IT'S TIME TO PRAY THAT NOMINAL "CHRISTIANS" BE TRULY CONVERTED TO CHRIST

I read with interest Dr. Michael Brown’s commentary on Brady 'Phanatik' Goodwin’s announcement that he was renouncing his Christian faith. What caught my eye was the impersonal and sterile nature of the faith he was renouncing. In explaining his decision, Goodwin said,

I sent a letter to my church withdrawing my membership and saying that I am denouncing the Christian faith that I have believed, professed, proclaimed and defended for the last 30 years of my life.

My heart goes out to Mr. Goodwin, but it sounds as though his Christianity was rooted in externals such as church membership and a set of doctrinal beliefs that he has “defended” for much of his life. There is little indication of a warm and personal heart relationship with Christ.

By contrast, when we read the words of the early martyrs of the Church, it is obvious they were not laying down their lives for an institution or set of doctrines. Their testimonies are warm and passionate concerning their love and commitment to Christ.

For example, Polycarp (ca. 69-155), pastor/bishop of Philippi, was martyred for his faith late in life. Brought before the pagan proconsul of the region and given the option of renouncing Christ or being burned alive, Polycarp passionately replied,

For eighty-six years I have been His servant, and He has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?

Polycarp obviously did not see himself dying for a mere set of doctrines. It was a Person he was representing, and this Person meant everything to him. This is not to downplay the importance of doctrine, but to remind us that it is a Person that saves us, not a doctrine.

John Wesley discovered this in a very dramatic fashion. He was ordained as a minister in the Anglican Church and even went to Georgia as a missionary; but according to his own testimony he was a Christian in name only, for his faith was in the external forms of Christianity and not Christ Himself. This all changed when he visited a Moravian society where someone was reading Martin Luther’s Preface to Romans.

As Wesley listened to how Luther described the change that comes when a person puts their faith in Christ and Him alone, he had a life-changing experience that he considered to be the time of his conversion. He wrote,

I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt that 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 was never the same. After this conversion experience, he spearheaded the great Methodist Revival that transformed the British Isles and impacted the Church around the world. He insisited on a real heart conversion to Christ and in his Journal dated June 10, 1741, he wrote,

I preached in the morning on the inward kingdom of God. And many, I trust, found they were Heathens in heart, and Christians in name only.

I am not suggesting that Goodwin was not truly saved. Only God knows the heart. His words, nonetheless, remind me, not only of Wesley’s experience, but also that of Pandita Ramabai (1855-1922), a remarkable Christian woman whose life was transformed when she came to the realization that she too was a Christian in name only.

Pandita was reared in a devout Hindu home in India but decided to convert to Christianity as a young woman while studying in England. She, therefore, joined the Church of England, was baptized, and began studying to defend her new religion to family and friends.

But two years after her conversion, Pandita came to the realization that she had, as she put it, merely “changed religions.” Her faith was in the external formalities of Christianity, not the Person of Christ. She realized she was a Christian in name only.

She bowed before the Lord and gave herself completely up to Him. Her life was revolutionized as she experienced the new birth of which Jesus spoke. Her faith was now in Christ Himself, and it was very personal, heart-felt, and dynamic.

In 1905 she began a prayer meeting with the 500 residents of the orphanage she had founded. She announced that the purpose of the prayer meeting was to pray for the conversion, not of the Hindus or the Muslims, but of all the Christians in India.

She realized from her own experience that many who called themselves Christians had only a superficial faith based on the outward formalities of Christianity. Their faith was in church membership, or the fact they had once been baptized, or the fact they attended church. Their faith was not in Christ Himself.

Out of this prayer meeting, a great revival was ignited that spread throughout India. Multitudes of “Christians” encountered the living Christ, and their lives were transformed. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, young orphan girls went out preaching the Gospel in the surrounding Indian villages. 

The revival attracted visitors from far and near, including American missionaries who were in awe of what they observed. So great was Pandita's social impact that in 1989 the Indian government issued a postage stamp in her honor with her picture.

If Goodwin’s faith was like that of Wesley’s or Pandita’s before their conversion, I pray that he will turn to Jesus with all his heart and come to know Him in a real and personal way. This is what Christianity is all about, for Jesus Himself said in John 17:3, And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

I think it is safe to say that our nation is filled with those who are “Christian” in name only. Perhaps we would do well to pray for their conversion. When such nominal (name only) Christians awaken to their condition and turn to Jesus with all their hearts, the Church comes alive and becomes a transformative force in society.

It happened with Wesley in 18th century England and with Pandita in 20th century India and it can happen with us in 21st century America.

Dr. Eddie Hyatt is a Bible teacher, author and revivalist. His books, America's Revival Heritage and 1726: The Year that Defined America, undermine the modern "woke" secularist revision of American history by documenting how the 18th century Great Awakening had a direct bearing on both the founding of America and the ending of slavery on this contienent.

GEORGE WASHINGTON'S ANSWER FOR AMERICA'S DESCENT INTO MORAL CHAOS

Major American cities are descending into chaos with murders, thefts, assaults, and car jackings skyrocketing. This crime wave is a result, first of all, of a cultural rejection of God's moral law. Secondly, it a result of outrageous, lawless policies that are being implemented by leftwing mayors and district attorneys. 

These policies, which coddle criminals and demonize the police, are based on the “progressive” liberal philosophy that human nature is essentially good and it is evil institutions that are the cause of the problems. In this worldview, the criminals are by nature good people who are victims of an evil American system.

America’s founders held no such no such utopian view of the natural goodness of humanity. They held the traditional Christian belief that mankind had been created a good and noble creature in the image and likeness of God, but that image had beco
me marred by the entry of rebellion and sin into the world (Genesis 3).

This belief in the corruption of human nature was highlighted in a prayer recorded by George Washington in a prayer journal he kept in his twenties. Under the heading of "Monday Morning," it is a prayer for cleansing from sin and corruption and reads,

Wash away my sins in the immaculate blood of the Lamb, and purge my heart by the Holy Spirit. Daily frame me more and more in the likeness of Thy Son, Jesus Christ (Hyatt, America’s Revival Heritage, 72).

Other founders made clear their belief in the corruption of human nature. “Take mankind in general,” said Alexander Hamilton, “they are vicious.” James Madison added, “If men were angels no government would be necessary.” The historian, Benjamin Hart, wrote, “A central assumption of America’s founders was original sin, meaning the corruption of man’s character” (Hyatt, America’s Revival Heritage, 94).

For this reason, the founders believed that humanity must either be governed from within by moral principles or controlled from without by laws designed to restrict their wicked behavior. This is what William Penn was referring to when he wrote, “Those who will not be governed by God, must be ruled by tyrants” (Hyatt, America’s Revival Heritage, 26).

America’s founders instituted a Constitutional Republic with a goal of freedom for its citizenry. They realized, however, that only a virtuous and moral people could be trusted with freedom. Otherwise, they would turn freedom into anarchy and use their freedom as an opportunity to pursue selfish ends, even to the hurt of others.

That is why George Washington, in his Farewell Address to the new nation, exhorted her citzens to cling to “religion” and “morality,” which he called “indispensable” for a stable and prosperous nation. Thomas Jefferson agreed with Washington’s address and made it required reading at the University of Virginia, which he founded. Jefferson also said, “Of all the systems of morality that have come under my observation, none appear so pure to me as that of Jesus” (Hyatt, America’s Revival Heritage, 85).

America’s founders implemented limited government because they expected the citizens to govern themselves from within according to the teachings of Jesus and the New Testament. John Adams made this clear when he said,

We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion . . .  Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious [Christian] people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other (Hyatt, America’s Revival Heritage, 79).

The modern, liberal progressive has rejected both the moral law of God and human laws designed to restrict criminal behavior. It should be no suprise that this is resulting in a crime wave hitherto unknown in this nation.

The ultimate answer is a return to the nation’s founding principles of faith and freedom, and in that order. America must have a national awakening of faith and morality. It is not too far-fetched to expect such an Awakening, for as documented in my book, America’s Revival Heritage, such Awakenings have occurred more than once in our nation’s history and saved her from moral and political ruin.

This article is derived from Dr. Eddie Hyatt’s latest book, America’s Revival Heritage (Second Edition), available from Amazon and his website at http://eddiehyatt.com.

WHY DR. KING LOVED AMERICA AND RESPECTED HER FOUNDERS

"I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream."

Unlike the contemporary woke culture, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. loved America and respected her founders. In his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech, he clearly rooted his dream for racial equality in the original dream of America’s founders, declaring, “I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.”

Dr. King also understood the colorblind nature of America’s founding documents and in this same speech he challenged America, not to dispense with her founding documents, but to live up to them. He said,

When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" (Hyatt, Abolitionist Founding Fathers, 54).

Then quoting from the Declaration of Independence, he proclaimed,

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal” (Hyatt, Abolitionist Founding Fathers, 54).

Writing from the Birmingham City Jail in 1963, Dr. King referred to America’s “sacred heritage.” He was very aware of America’s flawed and sinful history, but he also saw that there was something sacred, holy, and of God in her founding.

He considered the racial injustice against which he was fighting in the 1960s to be out of character with the vision of America’s founders. Indeed, in this same letter he speaks with pride and respect of the Pilgrims, Thomas Jefferson, the ‘majestic” Declaration of Independence, and Abraham Lincoln.

Dr. King seems aware that at a time when slavery was accepted and practiced in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and most of the world, there was a unique movement against it in 18th century Colonial America. Even those founders who were slaveholders took a public stand against it and agreed with John Adams, who wrote,

Every measure of prudence ought to be assumed for the eventual total extirpation of slavery from the United States. I have throughout my whole life held the practice of slavery in abhorrence (Hyatt, 1726: The Year that Defined America, 101).

The brilliant black scholar, Dr. Thomas Sowell, was referring to this abolition movement when he wrote,

Slavery was just not an issue, not even among intellectuals, much less among political leaders--and then it was an issue only in Western civilization. Among those who turned against slavery in the 18th century were George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, and other American leaders. You could research all of 18th century Africa or Asia or the Middle East without finding any comparable rejection of slavery there (Hyatt, 1726: The Year that Defined America, 90).

Indeed, America’s founding generation understood the words of the Declaration of Independence to be a statement against slavery. In an early draft of the Declaration in which he laid out the reasons for Independence, Thomas Jefferson accused the British monarch of introducing slavery into the colonies. He wrote,

He has waged cruel war against human nature itself, violating its most sacred rights of life and liberty in the persons of a distant people who never offended him, captivating them and carrying them into slavery in another hemisphere (Hyatt, Abolitionist Founding Fathers, 44).

Although the above statement did not make it to the final draft, the one that did was generally understood to be an attack on the institution of slavery. Jefferson wrote,

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.

Dr. King obviously understood this phrase to be both an attack on slavery and an affirmation of racial equality. When someone suggested to him that he was an “extremist,” he replied, "Was not Thomas Jefferson an extremist? – ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal’" (Hyatt, Abolitionist Founding Fathers, 45).

Indeed, in the 18th century, when humanity was divided by race, and slavery was practiced throughout the world, the words of Jefferson were considered “extreme.” When judged in the context of the times in which they lived, America’s founders were, indeed, revolutionaries on the cutting edge of human society in advocating for the abolition of slavery and liberty for all mankind.

This is why Dr. King loved America and respected her founders.

This article is derived from Dr. Eddie Hyatt’s recent books, 1726: The Year that Defined America and Abolitionist Founding Fathers available from Amazon and his website at www.eddiehyatt.com.

CONFRONTING THE MARXIST TRANSFORMATION OF AMERICA

Nations derive their sense of identity from their history. If you want to fundamentally transform a nation, rewrite its history. Eliminate everything good and wholesome, and highlight everything ugly and abhorrent. Destroy its heritage. Demonize its founders and remove their monuments. 

Once the citizens have come to abhor their nation's past, they will be ready to accept a new and different form of society and government. This is what Karl Marx was referring to when he said, "People without a heritage are easily persuaded."

This is happening now in America. School children are being taught that America's founders were evil slave owners who founded this country to protect their wealth and power. Statues of America’s founders are being toppled and their names removed from schools and other public buildings. This is a vital part of the Marxist plan to transform America into a godless, socialist society. 

We are, however, fighting back.

In a 7-hour visitation of God in 2010, He assured me that He is not through with America, and that we "could" see another Great Awakening. Interestingly, He directed me to America’s past as the key to her future. 

I saw, for the first time, that the First Great Awakening had a direct bearing on the founding of this nation. Revival is in our national DNA. This same Awakening unleashed the moral and spiritual forces that eventually ended slavery on this continent.

The following books are the fruit of that encounter. Although there are similarities in all the books, each one is unique in that it focuses on a particular area of America’s history that undermines the modern, Marxist revisions. They can be used by pastors, by teachers in Christian and public schools, and by citizens in general who can gather friends and family in their homes to study America’s true past. 

I invite you to join me in taking control of our future by educating this generation about what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called our nation's "sacred heritage." This is vital for as George Orwell said, “Whoever controls the past, controls the future.”

Dr. Eddie L. Hyatt

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Watch for a Study Guide, Powerpoint Slide Presentation, and Video Documentary coming in 2022.

PURSUING THE SENSATIONAL - MISSING THE SUPERNATURAL

Sensationalism is defined as “the use of exciting or shocking stories or language at the expense of accuracy, in order to provoke public interest or excitement.” In the church, sensationalism is too often used to attract crowds, likes, and followers, and is often successful because the church is filled with charismatic thrill-seekers who are looking for the next sensational “sign from heaven.”

John 5:1-15 tells the story of a crippled man who almost missed out on a supernatural miracle of healing because he was so preoccupied with a certain sensational phenomenon.

This paralytic had been lying at the Pool of Bethesda, probably for many years, waiting for an angel to come down and “stir up” the water. John says that when the angel “stirred up” the water, whoever stepped first into the pool was healed of whatever disease they had.

Any results at this pool were obviously minimal for John says the place was occupied by a “multitude” of weak, sickly, and helpless people. The man Jesus talked to had been in his paralytic condition for 38 years. Despite his unflagging preoccupation with this sensational angelic phenomenon, he had found no relief.

Many today are running from one exciting meeting to another looking for a charismatic thrill or sensational miracle, but like the people around the pool have found no relief. In many cases, their preoccupation with the sensational is keeping them from experiencing the supernatural power of God.

This was George Whitefield’s concern in 1739 when he wrote to John Wesley in the midst of the great Methodist Revival and cautioned him not to make too much of the sensational phenomena that were occurring in their meetings, such as falling, weeping, visions, shouting, laughing etc. He warned,

That there is something of God in it, I doubt not. But the devil, I believe, does interpose. I think it will take people away from the written word, and make them depend on visions, convulsions, etc., more than on the promises and precepts of the gospel.

Jesus did not encourage the man at the pool in his pursuit of the sensational. He did not offer to sit with him and help him into the pool the next time the angel stirred the water. In fact, he took the man’s attention away from the pool by asking, Do you want to be made well? In other words, if you really want to be made well, this is not the path to be on.

We must remember that this man, and all the others around the pool, were Jews with a healing covenant from God. All the Old Testament promises of healing belonged to them. Exodus 15:26 belonged to them, where God revealed Himself to Israel as the LORD your Healer. Psalm 103:2-3 was theirs, where David exhorted God’s people to, forget not all His benefits; who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases.

What are they doing lying around this pool! The angelic stirring of the water has become a distraction for them. They have placed their hope in an unpredictable, sensational phenomenon rather than the sure promises of God’s word. Their pursuit of the sensational is causing them to miss out on the supernatural.

After a brief exchange with the man, that was designed to get his eyes off the pool, Jesus commanded him, “Take up your bed and walk.” The man, who had been paralyzed for 38 years, responded to the words of Jesus and simply took up his bed and began to walk.

There was nothing sensational surrounding this miraculous healing. No stirring of the water in the pool. No bright light shining down from heaven on the man. No angel appearing and touching him. No gold dust floating in the air. He simply obeyed the words of Jesus and was made whole.

I had to learn this lesson in 1989 when I became deathly ill while living in Tulsa, OK, which at that time was the mecca of the charismatic/healing movement. Oral Roberts, T.L. Osborn, Kenneth Hagin, and other renowned healing ministries all had their headquarters there. I too believed in Divine healing and taught Divine healing.

God, however, would not allow me to lie around the pool (so to speak) hoping that a healing gift would be manifest for me. He made it very clear that I was to trust Him and His covenant promises, not the sensational claims of a healing evangelist. In the midst of the battle, He gave me 3 keys to answered prayer: Promise, Praise, and Perseverance.

He made it clear that I was to keep myself preoccupied with His Promise, rather than running here and there hoping for a sensational miracle of healing. I was to surround myself with Praise, for praise is the voice of faith. Finally, I was to Persevere and not throw in the towel just because I did not see an immediate manifestation of healing.

So, I got my eyes off the pool and on God and His promise. I praised and persevered and over the next 3.5 years my faith became firmly rooted in God and His covenant promises. I also received practical instructions for seeing my health restored. I did not experience a sensational miracle, but I was completely healed and thirty years later I am still well and taking no medication. Hallelujah!

If God chooses to manifest some sensational phenomenon to me or through me, I have no problem with that. However, I have discovered something far superior and more exciting than an angelic visitation or gold dust floating in the air—knowing God Himself and His covenant promises. And that is where I have found God's supernatural power at work.

To read more by Dr. Eddie Hyatt on this theme, check out his books, Prophets and Prophecy, Angels of Light, and 3 Keys to Answered Prayer, available from Amazon and his website at www.eddiehyatt.com.