struck by the grey, drab environment. Even the buildings seemed so plain, flat and lackluster. It was obvious that the Marxist system had robbed the people of the life, energy and creativity that God has placed in the human soul.

That God has put an innovative, entrepreneurial spirit in the human species is seen throughout Scripture, but especially in Deuteronomy 8:18, which says, But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.

This is not the prosperity doctrine in which you can get rich by responding to the pitch of the TV preacher and sending him an offering. Notice that it says that God is the one who “gives you the ability to produce wealth.” This means you are not stuck where you are. You have the God-given ability to lift yourself and your family into a place of blessing and happiness.

God has put inside of you that innovative, entrepreneurial spirit that has been the key to American prosperity. It is individual ingenuity and innovation that has created thousands of small businesses that have become the backbone of the American economy and prosperity.  

For example, small businesses make up 99.9% of all U.S. companies, employ over 62 million workers (45.9% of private-sector employees), and generate roughly 44% of the nation's economic activity. They serve as the primary engine for net job creation and local community wealth.

This has happened because America’s founders believed in the power of the individual, made in the image and likeness of God, to achieve great things. They valued the individual and had a deep mistrust of big government. As Thomas Paine put it, “Government at its best is a necessary evil, and at its worst, an intolerable one.”

America’s founders believed in the value of the individual. They believed that a free people, guided by the teachings of Jesus, would create a happy and prosperous society. History has proven them to be right. 

Socialism, on the hand, downplays the individual and emphasizes the “collective.” In socialism, the government takes on the role of God as the caretaker and provider of the entire society. The state has ultimate value and individuals are like pawns on a chessboard, to be moved wherever and whenever the government chooses.

Here is a secret I will share with you. The socialists are not out to help you; they are out to control you. Ronald Reagan was right when he said, "The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help."

If the Democratic Socialists gain power in the upcoming mid-term elections, they will destroy the America I grew up in. They will do this with big-government programs that quench the entrepreneurial spirit God has put in each one of us, which gives us the ability to lift ourselves, our families and our communities.

The lessons from history about socialism/communism are clear. If we desire the best for the greatest number of people, then we must reject this current naïve fascination with socialism and contend for the free entrepreneurial system that has given America the most powerful economy in the history of the world.

Dr. Eddie Hyatt is the author of over 30 books, of which his latest is America's Reawakening, which documents America's overt Christian origins and offers hope that she is seeing the beginnings of a reawakening to her roots in Faith and Freedom. His books are available from Amazon and his website at https://eddiehyatt.com.