Moravian Watch

Shalom 

Today on October 4th, something happened during our prayer time at Philadelphia Missionary Church in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Charles Finney said, “Unless I had the spirit of prayer, I could do nothing.” Our spiritual hunger and thirst can be held on to by staying in fellowship with God, as we will learn by now. Our hunger for Him is the key to preparing our hearts for His fire and glory. Our obedience to Christ, faith, surrender, holy living, and brokenness of spirit, and a prayer life can hold on to God's presence.It was a deep cry with flood of tears and intense intercession for the lost souls. The Holy Spirit reminded me of the Moravians and their faithful calling to carry the tourch of the Prayer Watch and the Gospel of the Kingdom to the ends of the Earth. The Torch of Moravian Watch My first encounter with two Moravian believers, David Loula and Mark Otoupal, occurred in September 2011 in Jerusalem. The nature of Jesus as the Lamb of God was reflected in their humble hearts and willingness to serve. There was a great deal of interest in the missionary work, and there was a desire to ask all kinds of questions with a readiness to pray and raise all needs before the LORD. Our hearts have clung as a Kingdom family since, and we see each other at times both in Israel and in the Czech Republic. Before my first exposure to Moravian brothers from Czech Republic in 2011, a missionary brother from Manchester, England gave a prophecy about the Czech Republic, “that the LORD was preparing something for me over there.” I was keeping this prophetic word as the sweet flame knows inwardly that there is something good ahead that the LORD has for me to do. Two years later in 2013, in Jerusalem, I met another one of the Moravian brethren, Franciszek Pala. We stayed in the same hotel room for two weeks this time with two other brethren from Poland. It was once again a divine appointment. The first time I met Franciszek, he inquired about the missionary work. Brother Franciszek Pala was eager to hear all that was happening on the mission field, and with tears in his eyes, we knelt together and prayed. Our hearts were united in prayer and we shed many tears for the nations of Thailand and Burma. It was as if we had known each other forever and we have been walking together since. Despite having knowledge of Greek and several other languages, teaching at a secondary school, and leading the Moravian church, Franciszek displayed meekness and humility, which demonstrated God's love, which made him love Christ more. It came to my attention that this Moravian had a graceful ability to speak several foreign languages and a deep inheritance and love for the truth that was passed down to them by the Bohemian Reformer and spiritual leader, John Hus. He stood and defended the truth until his death as a martyr in July 1415. John Hus said: 'Seek the truth, listen to the truth, teach the truth, love the truth, abide by the truth, and defend the truth unto death.' Every year, I meet with Franciszek in Czech Republic and we go together to strengthen brothers there, including the Hussile Church, thanks to God's grace. Our call was for the members to rise up and return to the strong foundations laid by spiritual father John Huss.David Loula and Franciszek Pala wrote a wonderful book, 'The Czech Wells', that included 12 chapters that aimed to transform the country. As in the days of Isaac (Genesis 26), the heritage of Czech wells is identified as follows: the well of Truth, Holiness, and Prayer. Worship, Diligence, God's Order, Zeal, Mercy, Mission, Prophecy, Freedom, and Education. We are witnessing the reopening of the wells and by God's grace, the Czech lion will be resurrected. Nowadays, many of the firm believers from Poland, America, Argentina and other nations are coming to encourage brothers in Czech Republic to reopen there inheritance and pick on the "The Moravian Torch" and run again the race which is set before us “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6) Power From on High by John Greenfield The Reverend John Greenfield, an American Moravian evangelist, published his book “Power from on High” in 1927 on the 200th anniversary of the Moravian revival. The historical information about Moravia was adapted from that book. “The Moravians, a refugee colony from Bohemia, settled on the estates of Count Nicholas Zinzendorf in Herrnhut, Germany, where a powerful revival began in 1727. It launched 100 years of continuous prayer and within 25 years, 100 Moravians were missionaries, - more than the rest of the Protestant churches had sent out in two centuries.” Nicholas von Zinzendorf , a Moravian historian wrote that Church history abounds in records of special outpourings of the Holy Ghost, and verily the thirteenth of August in 1727, was a day of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. We saw the hand of God and His wonders, and we were all under the cloud of our Father baptizing us with the Spirit. The Holy Ghost came upon us and in those days great signs and wonders took place in our midst. From that time, scarcely a day passed, when we did not behold His Almighty workings amongst us. A great hunger after the Word of God took possession of us so that we had to have three services every day, viz. 5.00 a.m., 7.30 a.m. and 9.00 p.m. Everyone desired above everything else that the Holy Spirit might have full control. Self-love and self-will, as well as all disobedience, disappeared and an overwhelming flood of grace swept us all out into the great ocean of Divine Love. Count Nicholas Zinzendorf (1700-1760), the young leader of that community, gave this account many years later in London on 1752: "We needed to come to the Communion with a sense of the loving nearness of the Savior. This was the great comfort which has made this day a generation ago to be a festival, because on this day twenty- seven years ago the Congregation of Herrnhut, assembled for communion at the Berthelsdorf church, all were dissatisfied with themselves. They had stopped judging each other because they had become convinced, - each one, of each one's lack of worth in the sight of God and felt themselves, at this communion, to observe the countenance of the Savior. O head so full of bruises, so full of pain and scorn.” In this view of the man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, their hearts told them that He would be their patron and their priest who was at once changing their tears into oil of gladness and their misery into happiness. This firm conviction changed them in a single moment into happy people which they are to this day, and into their happiness they have since led many thousands of others through the memory and help which the heavenly grace once given to themselves, so many thousand times confirmed to them since then. The Moravian brethren had sprung from the labors and martyrdom of the Bohemian Reformer, John Huss. They had experienced centuries of persecution. Many had been killed, imprisoned, tortured or banished from their homeland. This group of three hundred people had fled for refuge in Germany where the young Christian nobleman, Count Zinzendorf offered them asylum on his estates in Saxony. They named their new home Herrnhut, ‘the Lord's Watch'. From there, after their baptism in the Holy Spirit, they became evangelists and missionaries. Fifty years before the beginning of modern Foreign Missions by William Carey, the Moravian Church had sent out over 100 missionaries. Their English missionary magazine, “Periodical Accounts” inspired William Carey. He threw a copy of the paper on a table at a Baptist meeting, saying, “See what the Moravians have done! Cannot we follow their example and in obedience to our Heavenly Master go out into the world, and preach the Gospel to the heathen?” That missionary zeal began with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Count Zinzendorf observed: “The Savior permitted to come upon us a Spirit of whom we had hitherto not had any experience or knowledge. Hitherto we had been the leaders and helpers. Now the Holy Spirit Himself took full control of everything and everybody.” The revival among the Moravian in 1727 was kept and sustained by revelation of the Word of God out of Leviticus 6:12-13 and prayer without ceasing. Leviticus 6:12-13, “And the fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it shall not be put out. And the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order on it; and he shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings. A fire shall always be burning on the altar; it shall never go out.” On 16th July, the Count poured out his soul in prayer accompanied by a flood of tears. This prayer produced an extraordinary effect. The whole community began praying as never before. On 22nd July, many of the community covenanted together on their own accord to meet often to pour out their hearts in prayer and hymns. On 5th August, the Count spent the whole night in prayer with about twelve or fourteen others following a large meeting for prayer at midnight where great emotion prevailed. On Sunday 10th August, Pastor Rothe, while leading the service at Herrnhut, was overwhelmed by the power of the Lord about noon. He sank into the dust before God. So did the whole congregation. They continued till midnight in prayer and singing, weeping and praying. On Wednesday, 13th August, the Holy Spirit was poured out on them all. Their prayers were answered in ways far beyond anyone’s expectations. Many of them decided to set aside certain times for continued earnest prayer. On 26th August, twenty-four men and twenty-four women covenanted together to continue praying in intervals of one hour each, day and night, each hour allocated by lots to different people. On 27th August, this new regulation began. Others joined the intercessors and the number involved increased to seventy-seven. They all carefully observed the hour which had been appointed for them. The intercessors had a weekly meeting where prayer needs were given to them. The children, also touched powerfully by God, began a similar plan among themselves. Those who heard their infant supplications were deeply moved. The children’s prayers and supplications had a powerful effect on the whole community. That astonishing prayer meeting beginning in 1727 went on for one hundred years. It was unique. Known as the Hourly Intercession, it involved relays of men and women in prayer without ceasing made to God. That prayer also led to action, especially evangelism. More than one hundred missionaries left that village community in the next twenty-five years, all constantly supported in prayer. 

The Holy Spirit Witness

One result of their baptism in the Holy Spirit was a joyful assurance of their pardon and salvation. This made a strong impact on people in many countries, including the Wesleys. In 1736 John and Charles Wesley sailed to America as Anglican missionaries. A company of Moravian immigrants were also on the vessel. During a terrible storm, they all faced the danger of shipwreck. John Wesley wrote in his journal: “At seven I went to the Germans. I had long before observed the great seriousness of their behavior - of their humility they had given a continual proof by performing those servile offices for the other passengers which none of the English would undertake; for which they desired and would receive no pay, saying, ‘It was good for their proud hearts’, and ‘their loving Savior had done more for them.’ And every day had given them occasion of showing a meekness, which no injury could move. If they were pushed, struck or thrown down, they rose again and went away; but no complaint was found in their mouth. Here was now an opportunity of trying whether they were delivered from the spirit of fear, as well as from that of pride, anger, and revenge. In the middle of the Psalms reading wherewith their service began, the sea broke over, split the mainsail in pieces, covered the ship and poured in between the decks, as if the great deep had already swallowed us up.” “A terrible screaming began among the English. The Germans calmly sung on. I asked one of them afterward: ‘Were you not afraid?’ He answered, ‘I thank God, no.’ I asked: ‘But were not your women and children afraid?’ He replied mildly: ‘No, our women and children are not afraid to die.’” On 4th March, 1738, Wesley wrote in his diary: “I found my brother at Oxford recovering from his pleurisy; and with him Peter Boehler: by whom (in the hand of the great God) I was, on Sunday, the 5th, clearly convicted of unbelief; of the want of that faith whereby alone we are saved. Immediately it struck into my mind, ‘Leave off preaching. How can you preach to others who have not faith yourself?’ I asked Boehler whether he thought I should leave it off, or not. He answered, ‘By no means.’ I asked: ‘But what can I preach?’ He said: ‘Preach faith till you have faith. ‘Accordingly, Monday the 6th, I began preaching this new doctrine, though my soul started back from the work. The first person to whom I offered salvation by faith alone, was a prisoner under sentence of death.” Testimony: John Wesley Assurance of Salvation “Wednesday, May 24th: In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther’s preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change that God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me, that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.” Friday, May 26th: My soul continued in peace, but yet in heaviness, because of manifold temptations. I asked Mr. Telchig, the Moravian, what to do. He said: “You must not fight with them as you did before, but flee from them the moment they appear, and take shelter in the wounds of Jesus.” We are once again witnessing the Lord's revolutionary prayer and mission movement rising. The Lord is restoring the Moravian Watch throughout the world. Lou Engle, founder of The Call, said: 'The leaders of the Moravian Watch are some of my most trusted friends, and carry my heart for this generation.' If you want to help us shape history, join this great family of affection and faith as we raise a mighty ‘Moravian Lampstand’ across America, train up a new generation of history makers, and seek God for true transformation in our communities!” James Goll wrote in his book 'The Lost Art of Intercession': 'The fire of the Moravian believers seemed to ignite a hunger for God wherever they went. That hunger could only be satisfied by an encounter with the living God they served. Would be to God that every believer, missionary, and minister today would walk, work, and worship with the same fire that the Moravians carried with them to countless cultures and cities!