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A Challange From The Lord To MBBC

Taken from the Pastors Column of MBBC church paper on January 28, 1972

A CHALLENGE FROM THE LORD TO MBBC

“I have set watchmen (intercessors) upon thy walls, O Jerusalem , which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence, and give Him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.”

God has graciously poured out a spirit of Intercession upon our people and we’re praising Him for what He’s doing through answered prayer. According to John 14:12, 13, this is the way Jesus intended us to do “greater works;” The tragedy of our day is that churches don’t recognize prayer as a METHOD OF EVANGELISM, perhaps the most important method, for effective witnessing depends upon effective interceding. Just last week I read an article dealing with the things necessary for winning souls. Neither the Holy Spirit nor Prayer were mentioned! Nowadays the usual procedure is to formulate all our plans, programs and methods of winning people, then add a dash of prayer for flavor. No wonder the promise of Jesus to equal and exceed His works mocks us. Let’s bring the level of our experience up to the level of God’s Word!

And the God-ordained way is through the ministry of Intercession. Intercession will, according to Jesus in Matthew 9:3 8, produce witnesses and soul winners. James 5:16 assures us that prevailing prayer will provide all the power required.

I’m asking God to so move among us that in the very near future we’ll have people interceding 24 hours a day, wrapping our church and it’s ministry in a blanket of prevailing prayer. We’ll be asking for volunteers to join our army of intercessors. Be ready.

Ronald Dunn

2002 Ron Dunn. Used by permission of LifeStyle Ministries. This article is copyrighted and is for your individual use. Reproduction for any other purpose is governed by copyright laws and is strictly prohibited. This material originally appeared in the MacArthur Blvd. Baptist Church newsletter.

Characteristics Of Revival

Taken from Church newsletter, May 1, 1970

CHARACTERISTICS OF REVIVAL

“I know it’s not cool to talk about what happened last week, but I would be ungrateful if I didn’t praise God for His presence in our services last Sunday. Never have I witnessed such a great outpouring of His Spirit, especially in the evening service. Without a doubt revival has started. Let’s continue to seek God’s face in this matter. Our hearts are hungry for revival and God is anxious to give it.

Some characteristics of revival I observed in Denver, in the accounts of the Asbury Wakening and recently, in our own church are:

(1) Unconsciousness of Time. God doesn’t work according to a clock. We mustn’t quench the Spirit and limit God simply because it’s the customary time to dismiss.

(2) Abundance of Testimonies. People who ordinarily say very little publicly are driven to declare what God has done and is doing for them.

(3) Overwhelming Conviction of Sin. Every great revival of history has borne this earmark. This is something only the Spirit of God can bring about.

I believe in our church we’re on the threshold of a great awakening. Let’s covet together to pray to this end.

The most important statistic of last Sunday is GOD WAS PRESENT. We praise Him for it.

©2002 Ron Dunn. Used by permission of LifeStyle Ministries. This article is copyrighted and is for your individual use. Reproduction for any other purpose is governed by copyright laws and is strictly prohibited. This material originally appeared in the MacArthur Blvd. Baptist Church newsletter.

Interesting Surprise Greets Visitor

From the Pastor’s Corner of MBBC church paper – August 13, 1971

INTERESTING SURPRISE GREETS VISITOR

After last Sunday morning’s service I met an out of town visitor on the parking lot. He said he received two surprises from our worship service: (I) he didn’t know that many people went to church anymore, and, (2) he didn’t know people ENJOYED church that much.

His second surprise interested me. Here’s a man who is surprised that Christians enjoy worshipping Jesus Christ. And yet, irrepressible JOY was one of the chief characteristics of the early Christians. Twice the Pharisees criticized Jesus because HIS disciples were HAPPY! I doubt if that same charge could be leveled against 20th century disciples. What a tragedy. The average Christian acts like he’s attending a funeral and the average worship service is “like unto a funeral.”

But the fruit of the Spirit is JOY. And when He possesses completely the lives of men and women, the inevitable result is JOY UNSPEAKABLE AND FULL OF GLORY.

Praise the Lord that this visitor was able to see the fruit of Spirit-filled lives worshipping the Living Lord.

JESUS IS LORD AND IN CONTROL. That glorious fact produces a great feeling.

The Greatest First Day Of Revival I’ve Ever Witnessed

Pastor’s Article of Church Newsletter, Feb. 26, 1971

THE GREATEST FIRST DAY OF REVIVAL I’VE EVER WITNESSED!

That’s my assessment of last Sunday’s services. It’s impossible to express in paper and ink what it’s like to see the Glory of the Lord unveiled–you have to see it. All I can think to say is, PRAISE THE LORD.

This revival actually started last April, but you know that don’t you? God has been preparing us for this for ten months. Only God could give the kind of revival we’re having; you don’t plan or organize these kinds. Only God can get the glory for this.

Don’t let anything keep you from the last services. This may be a once in a lifetime experience.

And thanks to our tremendous revival choir–over 100 strong in both Sunday Services.

A lady came up to me after last Sunday Morning’s service and said, “I finally saw this morning what you’ve been trying to tell us for the past 10 months–that I need to stop trying and start trusting.” Amen. THAT’S REVIVAL WITH A CAPITAL “‘R”!

WHAT’S THIS REVIVAL WORTH? That’s an unanswerable question, I know, but try. To put a price tag on the lives that have been transformed, the inexpressible joy of being in the presence of Jesus, of seeing prayers answered before your eyes–there’s just no way. But try. This week we’ll be receiving a LOVE OFFERING for our Evangelist and all I can say is GIVE IN PROPORTION TO HOW THE LORD HAS BLESSED YOU THIS WEEK. That will be enough!

Thank You Lord, For Revival

Taken from Pastor’s column of MBBC church paper March 5, 1971

THANK YOU LORD, FOR REVIVAL

At 11:00 PM Sunday night we closed the 3 hour invitation that brought to a conclusion eight days of unprecedented services in our church. Notice, the services were concluded, not the REVIVAL. Brethren, God has given us the glorious but rare privilege of seeing a mighty outpouring of His Spirit. Never have we seen it on this wise. Every service was spectacular. Every invitation lasted for at least an hour–we couldn’t close it for the people wouldn’t stop obeying the Holy Spirit. At the unscheduled Saturday morning service (which was our largest morning attendance) we gave two invitations, one before and one after the message.

Hearts were broken, sins were confessed, the lost were saved (even some “church members”), but most of all JESUS WAS LORD AND GOD WAS GLORIFIED.

MI3BC will never be the same–I don’t want to be the same. Ten months ago when God gave us a mighty visitation of the Spirit I remarked that “this is only the beginning.” I feel the same today as I write.

Before the revival we said we were claiming God’s promise in John 14:14 “If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it.” WE ASKED, AND JESUS DID IT.