GETTING THE FIRE OF GOD BACK IN THE CHURCH

Throughout history the church has, at different times, emphasized power and neglected purity or emphasized purity and neglected the Biblical promise of power. It is not, however, an “either/or” proposition but “both/and.” Jesus linked the two together when he said, Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God (Matt. 5:8).

If we are to successfully meet the challenges of this time in history we must have both the fruit and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. We cannot embrace one and neglect the other. We must have character if we expect the authority to command. We must embrace both purity and power for our lives today.

This was recently highlighted to me during a time of prayer when I inquired of the Lord as to why the American church seems so powerless in the face of the growing animosity and hostility to Biblical values. I was reminded of Samson in the Old Testament and immediately knew there was a God-given lesson from his life for the church today.

In the life of Samson we see purity and power merged together; but when there was a divorce of one from the other, he lost his power and his life.

Samson, the Secret of His Strength

Samson was consecrated as a Nazirite while in his mother’s womb. "Nazirite" comes from the Hebrew word nazir meaning "consecrated" or "separated.” In regards to Samson, this was a vow that he would live a “separated” life unto God totally dedicated to His purpose.

It is obvious that this consecration was the secret of his power, for when he compromised his consecration by consorting with Delilah and allowing his hair—the outward sign of his consecration--to be cut off, he lost his power.

Is it possible that the loss of consecration is also the reason the North American church is so powerless? Could this be the reason the American church, according to George Barna, is losing adherents and influence faster than any other American institution?

While he lived as a Nazirite in total consecration to God, Samson was invincible. On one occasion when the Philistines thought they had him locked up inside a city, he ripped the city gates from their posts and carried them to the top of a hill and left them. On another occasion when a large army came to apprehend him, he picked up a donkey’s jawbone and killed one-thousand enemy soldiers.

Then one day he let down his guard with a woman named Delilah, with whom he had fallen in love, not realizing she was actually an agent of the enemy to find the secret of his strength. After much cajoling and pleading, he finally told her of his Nazirite vow and how his long hair, that had never been cut, was the outward sign of this vow of consecration.

With her soothing words Delilah lulled Samson to sleep on her lap and then called for the Philistines waiting nearby who came and cut off his locks of hair. Delilah then said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson.” He awakened and said, “I will go out as before and shake myself free.” Judges 16:21 says, But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him.

Samson now stood powerless before his enemies who gouged out his eyes, bound him with shackles and put him to work grinding in the prison. What a pitiable turn of events for one that had been so mightily used of God.

What a powerful lesson for the modern church that needs to learn that there is a connection between the Lord’s call to absolute surrender and His power and blessing in our lives.

The Call of Jesus to an Absolute Consecration to Him

Anyone who reads the gospels with an open mind will readily see that Jesus calls the multitudes to a Nazirite sort of consecration to Himself. It is a call to absolute surrender to His Lordship. Every other relationship and commitment must be subservient to the relationship with Him. This is the point of Luke 14:26 where He says, If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.

There is a sense of urgency in his call. When one person, for example, responded to His call saying, Lord, let me first go and bury my father, Jesus made it clear that commitment to follow Him far outweighs all other earthly commitments. He replied, Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.

Jesus made clear His call to total consecration again in Luke 9:23-26 when he said, If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lost it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.

Let’s face it! Only an egotistical madman or God Himself would call people to this sort of absolute commitment to himself. If, however, Jesus is God Incarnate (and we believe He is), then His call to absolute consecration to Himself makes perfect sense. Since He is the greatest and ultimate value in the universe, it is only reasonable that His call would demand an absolute commitment to Himself and His will.

When we consecrate our lives to Christ we thereby align ourselves with the ultimate power and good in the universe. Anything less would be irrational and unreasonable. By committing ourselves completely to Him, we thereby honor God and position ourselves to experience the eternal life and power He has planned for us.

For Jesus to have offered an option for something less than total commitment to Himself would have been to dishonor His own person and name. It would also have been a disservice to his hearers for it would have given them an option to choose something less than the very best God had planned for their lives

There is Hope for Today’s Church

The early church lived in this kind of consecration to Jesus Christ, and this was the secret of its power. Paul probably spoke for Christians in general when he said, For to me, to live is Christ, and do die is gain. (Philippians 1:21). They faced ridicule, imprisonment and death for the name of Christ, without flinching. But in one generation, without modern technology, they impacted the Greco-Roman world and beyond for Christ.

The church today, however, is very much like Samson, shorn of her power because she has compromised her consecration to God. As Samson became an object of jest and ridicule, so the church today has become an object of scorn and derision by the contemporary culture.

Even as Samson was lulled to sleep in the lap of Delilah, the modern charismatic church has been lulled to sleep in the lap of “self-help” sermons and “feel-good” theologies that cater to the flesh and encourage selfish lifestyles, rather than calling the people of God to give up everything for Christ and His call.

But there is hope. The account in Judges 16 tells us how Samson’s hair began to grow as he toiled day after day in the prison. This was an outward sign that there was a renewal of his Nazirite consecration to God.

Then one day during a great celebration in a massive theater, the Philistines brought out Samson to entertain the gathered throng as an object mirth and ridicule. He was forced to “perform” for the crowd so they could revel in the humiliation and devastation of the one who had caused them so much pain in the past.

But what they did not realize was that Samson’s hair had grown back—at least to a degree. His consecration had been renewed and there would now be one final display of God’s power through him.

After being put on display and mocked and ridiculed, a young man led the blind and broken Samson to a place between the two giant pillars that supported the stadium. Samson placed a hand on each pillar, and cried out to God, O Lord God, remember me I pray, just this once!

As Samson prayed, let me die with the Philistines, he pushed with all his might and the two pillars gave way. The temple/stadium came crashing down killing thousands of Philistines, and Samson.

Just as Samson renewed his Nazirite consecration and saw one final display of God’s power, I am convinced that the church today can see another display of divine power and awakening if we will consecrate ourselves to God once again.

There is a great example of the power of consecration from my own family history.

My Father Discovers the Power of Consecration

When my older brother, Pete, was 7 years old, he was run over by a farm tractor and fatally injured. With blood bubbling from his eyes, mouth, nose and ears, my Dad rushed him to the nearest hospital. Three doctors examined him and agreed, “He won’t live more than 10 minutes.”

They went on to explain that, even apart from x-rays, they knew from the bleeding from all his passages that a broken rib had punctured a lung. They then wheeled Pete away for x-rays and my Dad was left alone with his thoughts and questions.

As he stood in silence, the thing foremost on his mind was that for 5 years he had ignored the call of God to give himself completely to Him in full-time ministry. He had told no one of this call, for with only a fourth grade education and a family to care for, it seemed an absolute impossibility that he could become a pastor or minister.

But facing the death of His young son he knew he had to respond. He, therefore, stepped into a nearby restroom and prayed a prayer of consecration. It was only 3 words, but those words came from the depth of his being. He raised his right hand and said, “Lord, I’m ready!” It was total surrender!

Immediately the power of God fell and the gift of faith dropped into his heart. I heard him tell this numerous times growing up, and in his words, “I knew Pete was going to be okay. I didn’t know how I knew, but I knew.”

He came out of the restroom and had to wait; but his heart was at peace and full of faith. After about one hour, one of the doctors emerged, called my Dad, and said, “Mr. Hyatt, there has been a higher power here tonight.” He then said, “I know your son had a broken rib that had punctured his lung. But we have finished the x-rays, the bleeding has stopped and there is not a broken bone in his body.”

My Dad’s act of consecration and the ensuing miracle launched him into the ministry. His experience affirms the saying that God is not looking for ability but availability; for in spite of his lack of education and training, he went on to be a successful pastor for many years before his death in 1994. Just a few days ago a man who for many years attended the last church he pastored, posted this about him on Facebook.

The impact he had on my life changed me forever, and my children and I can always say that our Christian life was helped framed by one of America’s greatest pastors. If any man ever lived by God’s highest standards, it was the legendary C. H. Hyatt. I miss one of the best friends I have ever had.

Concluding Thoughts

A stuttering, uneducated young man sitting in a church service heard the preacher say, “It is yet to be seen what God will do through the man [or woman] who will give himself completely to Him.” Dwight L. Moody on hearing those words said in in his heart, “I will be that man,” and surrendered himself completely to God. He went on to become one of the most powerful evangelists and successful soul winners the church has ever known, and he was never ordained.

I am convinced that the key for the church in North America is a renewed consecration to God—placing Jesus and His interests first and foremost in our lives. In this new commitment, we realize that our life is no longer our own but we now live for His honor and for the advancement of His cause.

As we place all that we are and have at His disposal, I am convinced that we will see new demonstrations of His power, and the Divine awakening that is so desperately needed in our land will spring forth. It will be as William Booth so eloquently expressed in his stirring hymn, Send the Fire.

Oh, see us on Your altar lay
We give our lives to You today;
So crown the offering now we pray,
Send the fire today.


Dr. Eddie L. Hyatt is an author, historian and Biblical scholar. He is the director of the Revive America Project with a vision for seeing another Great Awakening in America that will revive the churches, impact the culture and stem the tide of secularism, immorality and false religions that are flooding our land. You can learn more about his ministry at www.eddiehyatt.com.

LOOK WHO'S PRAYING FOR REVIVAL IN AMERICA!

One of those praying for a national Spiritual awakening in America is Pastor Saeed Abedini, an Iranian-American who is languishing in an Iranian prison for his faith in Jesus. Saeed was arrested for apostasy when he returned to Iran to visit his parents over two years ago. In prison, the guards have sought to force him to deny his faith in Christ through threats, harassment, beatings and torture. He has refused to deny his faith and continues to pray for his adopted country. In his most recent letter, he writes;

"I have been made aware that the National Day of Prayer (May 7th) falls on my birthday this year! As an American and as a prisoner for Christ I have spent many hours praying and crying out to God for revival for this great nation. We all hope for the success of our nation and for America to be blessed, but without revival there can be no true success or blessing."

Tony Perkins commented on Saeed's words, saying, "In a country more willing to negotiate a deserter's release than an American Christian's, that revival can't come soon enough."

Every pastor and Christian leader in America should be joining Saeed in praying for another Great Awakening in our land. As a nation, our future is hanging in the balance. A true national revival is our only hope. Saeed is right that without genuine revival, “there can be no true success or blessing" for America.

In the meantime, Saeed's wife, Naghmeh, and two small children wait and earnestly pray with him for revival and for his release.


Dr. Eddie L. Hyatt is the founder/director of "The Revive America Project" and is the author of several important books on "Revival," available from Amazon and from his website at www.eddiehyatt.com/bookstore.html.

HIMSELF: A RELATIONAL APPROACH TO DIVINE HEALING

by A. B. Simpson
Albert Benjamin (A. B.) Simpson, founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, was one of the most significant leaders of the early 20th century. At an early age he felt the call of God on his life to preach and later experienced a dramatic conversion to Jesus Christ. Years later, being advised to leave the ministry because of a serious heart condition, he found healing in Jesus Christ and became an avid proponent of divine healing and wrote the popular book The Gospel of Healing, which presents a relational approach to Divine healing.

I wish to speak to you about Jesus, and Jesus only. I often hear people say, "I wish I could get hold of Divine Healing, but I cannot." Sometimes they say, "I have got it." If I ask them, "What have you got?" the answer is sometimes, "I have got the blessing", sometimes it is, "I have got the theory"; sometimes it is, "I have got the healing"; sometimes, "I have got the sanctification." But I thank God we have been taught that it is not the blessing, it is not the healing, it is not the sanctification, it is not the thing, it is not the it that you want, but it is something better. It is "the Christ"; it is Himself. 

How often that comes out in His Word - "Himself took our infirmities and bare our sicknesses", Himself "bare our sins in his own body on the tree"! It is the person of Jesus Christ we want. Plenty of people get the idea and do not get anything out of it. They get it into their head, and it into their conscience, and it into their will; but somehow they do not get Him into their life and spirit, because they have only that which is the outward expression and symbol of the spiritual reality. 

I once saw a picture of the Constitution of the United States, very skillfully engraved in copper plate, so that when you looked at it closely it was nothing more than a piece of writing, but when you looked at it at a distance, it was the face of George Washington. The face shone out in the shading of the letters at a little distance, and I saw the person, not the words, nor the ideas; and I thought, "'That is the way to look at the Scriptures and understand the thoughts of God, to see in them the face of love, shining through and through; not ideas, nor doctrines, but Jesus Himself as the Life and Source and sustaining Presence of all our life."

I prayed a long time to get sanctified, and sometimes I thought I had it. On one occasion I felt something, and I held on with a desperate grip for fear I should lose it, and kept awake the whole night fearing it would go, and, of course, it went with the next sensation and the next mood. Of course, I lost it because I did not hold on to Him. I had been taking a little water from the reservoir, when I might have all the time received from Him fullness through the open channels. 

I went to meetings and heard people speak of joy. I even thought I had the joy, but I did not keep it because I had not Himself as my joy. At last He said to me - Oh so tenderly - "My child, just take Me, and let Me be in you the constant supply of all this, Myself." And when at last I got my eyes off my sanctification, and my experience of it, and just placed them on the Christ in me, I found, instead of an experience, the Christ larger than the moment's need, the Christ that had all that I should ever need who was given to me at once, and for ever! 

And when I thus saw Him, it was such rest; it was all right, and right for ever. For I had not only what I could hold that little hour, but also in Him, all that I should need the next and the next and so on, until sometimes I get a glimpse of what it will be a million years afterwards, when we shall "shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of our Father" (Matt. 13: 43), and have "all the fullness of God."

And so I thought the healing would be an it too, that the Lord would take me like the old run-down clock, wind me up, and set me going like a machine. It is not thus at all. I found it was Himself coming in instead and giving me what I needed at the moment. I wanted to have a great stock, so that I could feel rich; a great store laid up for many years, so that I would not be dependent upon Him the next day; but He never gave me such a store. I never had more holiness or healing at one time than I needed for that hour. 

He said: "My child, you must come to Me for the next breath because I love you so dearly I want you to come all the time. If I gave you a great supply, you would do without Me and would not come to Me so often; now you have to come to Me every second, and lie on My breast every moment." He gave me a great fortune, placed thousands and millions at credit, but He gave a cheque-book with this one condition, "You never can draw more than you need at the time." Every time a cheque was wanted, however, there was the name of Jesus upon it, and so it brought more glory to Him, kept His name before the heavenly world and God was glorified in His Son.

I had to learn to take from Him my spiritual life every second, to breathe Himself in as I breathed, and breathe myself out. So, moment by moment for the spirit, and moment by moment for the body, we must receive. You say, "Is not that a terrible bondage, to be always on the strain ?" What, on the strain with one you love, your dearest Friend ? Oh, no! It comes so naturally, so spontaneously, so like a fountain, without consciousness, without effort, for true life is always easy, and overflowing.

And now, thank God, I have Him, not only what I have room for, but that which I have not room for, but for which I shall have room, moment by moment, as I go on into the eternity before me. I am like the little bottle in the sea, as full as it will hold. The bottle is in the sea, and the sea is in the bottle; so I am in Christ, and Christ is in me. But, besides that bottleful in the sea, there is a whole ocean beyond; the difference is, that the bottle has to be filled over again, every day, evermore.

Now the question for each of us is not "What think you of Bethshan, and what think you of divine healing?" but "What think you of Christ?" There came a time when there was a little thing between me and Christ. I express it by a little conversation with a friend who said, "You were healed by faith." "Oh, no," I said, "I was healed by Christ." 

What is the difference? There is a great difference. There came a time when even faith seemed to come between me and Jesus. I thought I should have to work up the faith, so I labored to get the faith. At last I thought I had it; that if I put my whole weight upon it, it would hold. I said, when I thought I had got the faith, "Heal me." I was trusting in myself, in my own heart, in my own faith. I was asking the Lord to do something for me because of something in me, not because of something in Him. 

So the Lord allowed the devil to try my faith, and the devil devoured it like a roaring lion, and I found myself so broken down that I did not think I had any faith. God allowed it to be taken away until I felt I had none. And then God seemed to speak to me so sweetly, saying, "Never mind, my child, you have nothing. But I am perfect Power, I am perfect Love, I am Faith, I am your Life, I am the preparation for the blessing, and then I am the Blessing, too. I am all within and all without, and all for ever." 

It is just having "Faith in God" (Mark 11: 22). "And the life I now live in the flesh, I live," not by faith on the Son of God, but "by the faith of the Son of God" (Gal. 2 20). That is it. It is not your faith. You have no faith in you, any more than you have life or anything else in you. You have nothing but emptiness and vacuity, and you must be just openness and readiness to take Him to do all. You have to take His faith as well as His life and healing, and have simply to say, "I live by the faith of the Son of God." My faith is not worth anything. If I had to pray for anyone, I would not depend upon my faith at all. I would say, "Here, Lord, am I. If you want me to be the channel of blessing to this one just breathe into me all that I need." It is simply Christ, Christ alone.

Now, is your body yielded to Christ for Him thus to dwell and work in you? The Lord Jesus Christ has a body as well as you only it is perfect; it is the body, not of a man, but of the Son of man. Have you considered why He is called the Son of man? The Son of man means that Jesus Christ is the one typical, comprehensive, universal, all-inclusive Man. Jesus is the one man that contains in Himself all that man ought to be all that man needs to have. It is all in Christ. All the fullness of the Godhead and the fullness of a perfect manhood has been embodied in Christ, and He stands now as the summing-up of all that man needs. 

His spirit is all that your spirit needs, and He just gives us Himself. His body possesses all that your body needs. He has a heart beating with the strength that your heart needs. He has organs and functions redundant with life, not for Himself, but for humanity. He does not need strength for Himself. The energy which enabled Him to rise and ascend from the tomb, above all the forces of nature, was not for Himself. That marvellous body belongs to your body. You are a member of His body. Your heart has a right to draw from His heart all that it needs. Your physical life has a right to draw from His physical life its support and strength, and so it is not you, but it is just the precious life of the Son of God. Will you take Him thus today, and then you will not be merely healed, but you will have a new life for all you need, a flood of life that will sweep disease away, and then remain a fountain of life for all your future need. Oh, take Him in His fullness.

It seems to me as if I might just bring you a little talisman today, as if God had given me a little secret for every one here and said to me, "Go and tell them, if they will take it, it will be a talisman of power wherever they go, and it will carry them through difficulty, danger, fear, life, death, eternity." If I could stand on this platform and say, "I have received from heaven a secret of wealth and success which God will give freely, through my hand, to everybody who will take it," I am sure you would need a larger hall for the people who would come. But, dear friends, I show you in His Word a truth which is more precious. The Apostle Paul tells us that there is a secret, a great secret which was hidden from ages and from generations (Col. 1: 26), which the world was seeking after in vain, which wise men from the East hoped they might find, and God says it "is now made manifest to his saints"; and Paul went through the world just to tell it to those that were able to receive it; and that simple secret is just this "Christ in you the hope of glory."

The word "mystery" means secret; this is the great secret. And I tell you today, nay, I can give you, if you will take it from Him, not from me-I can give you a secret which has been to me, oh, so wonderful! Years ago I came to Him burdened with guilt and fear; I tried that simple secret, and it took away all my fear and sin. Years passed on, and I found sin overcoming me and my temptations too strong for me. I came to Him a second time, and He whispered to me, "Christ in you," and I had victory, rest and blessing.

Then the body broke away in every sort of way. I had always worked hard, and from the age of fourteen I studied and labored and spared no strength. I took charge of a large congregation at the age of twenty-one; I broke down utterly half a dozen times and at my last constitution was worn out. Many times I feared I should drop dead in my pulpit. I could not ascend any height without a sense of suffocation, because of a broken-down heart and exhausted nervous system. 

I heard of the Lord's healing, but I struggled against it. I was afraid of it. I had been taught in theological seminaries that the age of the supernatural was past, and I could not go back from my early training. My head was in my way, but at last when I was brought to attend "the funeral of my dogmatics," as Mr. Schrenck says, "the Lord whispered to me the little secret, 'Christ in you'; and from that hour I received Him for my body as I had done for my soul. I was made so strong and well that work has been a perfect delight. 

For years I have spent my summer holiday in the hot city of New York, preaching and working amongst the masses, as I never did before; besides the work of our Home and College and an immense mass of library work and much besides. But the Lord did not merely remove my sufferings. It was more than simple healing. He so gave me Himself that I lost the painful consciousness of physical organs. That is the best of the health He gives. I thank the Lord that He keeps me from all morbid, physical consciousness and a body that is the object of anxious care, and gives a simple life that is a delight and a service for the Master, that is a rest and joy.

Then, again, I had a poor sort of a mind, heavy and cumbrous, that did not think or work quickly. I wanted to write and speak for Christ and to have a ready memory, so as to have the little knowledge I had gained always under command. I went to Christ about it, and asked if He had anything for me in this way. He replied, "Yes, my child, I am made unto you Wisdom." I was always making mistakes, which I regretted, and then thinking I would not make them again; but when He said that He would be my wisdom, that we may have the mind of Christ, that He could cast down imaginations and bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ, that He could make the brain and head right, then I took Him for all that. And since then I have been kept free from this mental disability, and work has been rest. I used to write two sermons a week, and it took me three days to complete one. But now, in connection with my literary work, I have numberless pages of matter to write constantly besides the conduct of very many meetings a week, and all is delightfully easy to me. The Lord has helped me mentally, and I know He is the Saviour of our mind as well as our spirit.

Well, then, I had an irresolute will. I asked, ' Cannot you be a will to me?" He said, "Yes, my child, it is God who worketh in you to will and to do." Then He made me to learn how and when to be firm, and how and when to yield. Many people have a decided will, but they do not know how to hold on just at the proper moment. So, too, I came to Him for power for His work and all the resources for His service, and He has not failed me.

And so I would say, if this precious little secret of "Christ in you," will help you, you may have it. May you make better use of it than I! I feel I have only begun to learn how well it works. Take it and go on working it out, through time and eternity-Christ for all, grace for grace, from strength to strength, from glory to glory, from this time forth and even for evermore.

HIMSELF
     by A. B. Simpson
Once it was the blessing, Now it is the Lord;
Once it was the feeling, Now it is His Word.
Once His gifts I wanted, Now the Giver own;
Once I sought for healing, Now Himself alone.

Once 'twas painful trying, Now 'tis perfect trust;
Once a half salvation, Now the uttermost.
Once 'twas ceaseless holding, Now He holds me fast;
Once 'twas constant drifting, Now my anchor's cast.

Once 'twas busy planning, Now 'tis trustful prayer;
Once 'twas anxious caring, Now He has the care.
Once 'twas what I wanted, Now what Jesus says;
Once 'twas constant asking, Now 'tis ceaseless praise.

Once it was my working, His it hence shall be;
Once I tried to use Him, Now He uses me.
Once the power I wanted, Now the Mighty One;
Once for self I labored, Now for Him alone.

Once I hoped in Jesus, Now I know He's mine;
Once my lamps were dying, Now they brightly shine.
Once for death I waited, Now His coming hail;
And my hopes are anchored, Safe within the vail.