OUR NATION'S HERITAGE

Part 1-of-3

Noble or Compromised?

A much revered minister once asked this question of Billy Graham's daughter: "Anne, what do you believe God expects from us?" A "preacher's kid," Anne raced through her cache of answers—He expects us to pray without ceasing, witness, tithe, read the Bible, and honor the Ten Commandments.
It was then the pastor-teacher countered with a surprising answer. What does God expect? He expects us to fail. Anne was astonished, but further thought convinced her. Apart from divine enablement, we "cannot keep ourselves an hour clean." All have sinned; all fall short. Yet we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. God’s expectation is failure, and we deliver! But that’s not the end of it.
Thankfully, as believers, we receive abounding grace—albeit with consequences for our wrongdoings. This the fourth son of Aaron, Eli, learned well. A judge and high priest in Israel, he was a good and pure man; however, in raising his sons Hophni and Phinehas, Eli failed to toe the line. After all three died inglorious deaths, Phinehas’ wife delivered a son, whom she called Ichabod—that is, “Where is the glory?” Because of Eli’s grievous shortcomings, the presence of God (His glory) departed Israel when, on Eli’s watch, the ark was taken captive.

Seemingly, the ark of God’s presence among us has likewise been taken captive. It’s as if Ichabod marks our nation’s tattered portal. The good news is no matter how wayward His children, God always has a remnant of faithful believers through whom divine blessings flow. For this very purpose, God chose the patriarch Abraham to usher his descendants into a saving covenant relationship with Himself so that, through them, He would bring salvation and blessings to the entire world.

Despite Israel’s rebellious ways, God stirred revival—first within Jacob’s household, then through Asa, Joash, Hezekiah, Josiah, Zerubbabel, and Nehemiah. Christian writers (Tertullian, Irenaeus, Theophilus of Antioch, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and others) testified of comparable renewal within the early church. Surely God’s work did not cease on distant shores of what has come to be known as the Holy Land.

Revivals Among Believers

Despite grievous failings of nation-states, God graciously stirs revivals and awakenings—revivals to embolden His church; awakenings to “seek and save the lost.” The “Quietism” movement was to France what Savonarola was to Italy and George Fox, John Bunyan, and John Wesley were to England. Through ministries of Lorenzo Dow and Peter Cartwright, the Holy Spirit visited and re-visited America’s shores from “sea to shining sea.”

God released grace through evangelist-theologians (Charles G. Finney), charismatics (Elder Jacob Knapp), Christian writers (Dr. A. J. Gordon and D.L. Moody of old New England Puritan stock), and itinerary preachers (as A. B. Earle who, in fifty years, traveled 325,000 miles throughout the United States and Canada).

The famous Quaker who founded Pennsylvania (William Penn), Bible scholars (Dr. Adam Clarke), missionaries to the Natives (David Brainerd), Congregational preachers (Edward Payson of New England), and music ministers (hymn writer Philip Paul Bliss) all carried the baton of revival in the early years of America’s history.

Next: Awakenings Among the Lost