很多非常伟大的传道人都是在复兴的时候归主的。其中一位是罗兰德牧师（Daniel Rowland），他是被神大大使用，带来十八世纪威尔斯灵性复兴的重要人物。罗兰德牧师的葬礼在1790年10月英国的小城兰杰索（Llangeitho）举行，有超过一百位牧者出席，其中很多都是在大复兴时归向基督的。写过很多灵性复兴文章的伊文思（Sidney Evans）说：「过去在历史上曾出现的复兴往往能保卫教会一整代的事工。」所以当你考虑牧者对启发年青人献身事奉的影响时，你就可以看到复兴不仅仅保卫一整代的事工，而是以后世世代代的事工。

另外，让我们来看一看在复兴的时期，那些归入神国度的人的惊人数字。在1859年的大复兴，当时美国有一百万人信主，而英国有另外一百万人归主，其中在威尔斯的就有11万。这是相当令人震惊的数字，尽管不是所有人都是真的信主，但是只要客观地分析，都能理解这许多归主的人所领受的属灵冲击，对将来的世代不可能没有影响。

「复兴保卫了教会的事工」

进深研究
徒三11-26，四13，九29，十四3，十九8；太七29

1. 彼得的信息有多深远的影响？
2. 初期教会的信息以甚么为焦点？

祈祷
天父，求您帮助我明白，复兴的江河是永不止息的，它可能会消失一会儿，但会继续在地下流动。亲爱的天父，感谢您。阿们。

Heaven-Sent Revival

Day 329

Fruit that lasts

"...we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord..." (v.4)

Bible reading:
Psalm 78:1-8

1 My people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth.

2 I will open my mouth with a parable; I will utter hidden things, things from of old—

3 things we have heard and known, things our ancestors have told us.

4 We will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done.

5 He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach their children,

6 so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children.

7 Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands.

8 They would not be like their ancestors— a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose hearts were not loyal to God, whose spirits were not faithful to him.

Message

We continue considering the argument that the fruit of revival does not last. While it is true that some of the fruit does not last, it is not true that none of the fruit lasts. When revival is measured qualitatively and not just quantitatively we see that its benefits spill over into the next generations.

Some of the greatest preachers have been men who were converted during the time of revival. It was said that at the funeral of Daniel Rowland of Llangeitho in October 1790 (the man who was greatly used by God to bring revival to Wales in the eighteenth century) over one hundred ministers were present, many of them having been won to Christ during the days of that revival. Sidney Evans, a man who has written a good deal about the subject of revival said: "The revivals of past history have often safeguarded the Christian ministry for a whole generation." And when you consider the influence ministers have in inspiring young men to enter the ministry you can see that a revival safeguards the ministry not just for one generation but for many generations.

Then take the staggering number of converts who have been swept into the kingdom of God during times of revival. The revival in America in 1859 claimed a million converts and a further million in the British Isles, 110,000 of these in Wales alone. These numbers are staggering, and even allowing for the fact that not all may have been genuinely converted, it is obvious to a fair-minded person that the spiritual impact of these large numbers of converts cannot help but have an influence on future generations.

"Revival safeguards the ministry"

Prayer
Father, help me to understand that the river of revival never really stops. It may disappear for a while but it continues to flow on - underground. Thank You, dear Father. Amen.

Further study
Acts 3:11-26; 4:13; 9:29; 14:3; 19:8
Matthew 7:29

1. How was Peter's message far-reaching?
2. What was the central focus of the early Church's message?

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