Revival Series Part 3

 by Jennifer A. Miskov, Ph.D., Revival Historian

Moravian Fire Ignited

On August 13th, 1727, German nobleman Count Nikolaus Von Zinzendorf gathered the Moravian refugees living on his property in Herrnhut to bring them to a place of unity and overturn the discord in their midst. That day in the chapel at Berthelsdorf they were invited to consecrate their lives afresh unto the Lord and with each other.

As they put aside their differences and came together as one, choosing to make a covenant of love with one another, the power of God and purifying fire of the Holy Ghost fell upon them. Revival had come. Where the enemy came to kill, steal, destroy, and take from this community born for unity, they answered back with a resolute firmness to stand against all schemes to divide. They knew their destiny was unity and love. Ever since that moment, what tried to divide them brought them closer together. Seeking unity was catalytic to ignite this flame. This event later became known as the Moravian Pentecost.

Stewarding the Fire through the Furnace of Prayer

Now that they had the fire, they realized they would need to steward it so they wouldn’t lose it. On August 27, 1727, just two weeks after the ancient outpouring of love, some in the Moravian community arranged “a system of Hourly Intercession” so that this blessing would not be lost.[i] Thus, the seeds for a 100-year prayer meeting was born.

And if you know the rest of their story which will be coming out in my next book, from this place of prayer, they launched the Protestant mission’s movement where some Moravian missionaries eventually intersected with John Wesley in a storm. As they kept their eyes on Jesus in the midst of the raging sea, Wesley was struck by their faith and greatly impacted. He had his heart warming defining moment not long after and then became a part of catalyzing the First Great Awakening and then the Methodist movement with its circuit riders.

When God moves in power, it’s important to steward what He’s poured out. We need new wine skins to hold the new wine.

Once the Moravian community experienced revival in family, they realized that the fire needed to be stewarded so it wouldn’t burn out. They saw a need to build a “fireplace” to sustain the fire. The Lord led them to steward this fire in the furnace of continual prayer and intercession in the context of covenant.

If they tried to steward the fire that was released in the Moravian Pentecost by doing what they had always done before, that would no longer cut it. They needed to cultivate a new wine skin for the new wine the Holy Spirit was pouring out. Thus, a new wine skin was birthed to hold the new wine. Life was born and then structure was implemented to steward it, not the other way around. You can’t structure to find life. Once you have life, add wisdom to help focus it in the right direction.

Encounters welcome us into new seasons and new eras. This requires a reformation of the things we used to do before. If we have a radical encounter with God and nothing changes in our lives, we may have missed the point or not stewarded it well for its destined purpose. The Moravians recognized that something significant had occurred in their midst. They wanted the fire to increase and not to wane. Hence, a new fireplace of 24/7 prayer was birthed.

Questions for Reflection

When you have a powerful encounter with God personally or corporately, ask Him how you are to steward that encounter. Does He want you to change a rhythm in your life or take something out of your schedule to walk in greater consecration? Is He asking you to let go of something (a commitment, relationship, rhythm)? Is He inviting you to add a new discipline to your schedule to be intentional about stewarding what He is doing in your life in the new season? If He is releasing new wine, what does the new wine skin to steward that look like in this season?

Learn More

• Read about my trip visiting the historic site of the Moravian Pentecost HERE

• See what happened when I released the testimony of the Moravians on a ministry trip in Washington

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NOTES
[i] J.E. Hutton M.A., A History of the Moravian Church (second edition, revised and enlarged) (London: Moravian Publication Office 32 Fetter Lane, 1909), 211.

by Jennifer A. Miskov, Ph.D.

I was at the School of Awakening conference in Germany last month and was marked by God in a profound way one night. The leader of the meeting decided to let worship go the whole night rather than have a speaker because there was such a heavy presence of God in the room. As a result, we all went deeper together into the heart of God. As we rested in His presence, I could feel God melt away walls in my heart I didn’t even realize I had. I felt changed and able to let people into my heart in a deeper way.

I believe that 2018 is a year of family, both of our natural families as well as our spiritual families (or tribes). As we gaze ahead at the horizon of what’s before us, I believe it’s a time for building upon the inheritance of what’s already been given to us. Most of us remember the story how Joshua and Caleb, through faithful endurance, held onto the promises of God to eventually enter into the Promised Land. After 40 year of waiting patiently in the desert by Numbers 14, their breakthrough had come, they defeated their enemies, and now it was time to deepen roots and build in the land of their inheritance.

The Patriarch Moses had made a promise to Caleb 45 years earlier that he could have any of the land he wanted. To redeem and take hold of this promise, Caleb had to approach Joshua to remind him of that promise 45 years after it had been released. Caleb did not go alone to make this request. He went with his tribe, his family to ask for the inheritance that was promised (Numbers 14:6-15). Joshua blessed him and granted him the land he desired. Caleb and his tribe drove out the Anakites and took possession of the land of Hebron. In family, one person’s breakthrough becomes a corporate victory. Caleb’s whole tribe got to be a part of sharing in the inheritance promised to him. It is interesting to note that Hebron means to join, team up, make a covenant or alliance. There is something powerful in uniting with our tribe as we move toward the promises of God together.

In the summer of 1727, there was great dissention in a community called the Moravians. These refugees had previously been given permission to settle on Nicolaus von Zinzendorf’s estate in Herrnhut, Germany. Because of the quarreling going on in this religious community, some of the leaders set a date to sort out these differences and to become unified once again. On August 13, 1727 in Berthelsdorf Parish Church, they decided to set aside all their differences to come together to make “a covenant of loyalty and love.” When they did this, God’s presence fell in a powerful way.

Soon following their new devotion to each other, “they were stirred by the mystic wondrous touch of a power which none could define or understand” where they felt “the purifying fire of the Holy Ghost” rested upon them. Less than two weeks after this outpouring of love and unity, on August 27, 1727, the 24-7 prayer movement was born when the Moravian community united as one to organize a prayer union that would be marked by 100 years of uninterrupted prayers.

Not long after this surge of prayer was initiated, in August 1732, the first two Moravian missionaries were sent out from this community. They sold themselves as slaves in order to reach the slaves on St. Thomas Island who had yet to hear the Gospel. From that point on, missionaries from this small but mighty tribe were sent around the world spreading the Gospel. In 1738, Moravian missionaries were on a boat headed to American when they encountered a storm. The way that they stewarded peace and assurance of their salvation in the midst of impending death marked an English onlooker named John Wesley who later befriended them. The Moravian missionaries had a profound impact on his life, preparing him for what God was about to birth in his life through The Great Awakening and the Methodist Movement.

Unity is powerful and can shape world history (Ecclesiastes 4:12; Psalm 133). When we dive deeper into relationship with our tribe, we can step into even more of the fullness of our destinies together. We really do need each other in the Body of Christ. Staying close and growing deeper with the community of saints God has placed us in will help launch us further into our destiny than we could ever go on our own (Ephesians 3:14-21).

So what does it look like in this new year to more closely align ourselves with the tribe or community God has placed us in? In what way can we be more vulnerable today with our tribe to build even deeper roots together?

Is there anyone in our community that we are offended with and need to reconcile and forgive (Matthew 6:14-15; Ephesians 4:25-27)? Is there anyone who is offended by us that we need to approach before we dive back into worship (Matthew 5:23-24)?

May the fire of God come and melt down any walls between us and our brothers and sisters today. Life is too short to keep people out because of an offense. Remember, our battle is not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers that we have authority and power to defeat in Jesus’ name (Ephesians 6). May a fresh baptism of God’s love melt away all offense and fear in Jesus’ name as we dive deeper His presence and into family in this new year together.

“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins.” 1 Peter 4:8

*To learn more about my recent Germany trip in 2018 see Inheritance in Germany: 2018

**To learn more about my trip to Herrnhut, Germany in 2015 see Moravian Legacy: Unity in Love Births a 100 Year Prayer Movement

***Quotes taken from J.E. Hutton’s A History of the Moravian Church (1909)

At Zinzendorf's grave. 

by Jennifer A. Miskov, PhD

On July 14-15, 2015, I had the opportunity to visit Herrnhut Germany with some of the Destiny House family. We got to tap into the roots of our own movement and discover the depths of a deep well of what a community unified by love and humility looks like. 

I was marked by my visit to the Moravian's gravesite called "God's Acre." Nearly all the tombstones were the same size and shape. None outglorified the other. Nothing but the words distinguished one gravestone from the other. The only exception was a  few larger tombstones to honor some of the elders including the main leader Count Nicolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf. When I knelt near his tombstone to reflect on a life well lived and praise God for His faithfulness, I felt the presence and peace of God in a powerful way. Honoring a saint of old nearly brought me to tears, the presence of God overcame me. 

Moravian gravesite

I wondered what it would have looked like to be a part of a community that lived as a family, as a "church within a church," where everyone was celebrated for the gift of God they were, where there were no platforms but they were all on the same level before God. What would it look like today if each person was celebrated by their community for the gift that they are?

After going through a refining process, the early Moravian community realized that love must supersede denominational differences and barriers. Each person was important and had a role to play. No matter how seen or unseen, they were all important for the body of Christ to be able to fully function. The anointed unity found in this tribe of Moravians only came after God intervened to turn them away from years of quarreling.

It was in the summer of 1727 that God stirred the Moravian community to throw off dissension and instead choose unity in love. J.E. Hutton in his A History of the Moravian Church (1909) wrote the following account about this special season where God crashed in with His perfect love. This happened after Zinzendorf found a copy of Comenius' Latin version of the old Brethren's "Account of Discipline" in July of that year. After he read this, his eyes were open. Zinzendorf said,

"And though I have to sacrifice my earthly possessions, my honours and my life, as long as I live I will do my utmost to see to it that  this little flock of the Lord shall be preserved for Him until He come."

Hutton recounts this new awakening below: 

"As the Count devoured the ancient treatise, he noticed that the rules laid down therein were almost the same as the rules which he had just drawn up for the refugees at Herrnhut. He returned to Herrnhut, reported his find, and read the good people extracts from the book {Aug. 4th.}. The sensation was profound. If this was like new milk to the Count it was like old wine to the Brethren; and again the fire of their fathers burned in their veins.

And now the coping stone was set on the temple {Aug. 13th.}. As the Brethren were learning, step by step, to love each other in true sincerity, Pastor Rothe now invited them all to set the seal to the work by coming in a body to Berthelsdorf Church, and there joining, with one accord, in the celebration of the Holy Communion. The Brethren accepted the invitation with joy.

The date fixed was Monday, August 13th. The sense of awe was overpowering. As the Brethren walked down the slope to the church all felt that the supreme occasion had arrived; and all who had quarrelled in the days gone by made a covenant of loyalty and love. At the door of the church the strange sense of awe was thrilling. 

They entered the building; the service began; the "Confession" was offered by the Count; and then, at one and the same moment, all present, rapt in deep devotion, were stirred by the mystic wondrous touch of a power which none could define or understand. 

There, in Berthelsdorf Parish Church, they attained at last the firm conviction that they were one in Christ; and there, above all, they believed and felt that on them, as on the twelve disciples on the Day of Pentecost, had rested the purifying fire of the Holy Ghost.

"We learned," said the Brethren, "to love." "From that time onward," said David Nitschmann, "Herrnhut was a living Church of Jesus Christ..."

It was such a treat to have the opportunity to visit the church at Berthelsdorf where this outpouring of love was poured out. There we worshipped our King with song, dance, and tears, remembering the unity in love that was poured out nearly 300 years before.

Worshipping at Berthelsdorf where the outpouring of love happened in 1727

Following the ancient outpouring of love, on August 27, 1727, the Moravian community arranged "a system of Hourly Intercession" so that the blessing would not be lost. 

Hutton says that,

"As the fire on the altar in the Jewish Temple was never allowed to go out, so the Brethren resolved that in this new temple of the Lord the incense of intercessory prayer should rise continually day and night. Henceforth, Herrnhut in very truth should be the 'Watch of the Lord.' The whole day was carefully mapped out, and each Brother or Sister took his or her turn. Of all the prayer unions ever organized surely this was one of the most remarkable. It is said to have lasted without interruption for over a hundred years."

The Moravians birthed a movement that was marked by 100 years of uninterrupted prayer stemming from a profound encounter of rediscovering love for one another despite theological differences. I wonder what God might want to birth today within our generation as people lay down their armor, come together as one to seek, and worship Jesus alone... Lord, we ask that you do it again. Pour out a love Revolution flowing from hearts knit together in God's perfect love. Amen.