Avalon Chronicles #152: Champions of the Faith-Evan Roberts and the Welsh Revival 1904-1906 Moriah Chapel

    Reference; Spirit of Grace Ministries McKinney, Tx. Writing by Dennis Pollock.2014.

     Several years ago Linda and I visited Wales in the United Kingdom and specifically Moriah Chapel in Loughor west of Wales' main city Cardiff. We had always heard of the 1905 Welsh Revival and this was our chance to learn more about this significant event in church history. In the immediate previous message Rees Howells participated in this Revival having just arrived home from America. 

     Beginning in 1904 the Revival had its roots in Moriah Chapel, the home church of Evan Roberts, who became the central figure in the Welsh Revival, "...one of the purest, classical Holy Spirit outpourings in the history of the church." Upon the illness of his father Evan went to work as a coal miner at age twelve. During his teen years he began to attend every possible church gathering. At age 25 he underwent a magnificent occurrence, that was preparing him for his future work. This lasted every night for three months. Roberts related, "I found myself with unspeakable joy and awe in the presence of the almighty God...I was privileged to speak face-to-face with him as a man speaks face-to-face with a friend." They were divine visitations!

     What eventually occurred at a small meeting was "...a mighty baptism in the Holy Spirit." He was transformed from "...a somewhat gloomy personality..." to one, who "...radiated tremendous joy." He began to speak with great confidence and had the goal of preaching throughout Wales. At his first Moriah Chapel prayer meeting with seventeen in attendance he spoke about the Holy Spirit in its totality which encompassed, "Confess all known sins to God. Put away all doubtful habits. Obey the Holy Spirit promptly. Confess Christ publicly." All seventeen confessed belief in Christ. That began his anointed ministry! The Revival fire was lit all over Wales. Churches began to be packed with services lasting for hours. 

     Very shortly Wales underwent an incredible transformation! Crime ceased to exist. Policemen formed singing quartets. The "pit ponies" in the mines ceased to obey commands because they were much more pure than the previous curses yelled at them! Pubs had reduced patronage. He spoke from his heart. "His experience with the Holy Spirit had left him deeply emotional. Tears flowed freely at times and joyous, unrestrained laughter at others." 

     The results of this outpouring had international consequences far and beyond the possibly 150,000 souls born again in Wales alone. Its impact went international, sweeping Europe, Canada, America and other parts of world. Unfortunately, after that year of intense ministry Evan Roberts was never the same. He suffered a nervous breakdown. His personal reach and impact was all in one year, but, it had immense consequences worldwide. America's own Azusa Street Revival in California, inspired by the Wales Revival, lasted from 1906-1915. 

     The teachings of Even Roberts will be continued in another book I am reading, War on the Saints, wherein he collaborated with Jessie Penn-Lewis.    

    

Avalon Chronicles #151: Champions of the Faith-Rees Howells Intercessor

      Originally published in 1952 was a book by Norman Grubb titled Rees Howells Intercessor. My own copy was published in 1983 by Christian Literature Crusade in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania 19034. I rediscovered the book in summer 2024 as I was researching the June 1940 evacuation of Allied troops from Dunkirk, France after the German onslaught across Belgium and France. I had recalled the intercessory prayers of the students of the Bible College of Wales in Grubb's work about Rees Howells.

     My review of the book, after my third reading by Sept. 20, 2020, showed extensive underlining of key sections of the book as I was reminded of this Champion of the Faith Rees Howells, who, after an incredible ministry to include Africa, where he was a part of a ministry, founded by Rev. Andrew Murray, he founded in Swansea, Wales the Bible College of Wales. He was born Oct. 10, 1879 in the mining village of Brynamman, South Wales into a family of eleven children. His father was a working man in an iron works and coal mine. I am compelled to copy and mark in quotes the very poignant words from this book as expressions of the growth of Rees' faith. "But outstanding from Rees' earliest days was his consciousness of God." Early in his life was the influence of his grandparents, who had been converted in the 1859 Revival. Although, he said, "I felt I could face God every night, because I lived such a clean, pure life, and there were hundreds in Wales who lived like that." How many of today's earthlings can live in such a manner?

     Rees went to America to work near Pittsburgh, where his cousin Evan Lewis lived. Evan asked him one night if he was "born again." Evan asked Rees, "Do you know you are saved?" Rees replied, "I am Christian, and that's good enough for me." Rees then moved to another town and his cousin left him with the words, "...it troubles me to see you going when you are not right with God." Soon he realized, "...he knew there was a gulf between him and God, and a deeper concern for his eternal destiny than for any of the affairs of this life possessed his mind." It is a critical question avoided by most of what is their eternal destiny? He contracted typhoid fever and feared meeting his Maker, but, "From that time on, he never regarded eternity lightly, for he had faced the reality of hell-a separation from God for ever." At this critical time in his life he had a revelation: "I found that I had only an historical Christ and not a personal Savior who could take me to the other side."

     He met a converted Jew, Maurice Reuben, who had an experience, wherein Reuben "...heard a voice repeating to him the words of John 14:6: 'I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.'" Rees was sincerely touched by Reuben's testimony and that is when he described that the encounter became his spiritual birthday. It was when he truly understood, "When you receive the Savior, you receive the love of God." Rees returned to his native Wales in an auspicious year 1904, the time of the great Revival, led by Evan Roberts. During this time he realized, "The intercession of the Holy Ghost for the saints in this in this present evil world must be made through believers filled with the Holy Ghost." (Romans 8: 26, 27). Howells went on to a remarkable life of serving others, witnessing how his own life had been changed by Jesus Christ.

Avalon Chronicles #150: The Full Blessing of Pentecost

 Resource: The Full Blessing of Pentecost by Andrew Murray. 1994. Christian Literature Crusade. Fort Washington, PA. 

It has been thirty years ago in 1994 that I came upon this small treasure of a book. At a time when my faith was deepening and my needs were great, I came upon the writings of this South African writer, teacher and Christian pastor. The Holy Spirit is perhaps the least understood of the Holy Trinity, which includes God and Jesus. What I desire to discuss about the Holy Spirit relates to when did it appear, what it meant and means for Christians and how do we obtain it? The brevity of my discussion in no way is to diminish the extraordinary significance of this infilling by the Holy Spirit.

WHEN DID PENTECOST OCCUR? 40 days after Christ's Resurrection (Christ appeared before many during that time frame) Jesus appeared before the twelve disciples and as many as 120 others on the Mount of Olives and ascended to Heaven after a rushing mighty wind occurred.  Ten days later Peter preached and the Holy Spirit descended to earth and three thousand were baptized in the Holy Spirit! This represented the beginning of the Messianic Age of the Christian Church. It is noted with great celebration and ceremony in most Christian denominations.

WHAT DOES FILLING BY THE HOLY SPIRIT MEAN? Obviously, entire books have been written on what is the significance of the Holy Spirit, the third part of the Holy Trinity, along with God the Father and Jesus, the Son of the Father. Very basically, an infilling of one by the Holy Spirit signifies that the recipients have advanced past the external Jesus Christ in one's spiritual maturation to a new and deeper level of power that begins to indwell us. One benefit amongst many is that we are able to have a heightened illumination of understanding of the Word of God. Another benefit is we have a new power to bless others. The Holy Spirit is the most important factor to assist us in combatting the pagan-dominated world of Satan.

HOW IS THE HOLY SPIRIT OBTAINED BY US? Rev. Andrew Murray discusses seven aspects of the Holy Spirit.

I. The full blessing of Pentecost is the inheritance of all the children of God. We are commanded to be filled with the Holy Spirit so we may rise above a "weak and defective life" typically exemplified by us all. It is within the grasp of us all.

II. I do not as yet have this blessing. With the Holy Spirit "...we may walk in the fulness and joy of the Spirit,..."

III. Is this blessing for me? There is divided opinion in Christendom that the Gift of the Holy Spirit was only for the early Christians and not for today. "The indwelling, the fulness of the Spirit, is nothing but the entire healthfulness of the body of Christ...Learn, then to express and to repeat over again the conviction: This blessing is for me."

IV. I cannot grasp this blessing in my own power. "The blessing of Pentecost is a supernatural gift, a wonderful act of God in the soul...The impartation of this heavenly blessing is as entirely an act of God as the resurrection of Christ from the dead was His divine work...the believer (must) abandon all power and hope of his own to receive this full blessing as a free gift of divine Omnipotence."

V. I must have this blessing at any cost. Are you ready for the cost? "He that would have it must sell all, must forsake all: sin to its smallest item, the love of the world in its most innocent forms, self-will in its simplest and most natural expressions, every faculty of our nature, every moment of our life, every pleasure that feeds our self-complacency, every exercise of our body, soul, and spirit---all must be surrendered to the power of the Spirit of God." We must be emptied to be refilled. If you truly want it, repeat and say, "I have said to God that I must, I will have it . By this decision I abide. I must, I will have it."

VI. In faith that God accepts my surrender and bestows this blessing upon me, , I appropriate it for myself. "Believe that God has in heaven bestowed upon you the fulness of the Spirit...In this faith let your life be a life of joyful thanksgiving and expectation."

VII. Now I count upon God and wait upon Him to reveal truly within me the blessing which He has bestowed upon me. " He will...miraculously bring this heavenly blessing to fruition in you, so that you may be filled with the Holy Spirit and that you may know, not by reasoning but by experience, that you have actually received the Holy Spirit."  

My daily prayer, "I pray I may be controlled by the Holy Spirit and reflect the Fruit of the Holy Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, patience, gentleness, goodness, kindness, faithfulness and self-control." Amen 

Avalon Chronicles #149: "In the Name of Christ, stop!"

 Excerpts of Remarks by President Ronald Reagan National Prayer Breakfast Feb. 2, 1984

"We all in this room, I know, and we know millions more everywhere, turn to God in prayer, believe in the power and the spirit of prayer. And yet so often, we direct our prayers to those problems that are immediate to us, knowing that He has promised His help to us when we turn to Him. And yet in a world today that is so torn with strife where the divisions seem to be increasing, not people coming together, within countries, divisions within the people, themselves and all, I wonder if we have ever thought about the greatest tool that we have---that power of prayer and God's help."

Forty years later and the state of the world has not changed! But, we can take heed of President Reagan's charge to direct the power of prayer to the eminently more important ones confronting the nations and our world. We can bring together the prayer of two billion Christians and those of all faiths and beliefs that are worn out and grieving amongst the constant killing and turmoil evident on our planet. The battlefields most conspicuous are those on fields of physical fight, where blood is spilled, sapping the human treasures of a nation's young. We must be cognizant of the persecutions of people of faith, especially Christians, throughout the world by the true murderers of the world directed by hatred. But, we must go deeper than battlefields to the underlying spiritual warfare directed by Satan through his demonic warriors to foster and foment strife and divisions among nations, races and philosophies. President Reagan continued with an incredible story!

"The power of prayer can be illustrated by a story that goes back to the fourth century. The Asian monk living in a little remote village, spending most of his time in prayer or tending the garden from which he obtained his sustenance...Telmacmus...thought he heard the voice of God telling him to go to Rome. And believing that he had heard, he set out. And weeks and weeks later, he arrived there, having traveled most of the way on foot.

And it was at a time of a festival in Rome. They were celebrating a triumph over the Goths. And he followed a crowd into the Colosseum, and then there in the midst of this great crowd, he saw the gladiators come forth, stand before the Emperor, and say, 'We who are about to die, salute you.' And he realized they were going to fight to the death for the entertainment of the crowds. And he cried out, 'In the name of Christ, stop!' And his voice was lost in the tumult there in the great Colosseum.

And as the games began, he made his way down through the crowd and climbed over the wall and dropped to the floor of the arena. Suddenly the crowds saw this scrawny little figure making his way out to the gladiators and saying over and over again, 'In the name of Christ, stop!' And they thought it was part of the entertainment, and at first they were amused. But then, when they realized it wasn't, they grew belligerent and angry. And as he was pleading with the gladiators, 'In the name of Christ, stop,' one of them plunged his sword into his body. And as he fell to the sand of the arena in death, his last words were, 'In the name of Christ, stop.'

And suddenly, a strange thing happened. The gladiators stood looking at this tiny form lying in the sand. A silence fell over the Colosseum. And then, someplace up in the upper tiers, an individual made his way to an exit and left, and others began to follow. And in the dead silence, everyone left the Colosseum. That was the last battle to the death between the gladiators in the Roman Colosseum. Never again did anyone kill or did men kill each other for the entertainment of the crowd.

One tiny voice that could hardly be heard above the tumult. 'In the name of Christ, stop' It is something we could be saying to each other throughout the world today."

We can raise our collective voices. We can look around us at divisions politically. We can look around us at divisions of skin color. We can look around us at divisions of gender. We can look around us at the blood being shed throughout the world on countless battlefields, some highly publicized, others only in small villages. We can direct to our God in Heaven, our prayers, which He will hear and answer, "In the name of Christ, stop!"

Avalon Chronicles #148: The Benefits of Obedience

     As young children in a home where discipline and boundaries are applied lovingly, we grow in maturity recognizing that being obedient children has its benefits: trusting parents; latitude of freedom; and good feelings about ourselves derived from knowing we are doing things right as well as doing the right things. This good behavior at home is also evident at school, in personal relationships and in our workplaces, where we are held in higher esteem by teachers, friends and employers. Obedience begets favor in all arenas of life.

     Obedience as a child of God to God's laws and adherence to that which is pleasing in God's sight, yields incredible benefits and rights. We begin with knowing and being obedient to the Ten Commandments. There are other guidelines for our lives that reflect what God taught His people to adopt and live by. He taught us the actions and lifestyles that are abhorrent to Him. Living with  God's standards yields us immense benefits. Freedom from normal worries follow, because we seek and belong to God and live obediently in His kingdom. By using His word we wield a powerful weapon, which is a benefit to assist us to recognize and change our thoughts and behavior, especially as to our judgmentalism or criticism of others. 

     The ultimate benefit of obedience relates to our spiritual dimension. There are two major areas where our obedience to God is most critical. That relates to confession of sin and forgiveness. There is a benefit to us of obedience. We all have a myriad of needs and desires of our hearts for which we need the blessings of God. We believe in prayers being answered and are aware of God's Word in I John 3:22 NKJV "And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight." God hates sin and unforgiveness, so in faithfulness to His Word, we right ourselves, when we confess our sins and forgive all others. This is a major benefit of obedience!

     Many of us are under the influence of religious rituals, which provide no benefits of inner peace, because these provide only a surface feel good with adherence to rules rather than the depth of positive attitude due to true obedience to the desires of God to guide our lives. 

      Only in Him can we find true peace by a life lived in the protective umbrella of dwelling in Him alone.

Avalon Chronicles #147: "When All is Said and Done The Bottom Line"

 Reference: The Complete 54-Book Apocrypha 2022 Edition by Covenant Press. Covenant Christian Coalition. In the Preface to the 2022 Edition it is very plainly written that; "This library of apocryphal work is not Scripture but is the definitive collection of very early extra-biblical writings in the Judeo-Christian tradition."

"While it is unwise to hold the apocryphal Deuterocanon to the same God-breathed standard as 66 books of the Bible, we hold as Martin Luther did, to their value as possibly true and good to read, but unverified:

                                          "Apocrypha, that are books which are not considered equal to the Holy Scriptures, but are useful and good to read."

     In order to insure readers of these messages that it is not the author's intention to even hint at any heretical beliefs, please note on page 6 of this compilation of historical writings, it is proclaimed:

                                                THE GOOD NEWS OF SALVATION

In accordance with the Scriptures, Christ the Messiah, the Son of the living God, became human, incarnate in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, lived a morally perfect and sinless life, died for our sins on the Cross as a substitutionary sacrifice, was buried in a tomb, and was raised bodily from the dead on the third day. Everyone who hears and accepts this message of salvation, believing in their heart that God raised the Christ from the dead, will be pardoned of all their sins, given the gift of the Holy Spirit, and granted everlasting life in perpetual union with God. Salvation is found in Christ alone by grace alone through faith alone and not by works.

     If this were to be the final message of all that have been written over more than a decade, the above Good News of Salvation would be the final content for all readers to be absorbed and understood and captured and believed and lived by all who read these writings. 

     No human has lived a morally perfect and sinless life as did Jesus the Christ, but His life was a goal and the Gold Standard for all of us mere mortals. The world may be approaching the End Times of the Book of Revelation and if not already there, this is the time in one's life to get serious about where we wish to be when our earthly life is over! And not only for that final goal, but for peace each day!

Avalon Chronicles #146: Casualties of War

      As a wounded Casualty of War of Vietnam, uppermost in my emotions there has always been a special melancholy for those wounded in my war, but, especially for the families of those who were Killed in Action in my war. There is a never-ending pain of the loss for all those family members, who visit the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington D.C. It will be with them until their own deaths. For me the history of all warfare in the past and uppermost for the current conflicts is that of the losses of mostly young men, who never had the opportunity to live out normal lives. The families of war dead always live with holes in their hearts.

     A Linked In connection for me is Justin Roberts, Film Director for Echo Bravo Productions. He visited Kyiv, Ukraine recently and posted his thoughts on his experience there. I relate a part of his touching words with his kind permission. Rarely have I read such touching words!

"I walked in downtown Kyiv and came across a statue of a Cossack overlooking a field of flags of the fallen. As I walked I saw two young women who were lighting candles and laying down flowers. They were crying.

What we always miss in these moments is the scale of it all. Every flag is a mother and father in unimaginable pain. A spouse and child broken. A soldier who could have had a life. Times thousands upon thousands and for nothing. Nothing but greed and ambition.

Every generation faces great evil and how we respond to it tells us about ourselves and our generation.

And while we as a nation debate what we will stand for and are pushed left and right by the winds of propaganda the sea of little flags continue to grow. And the Cossack watches."

     This past Memorial Day I was invited by my niece Charlene Miseli to present remarks at a ceremony she planned as a representative of the Travis Manion Foundation at the DFW National Cemetery in Dallas, Tx. Volunteers of the Foundation paid respects at numerous gravesites at the cemetery. It was an especially poignant and memorable time for me, since thirty years ago I had recommended this be the site for the cemetery, when I was serving as Director, National Cemetery System at the Department of Veterans Affairs. My wife Linda, sister Betty and grandchildren Brooke and Beau were able to accompany me to the ceremony. As I spoke I looked out over the straight rows of the crosses over the graves, obviously not only war dead, but graves of Americans, who served our nation in uniform and died normal deaths. The setting is beside a lake and its closest neighbor is Dallas Baptist University.

     My closing remarks included;

Freedom flies in your heart like an eagle

Let it soar with the high wind above

Among spirits of soldiers now sleeping.

Guard it with care and with love.

                         Audie Murphy

They shall not grow old

     As we that are left grow old.

Age shall not weary them,

     Nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun,

      And in the morning, 

We will remember them.

                          Laurence Binyon  1914

Americans and our allies in WWI, our brave in wars since, as well as those Ukrainians memorialized in that field of flags sacrificed for freedom. We who cherish and enjoy freedom will never be able to repay the debts we owe them for what they did for us all and their fellow citizens.