Heartcry Journal - Issue 11

Sat, Jan 1, 2000
Permalink

Includes articles from Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, Tim King, William Conant, John Elias, John Elias, Roger Ellsworth, Del Fehsenfeld, Iain Murray, John Watsford, and Byron Paulus

Articles In This Issue

Article
Sat, Jan 1, 2000
Jonathan Edwards
Permalink
Heartcry Journal - Issue 11

Signs of True Revival

Jonathan Edwards was one of the premier theologians our nation ever produced. The following is a contemporary adaptation of Edward’s masterful treatise on revival, The Distinguishing Marks of a Work of the Spirit of God. -- Editor]

I intend to show how we may definitely conclude that God is at work. I want to show the signs which Scripture says are clear evidence that God is at work. We will then be able to use these signs to judge any work without fear of being misled.  I propose to look only at those signs given in 1 John 4. That ...

View Full Article
Article
Sat, Jan 1, 2000
George Whitefield
Permalink
Heartcry Journal - Issue 11

Repentance and Conversion

“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19, KJV).

It is a pity that modern preachers do not pay more attention to the method that the apostles followed in preaching Jesus Christ! The success and divine authority of their discourses should impress ministers of the gospel more than all modern schemes. If this were the case, ministers would first learn to sow and then to reap. They would endeavor to plow up the fallow ground and to prepare people ...

View Full Article
Article
Sat, Jan 1, 2000
Tim King
Permalink
Heartcry Journal - Issue 11

What If Revival Does Not Come?

If you are an individual who has a passion for revival, a yearning to see a genuine outpouring of God’s Holy Spirit, then may I put these questions before you? Which of you has diligently sought revival only to feel the torment of seeing the land remain spiritually barren after many years? Have you experienced the heartache of faithfully spreading the gospel, petitioning the Lord in prayer, and fervently contending for the faith, only to find that the majority of the people around you remain unconverted and unrepentant? After many seasons of cultivating, sowing, watering, and weeding, still only ...

View Full Article
Article
Sat, Jan 1, 2000
William Conant
Permalink
Heartcry Journal - Issue 11

The Conversion of John Bunyan

John Bunyan was arguably the last and the greatest of the Puritans. An uneducated tinker by training, Bunyan spent nearly fourteen years of his life in prison because he refused to stop preaching the gospel without a license. Nonetheless, even the eminent Puritan theologian John Owen often came to hear him preach and once said of him, "I would give all my knowledge for the wisdom of John Bunyan." During his many years in prison, Bunyan left a remarkable legacy through his many books, the best known of which is Pilgrim's Progress, which has become the best-selling book of ...

View Full Article
Article
Sat, Jan 1, 2000
John Elias
Permalink
Heartcry Journal - Issue 11

Revival

The word revival means the gracious visitation of God to His people in the ordinances of the gospel and by the outpouring of the Spirit. The results of revival include the bringing to life of that which was spiritually dead and the converting of sinners. In addition, the work of the church (Hab. 3:2), the hearts of God’s people (Ps. 85:6), the Spirit’s sanctifying work (Isa. 57:15), and the prayers, sermons, and worship of the church are profoundly benefited.

There is no true revival except of God’s doing. He “quickeneth all things” (1 Tim ...

View Full Article
Article
Sat, Jan 1, 2000
Roger Ellsworth
Permalink
Heartcry Journal - Issue 11

Phony Repentance

One of the major problems of the church today is phony repentance. Multitudes have walked down the aisle, mouthed the right words, and joined the church, only to become what is delicately called “inactive members.”

All kinds of explanations have been offered for this sad state of affairs. Some attribute the problem to ineptness in follow-up. They argue that these inactive members came to church really wanting to serve the Lord, but no one told them how to go about it, and so they became discouraged and dropped out.

Others say the problem is due to failing to teach new ...

View Full Article
Article
Sat, Jan 1, 2000
Del Fehsenfeld III
Permalink
Heartcry Journal - Issue 11

Personal Meditations on Powerful Texts - Winter

Wilt Thou not revive us again; that Thy people may rejoice in Thee?” Psalm 85:6

Some of the shortest verses in the Bible are packed with the greatest impact. Surely that is true of this text. From these familiar words we can glean several essential elements of effective prayer for revival.

First, the prayer is direct and earnest. Without mincing words, the psalmist urgently engages the Lord with his request. There is a holy boldness and a desperation about his plea that should characterize every Christian’s prayers for revival.

Second, the prayer is personal in scope. Rather than ...

View Full Article
Article
Sat, Jan 1, 2000
Iain Murray
Permalink
Heartcry Journal - Issue 11

Hope for Zion

“Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach” (Neh. 2:17, KJV).

In the year 586 B.C., Jerusalem had been laid in ruins by Nebuchadnezzar--her people exiled, her temple destroyed, her walls broken, and her gates burned with fire. Although 142 years had passed, Jerusalem was still lying in waste. Sin had stripped Zion of her former glory, and she was exposed to the cry of all who passed by ...

View Full Article
Article
Sat, Jan 1, 2000
John Watsford
Permalink
Heartcry Journal - Issue 11

Days of Revival: Australia, 1860s

[Numerous local revivals occurred in South Australia during the middle of the nineteenth century. The following record is taken from the journal of John Watsford, a Methodist minister who began his work in South Adelaide in 1862. -- Editor]

It was a difficult, emotional day when I left my home in New South Wales to begin a work in South Australia. However, fully believing that the Lord had sent me, I went in His name. I had not only to follow a great and successful ministry, but having been appointed chairman of the district, a heavier responsibility was laid upon me ...

View Full Article
Article
Sat, Jan 1, 2000
Byron Paulus
Permalink
Heartcry Journal - Issue 11

From the Director

One of the tendencies of human beings is to settle down into the comfort and security of a routine. However, this can be a very dangerous place to find ourselves spiritually. Each of us has a responsibility to stoke the fire of our passion for the Lord on a daily basis. When we become lax, every one of us is at risk for spiritual burnout no matter how long we have walked with the Lord.

Recently, I was challenged with the example of Ezra who the Scripture records “set his heart to study the law of the Lord and to ...

View Full Article
Print
View All

View by Topic