A Stirring for the Lost - Lord, Do it again
In this final article in the series we look at how hearts of children and young people were stirred to reach out to the lost.
Every time the Holy Spirit was poured out on previous generations it led to an explosion of evangelistic activity. Sometimes the preaching took place from the start of the move, other times God worked in the young lives to reveal himself and prepare them before sending them out to preach.
Bible – Acts 2:37-41
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
Lord, do it again.
Indonesia[i]
The children in Indonesia, aged 6-10, who spent the weekdays praying and crying out for the lost would use the weekends to go into local villages and share the Gospel. Each Saturday they would walk in groups for up to 15 miles to go wherever God told them to.
The children had no adults with them as they travelled through the unknown jungle, but were driven by the call of God that they had received in prayer.
‘Aren’t you afraid?’ one leader asked as he thought about them walking unaccompanied to unknown places each weekend.
‘Why should we be afraid?’ the children replied. ‘We have an angel who goes in front of us,
An angel on the right of us, an angel on the left of us and one behind us. We just follow them through the trails and they keep us safe.’
Lord, do it again.
Sweden[ii]
During the 1840s a phenomenon arose in Sweden known as the shouters. These were mostly uneducated children and women who would feel compelled to shout out and preach to those around them.
In a time when drunkenness was common, and church attendance was a social event for many, the shouters defied laws that banned lay people from preaching and indeed forbid and sharing of Scripture in homes, unless it was only with the immediate family.
Some of these preachers were as young as four years old (the youngest one was two) and when the Spirit of God came on them they could not help but preach. Many of them were children and teenagers who cried out for the state of their nation and called people to repent.
This phenomenon became so widespread that it was considered by some a mental illness called ‘preaching disease,’ as people felt a morbid desire to preach. For some they would shake, others would seem in a trance as they spoke against immorality and the coming judgement. Some called them insane and they were locked up and shackled, even for years at a time.
The shouters thought of themselves as voices preparing the way for the Lord, like John the Baptists was the voice in the desert. Sure enough, the places where shouters were more common, later became breeding grounds for free church revivals.
These bold voices spoke, under the compulsion of the Holy Spirit, and called for change in the spiritual atmosphere of the nation and the individual lives of those who heard them. They did not fear the consequences on their own lives, or consider their lowly status in society, but they desired to see God move.
Lord, do it again.
UK[iii]
Jordan was a confident thirteen-year old who loved God and loved talking about Him. One day in school he decided it had been too long since he had told anyone about God. That morning, after registration, while his class was sitting around chatting and waiting for the first lesson to start, he spoke to the teacher who was supervising them.
“Sir, is it okay if I speak to all the boys in the class.”
The teacher gave his consent and they all gathered around Jordan. “Right, put your hands up if you believe in God,” Jordan started, lifting his own hand in the air. A quick scan of the room showed that he was the only one. Jordan started to tell them why he believed in God and what Jesus had done for him. He encouraged the class to think about Him and even to follow Him. The teacher interrupted Jordan and told him to stop.
Stopped in mid flow, Jordan invited anyone who wanted to hear more to meet him in the middle of the school playing field during break time. Word went round the school that he had been banned from speaking about something and when he stepped onto the playing fields 90 children had gathered to hear the Gospel.
Lord, do it again.
‘Lord send your Holy Spirit, for Jesus Christ’s sake.’
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