Our church’s sermon series has been on the latter half of Acts in the past month. The Book of Acts unfolds the history of the New Testament church, with countless events and stories in the 2000-year church history testifying to God’s hand caring for and leading His people. In the long history of the church, the Moravian Brethren revival remains one of my favourite stories.
Regarding the Moravian Brethren, the first person that has to be mentioned is Nicolaus Zinzendorf, a devout German nobleman. In the early 18th century, he took in a group of Moravian Brethren believers when they were persecuted. Nicolaus not only let them take refuge on his land but also built a village for them to live in, called “Herrnhut”. Subsequently, believers from Lutheran, Baptist and other denominations came to live in Herrnhut to take shelter from religious persecution. However, it wasn’t long before rifts arose. Serious conflicts emerged among believers from different denominations as they sought to safeguard the doctrines of their own denominations.
They were all hard-line believers who had faced immense tribulations from persecution and war during the Reformation. As you can imagine, it was near impossible for them to compromise and accept their differences. In an attempt to maintain unity and rekindle love amongst believers, Zinzendorf resorted to praying fervently with a small group of humble and upright brothers. In addition, he took on himself the work of reconciliation between different denominations relying on the love and patience from Jesus Christ. God heard their prayers, and one day during a meeting, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit worked miraculously in people’s hearts – brothers confessed their sins to one another and repented; rifts dissolved and in its place, acceptance and understanding. What happened that day was described as being similar to the events at Pentecost recorded in Acts chapter 2. God carried out His work of revival and that group of believers were transformed. They were not only willing to humble themselves and accept one another, but they started engaging in different ministries, including continuous prayer watch for 100 years, and sending out missionaries to mission fields near and far.
The story of the Moravian Brethren tells us that true revival originates from an earnest pursuit of God Himself, and revival is God’s own work, far exceeding what humans can imagine. The result of revival is not just the pursuit of extraordinary spiritual experiences, but submission to one another in the Lord and a long-term vision in missions. With the Lord’s help, may true revival be experienced at CPC, beginning with prayers.
近期，教會的講道系列是使徒行傳的後半部。使徒行傳開啟了新約教會的歷史，2000多年來，教會歷史中發生了無數的故事，見證神的手一直沒有停止看顧帶領他的百姓。在這段歷史長河中，莫拉維亞弟兄會（MoravianBrethren）復興的事蹟一直是我最喜歡的故事之一。
說到莫拉維亞弟兄會，首先必須提到的是一位敬虔的德國貴族辛生道夫（Nicolaus Zinzendorf）。18世紀初期，他接受了一群飽受逼迫的莫拉維亞弟兄會的信徒們來到他自己的領地裡避難，並且建立了一個專門供他們居住的村莊，稱為“主護村（Herrnhut）」。隨後，陸陸續續有路德會、浸信會和其他宗派的信徒，為了躲避宗教迫害，也來到主護村居住。然而，問題很快就產生了，這些不同宗派的信徒們為了維護本教派的教義，彼此之間發生了嚴重的衝突。他們都曾經在宗教改革引起的迫害和爭戰中遭遇考驗，是頑強而固執的信徒，可想而知，要彼此妥協和接納，幾乎是不可能的事情。辛生道夫為了信徒們的合一和相愛，和一小群謙卑而正直的弟兄們一起殷切的流淚禱告，並以基督的愛心和耐心在不同團體之間作著和解的工作。神憐憫垂聽了他們的禱告，在某天的一個聚會中，聖靈澆灌，賜下奇妙而大能的工作，弟兄們終於在神面前流淚認罪悔改，消除嫌隙，彼此接納。那天的經歷，被描述成好像使徒行傳第二章所記載的五旬節的情形。神自己做工，開始了祂的復興工作，這批信徒們被完全地改變了，不僅放下自己，彼此接納，更興起了各樣屬神的事工，包括不間斷的長達100年的守望禱告；和差遣宣教士，推動海外宣教事工。
莫拉維亞弟兄會的事蹟告訴我們，真正的復興起源於對神懇切的尋求，並且也是神自己的工作，超過我們人所能夠設想的。復興帶來的結果，不是僅僅追求特別的屬靈體驗，而是在基督裡的彼此順服和長遠的宣教異象。盼望真正的復興也可以降臨在我們的教會中，願上帝幫助我們，讓我們從禱告開始。
