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

Church is important as a place where believers fellowship with one another, exercise their Spiritual gifts and learn God’s word. But it is obvious that many churches have been turned into 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. These 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 THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS, IF ALLOWED, WILL DESTROY AMERICA

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 this 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 is 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.

REMEMBERING 50 YEARS OF GOD'S FAITHFULNESS, PART 10

An Amazing Miracle that Surprised and Stunned Me

In the early days of our marriage, I was invited to speak on a Sunday night at Crossroads Cathedral in Rothesay, New Brunswick. Sue knew some of the people from before she had gone away to Bible school, but they were all new to me. My message was entitled “Household Salvation” and I encouraged the people to stand on God’s promises for the salvation of their entire household.

At the end of my message, I invited people who desired prayer to come forward and I would lay hands on them and pray and agree with them for the salvation of their family.  About 15 people came forward, many of them women who came for prayer for their unsaved children.

There was much weeping as I went along and prayed for each one. The one exception was a woman who, instead of standing, sat on the altar bench. She sat very stoic as I prayed with her that her family would all come to Christ, for I assumed that was why she had come forward. I then moved on and prayed for others who had come forward.

When I had finished praying for everyone, I went back to this woman and prayed with her a second time. She still sat stoically without voicing any prayer or emotion. I finished the prayer, assuming that she had not received anything from the Lord. I then turned the service to the emcee who dismissed the congregation with a prayer.  

We returned to this church the following Sunday morning and this same woman, Freda Steeves, stood and asked to give a testimony. Her words stunned me and astounded everyone present. She said,

You all know that I have been bedridden with a cracked spine and in constant pain. The pain has been so severe that I have not been able to feed myself and Stan (her husband) has had to help me turn in the bed. Last Sunday I determined that I was coming to the evening service; and I did but experienced excruciating pain throughout the service.

She then turned toward me and said, “But when you prayed for me the second time, all the pain left my body and I have not had any pain since.” She was obviously elated at this miracle of healing she had experienced.

We all praised God for this amazing miracle that could not be denied by sceptics. There were just too many family and friends  who were intimately aware of the dramatic change that had suddenly occurred in her body. The only explanation was a God-ordained miracle.

I was stunned by the miracle for I had not prayed for healing, not knowing she was ill and in pain. I had asked God to bless her family and save her children. It shows how God will go beyond all we ask or think as promised in Ephesians 3:20. It was also a great reminder that emotion and feeling cannot be the criterion for judging whether a person is receiving from God. And why God healed her the second time I prayed, and not the first time, only He knows. 

This story is an excerpt from the upcoming new book by Eddie and Sue Hyatt, entitled, Remembering 50 Years of God's Faithfulness. Yes, praying for the sick has been an important part of our life and ministry together. God is still healing today as in ages past. For a small but powerful book on healing by Eddie, check out 3 Keys to Answered Prayer, available from Amazon and the Hyatt's website at https://eddiehyatt.com.

JOIN THE REVIVAL COHORT

In conjunction with the Hyatt Institute and the 30-year anniversary of the publication of 2000 Years of Charismatic Christianity, I (Eddie Hyatt) will be meeting via zoom with those students who purchase the course, “2000 Years of Charismatic Christianity, Part 1” between now and September 10. The course is pre-recorded and the zoom meetings will be a time of discussing the contents of the lessons and praying for one another and for worldwide revival. This is likely a one-time opportunity. If you would like to be a part of this “Revival Cohort,” do the following three things:

1)      Send an email to dreddiehyatt@gmail.com and say, “sign me up for the Revival Cohort.”

2)      Between now and September 10, purchase the course “2000 Years of Charismatic Christianity, Part 1.” You can do this at https://hyattinstitute.com.

3)    Purchase the required texts for the course (pictured below) at a reduced price at https://eddiehyatt.com.

THEY WOULD SEVER US FROM OUR CHRISTIAN ROOTS

All of Western Civilization is under attack from anti-Christian forces who want to sever us from our Christian origins. Whether Canada, Ireland or America there is a common strategy for severing us from our national and cultural roots in Christianity. They do this by rewriting history and demonizing the former generations. This was the approach of the Bolshevik communists when they assumed control of the Russian government in 1917. Alexander Solzhenitsyn, who spent 8 years in a Soviet labor camp, was referring to this when he wrote, "To destroy a people you must first sever their roots." This is right in line with the words of Karl Marx, "People without a heritage are easily persuaded." So, my friends in Ireland, Canada, Sweden, Finland, Bulgaria, the UK, etc. do not allow the Left to destroy your Christian heritage. In America, there has been an all-out attempt to sever us from our roots by demonizing America's Founding Fathers. I, therefore, was not really surprised at the answer I received when I sought God's direction after being invited to present America's 250-Year Celebration message on July 5th at Rock Church International in Virginia Beach, VA. I clearly sensed the Holy Spirit instructing me to present a PowerPoint presentation entitled, "Exonerating America's Founding Fathers." Click this link to hear this message. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbvU6yrh2J8

This presentation is based on the books, America's Revival Heritage, 1726: The Year that Defined America and America's Reawakening, available from Amazon and the Hyatt's website bookstore at https://eddiehyatt.com.

HERE'S WHY THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS WANT TO CREATE A NEW U.S. CONSTITUTION

"Those who will not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it."
Winston Churchill

The Democratic Socialists strike me as being full of themselves, arrogant and naïve. The fact that they consider themselves wiser than America’s founding generation, which created, perhaps, the freest and most prosperous society in the history of mankind, speaks volumes of their inflated egos.

They would abolish the Senate, abolish the presidency, restructure the Supreme Court and give us a completely new Constitution, leading to a new form of government. Why? Because they need power to implement their socialist-communist agenda; and what is standing in the way of their grab for power more than anything else is the U.S. Constitution.

In the Constitution, America’s Founders implemented checks on power because they did not trust unlimited power in the hands of any one or any few. They would agree with Sir John Acton who said, “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

They put Constitutional restraints on power because they believed in the Biblical concept of original sin—that the human condition is flawed and cannot be trusted with power. Politicians often complain about how difficult it is to get anything done in Washington, D.C. That is how the Founders planned it and it has served the nation well for 250 years.

Not only do the founding documents have restraints on power, they have provided the proactive legal and inspirational means for the nation to overcome slavery, Jim Crow, the Soviet Empire and other ills.

If anyone could have had an argument against America’s founding it would have been the former slave and abolitionist, Frederick Douglass. Douglass, however, came to see the genius of America’s founding documents and in an 1852 July 4^th speech, he called the U.S. Constitution “a glorious liberty document” and lauded the Declaration of Independence, telling his audience,

The principles contained in that instrument are saving principles. Stand by those principles, be true to them on all occasions, in all places, against all foes, and at whatever cost.

Douglass had come to see the actions of the Founding Fathers in light of the worldwide existence of slavery throughout all of recorded history. He came to realize that they did not invent slavery but had taken giant steps to see it eliminated, including the manner in which they formulated the founding documents. In the same speech, he declared,

Fellow Citizens, I am not wanting in respect for the fathers of this republic. The signers of the Declaration of Independence were brave men. They were great men too—great enough to give fame to a great age. It does not often happen to a nation to raise, at one time, such a number of truly great men.

Unlike Douglass, the modern Democratic Socialists have no respect for America’s founding generation. They identify more with Mao and Marx than with Washington and Madison.

For the Democratic Socialists it is all about power. They want to destroy the present Constitution because it stands as a roadblock to their quest for power and control. They want a new Constitution and form of government that will give them the power to implement their socialist-communist agenda--an agenda that has miserably failed wherever and whenever it has been tried.

What shall we do? First of all, we must pray for the enlightenment of the American populace and we must show the dangers of the DSA platform and the blessing of capitalism that is rooted in Christian values. We must speak the truth in love. We must proclaim the power that is in the name of Jesus. We must be proactive and focus on shining the light rather than cursing the darkness. Remember the promise of Isaiah 61:1-3;

Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.
See, darkness covers the earth
and thick darkness is over the peoples,
but the Lord rises upon you
and his glory appears over you.
Nations will come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

This article was derived from 1726: The Year that Defined America and America's Reawakening by Dr. Eddie L. Hyatt and available from Amazon and his website at https://eddiehyatt.com.

THE MUSTARD SEED PROPHECY

How a Simple Word from God Launched Our Writing and Publishing Ministry 

It was 1993 and for some time I had been struggling to organize the mountain of research I had collected for my first book. I just could not seem to fit the multitude of pieces together into a readable format and had decided to give up and set the project aside. Maybe I would write a book that would be easier to manage.

Sue, who had been out shopping, came in about this time. She handed me a tie pin that she had picked up at a Christian bookstore. In the middle of the tiny globe on the pin was an actual mustard seed. She handed it to me and said, “Your book is going to be like this mustard seed.”

The words were hardly out of her mouth when she spontaneously broke forth with an utterance in tongues. The interpretation immediately came to me from Mark 4:30-32 where Jesus compared the kingdom of God to a mustard seed, saying,

It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth; but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade.

I immediately knew that God wanted me to complete this book and that it would put out large branches of influence and open doors that would be a blessing to me and many others. I went back to work and completed 2000 Years of Charismatic Christianity in 1996 while teaching at Zion Bible Institute in Barrington, RI.

The Mustard Seed Sprouts

Sue mailed copies of the book to various pastors and ministries. She mailed a copy to the “Toronto Blessing” where people were coming from all over the world to experience a unique outpouring of the Holy Spirit. They began promoting the book and it quickly spread all over the world.

True to the “mustard seed prophecy,” it began putting out many branches. I began hearing from people from throughout the U.S., Canada and other countries who had read the book and testified that their desire for real Revival had been reignited.

I began receiving invitations from churches and various educational institutions to preach and teach from the book. I was invited to give a 90-minute lecture based on the book at Oxford University and be part of a panel discussion on the Holy Spirit. Colleges and seminaries began using it as a textbook including an Episcopal seminary.

Because of the book, I received invitations to serve on the faculties at Oral Roberts University, Christ for the Nations Institute, Zion Bible Institute, Christian Life School of Theology and others. It has been translated into numerous languages including Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese, Romanian, Latvian and others.

Because of the book I was invited to be part of the ministry team for the Azusa Centennial in Los Angles in 2006 with 50,000 in attendance. Because of the book I was invited to be part of the ministry team for Azusa-Asia held in Jakarta, Indonesia with over 70,000 in attendance.

The stories go on and on. Just a few months ago I was contacted by the Tyrannus Theological Seminary in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and asked to present a lecture to their faculty and students based on the book. I presented two powerful lectures from the book to this evangelical seminary that is training Christian leaders from all over Asia.

This is the 30-year anniversary of the book’s publication in 1996. We did two initial printings of the book through our own ministry with a green cover with gold lettering. In 2002 we allowed Charisma House to take responsibility for publishing and distributing the book and they created the attractive cover on the right.

The mustard seed prophecy continues to be fulfilled. Although we have published more than 40 books since that time, it is still our most popular, best-selling book.

 

A Revival Cohort

At age 79 and knowing my days on earth are numbered, I have decided to do a one-time event with the book to coincide with its 30-year anniversary and the launch of The Hyatt Institute.

Beginning September 10, 2026, I am going to meet via zoom each week with those who take the course, “2000 Years of Charismatic Christianity, Part 1” with the Hyatt Institute.  I am calling this group a “Revival Cohort” and we will discuss the video lectures and the corresponding material in the book. We will pray together and make application to our personal lives and to the church today.

The Hyatt Institute is an online, self-serve Bible Institute wherein the student purchases the course and works at his/her own pace and within their own timeframe. Everyone who purchases the course between now and September 10 is welcome to be a part of this Revival Cohort.

I have arranged for the textbook and Study Guide to be made available at a greatly reduced cost by going to my website, http://eddiehyatt.com, and purchasing from the display on the homepage.