Thursday, December 1, 2016

Self-denial, Sacrifice and Prompt Obedience




The great 18th century leader of the Moravians, Zinzendorf, displayed a passion for Jesus. So also did his ardor for the lost. Parenthetically, does the contemporary Christian church in the West use the word "lost"? 

Count Zinzendorf became determined to evangelize the world with a handful of saints, equipped only with a burning love for Jesus and the power of prayer. The Moravian Brotherhood readily received and perpetuated the passion of their leader. 

A seal was designed to express their new found missionary zeal. (see the seal above) The seal was composed of a lamb on a crimson ground, with the cross of resurrection and a banner of triumph with the motto; “Our Lamb has conquered, let us follow Him.” It is not uncommon to see this emblem on automobiles in the Winston-Salem area.

The Moravians recognized themselves in debt to the world as the trustees of the gospel. They were taught to embrace a lifestyle of self-denial, sacrifice and prompt obedience. I suggest the contemporary church desperately needs to reclaim the concepts of "self-denial", "sacrifice" and "obedience" Agree?

These early Moravians followed the call of the Lamb to go anywhere and with an emphasis upon the worst and hardest places as having the first claim. No soldiers of the cross have ever been bolder as pioneers, more patient or persistent in difficulties, more heroic in suffering, or more entirely devoted to Christ and the souls of men than the Moravian Brotherhood. What a magnificent thing to be able to say about the church of Jesus Christ. 

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