Heartcry Journal - Issue 50

Thu, Nov 4, 2010
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Includes articles by Jerry Bridges, Michael Craven, and Adrian Warnock.

Articles In This Issue

Article
Sun, Nov 7, 2010
Michael Craven
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Heartcry Journal - Issue 50

Revival: What It Is and Why We Need It!

Revival is a seemingly old-fashioned word that conjures up numerous definitions, some of which have little to do with authentic revival or "times of refreshing" sent from the Lord as described in Scripture. But the following by J. Edwin Orr captures the biblical meaning of revival quite well. He defines an awakening as a movement of the Holy Spirit bringing about a revival of New Testament Christianity in the Church of Christ and in its related community.

Such an awakening may change in a significant way an individual; or it may affect a larger group of believers; or it may ...

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Article
Sun, Nov 7, 2010
Del Fehsenfeld III
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Heartcry Journal - Issue 50

Rediscovering George Whitefield

George Whitefield (1714-1770) was probably the greatest preacher of his generation, with a voice so powerful he could be heard in the open air by 30,000 people. Newspapers called him "the marvel of his age," and he is thought to have preached 18,000 times to about 10 million people during his ministry—an astonishing number before modern travel or communications.

The power of Whitefield's oratory was so great that David Garrick, the most famous actor in Britain, said he would "give a hundred guineas if I could only say 'Oh!' like Mr. Whitefield." And the ever practical ...

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Article
Sun, Nov 7, 2010
Adrian Warnock
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Heartcry Journal - Issue 50

Reviving Prayer

Historians tell us that every recorded revival started with a prayer meeting. When Christians repent and pray in a certain way, it's almost as if this is irresistible to God. We can expect him to answer and renew us individually, even if this doesn't lead to a widespread revival.

If prayer is one of the catalysts to large-scale revival within the church, a key question then becomes, what type of prayer will produce this effect? When we don't confidently know the answer to this question, we too often doubt that our prayers will have any effect.

One ...

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Article
Sun, Nov 7, 2010
Bill Elliff
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Heartcry Journal - Issue 50

Preaching From Pain

My best sermon was forged on the anvil of my worst nightmare. From that experience came truths I know. Wounds suffered from those days began a process of education about forgiveness and grace that has been life changing. Sharing from that pain has taught me my greatest lesson on real preaching.

We run from pain. No one wants to be hurt. Our limited view can imagine no meaning or value from life's darkness. But such a presupposition illustrates our limited view of God. He is bigger than our pain and has arranged for suffering to give an undeniable authority ...

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Article
Sun, Nov 7, 2010
John Gillespie
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Heartcry Journal - Issue 50

Keeping Your Heart in Ministry

To be called to care for those whom Jesus Christ has purchased for His Father with His own blood is both a responsibility and a privilege perhaps beyond any other this side of heaven. Yet for all the privileges and blessings of the call, every earnest pastor knows much of temptation, loneliness, disappointment, and heartache.

How can a pastor keep his heart, not just during the "honeymoon" periods of a pastorate, but throughout the many and varied seasons of pastoral life?

Offer your heart every day to the Lord Jesus. Before all else, the Lord Himself must own your heart ...

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Article
Sun, Nov 7, 2010
Jerry Bridges
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Heartcry Journal - Issue 50

Disciplined By Grace

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.(Titus 2:11-12 NIV)

The title of this article may seem like an oxymoron. Discipline seems to suggest restraint and legalism, rules and regulations, and a God who frowns on anyone who has fun. Grace, on the other hand, seems to mean freedom from any rules, spontaneous and unstructured living, and a God who loves us unconditionally regardless of our sinful behavior.

Such thinking ...

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Article
Sun, Nov 7, 2010
Collin Hansen, John Woodbridge
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Heartcry Journal - Issue 50

Recovering a God-Sized Vision

Once a fixture of the evangelical lexicon, revival no longer makes for polite conversation. Revival is treated like an embarrassing childhood memory—you can't deny that part of your history, but you'd rather not discuss it.

So what is our problem with revival?

For one thing, few of us living in the West today have ever seen one. And many of those who think they have seen a revival may have in mind events that would not pass the biblical or historical standard.

Perhaps their church holds regular "revival" meetings on certain nights of the week or during ...

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Article
Thu, Nov 4, 2010
David Platt
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Heartcry Journal - Issue 50

How Much Is Enough?

Today more than a billion people in the world live and die in desperate poverty. They attempt to survive on less than a dollar per day. Close to two billion others live on less than two dollars per day. That's nearly half the world struggling today to find food, water, and shelter with the same amount of money I spend on French fries for lunch.

More than twenty-six thousand children today will breathe their last breath due to starvation or a preventable disease. To put it in perspective for me, that's twenty-six thousand Joshuas and Calebs (my two ...

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Article
Thu, Nov 4, 2010
Frank A. Viola
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Heartcry Journal - Issue 50

Personal Meditations on Powerful Texts

"So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets" (Matthew 7:12 NIV). So often, you and I are put in situations that involve other people, whether they be Christians or non-Christians. Our spiritual instincts always urge and prompt us to love, for God is love. But what does love look like? And how do we know that we are really loving others?

I believe it will always look like this: "Treat others the way you would want to be treated if you were in their ...

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