Friday, March 03, 2017

Ever heard of Jonathan Goforth & the Manchurian Revival?

Jonathan Goforth was a missionary to China along with his wife Rosalind from 1888 into the 1930's.  Goforth survived a brutal sword attack during the Boxer Rebellion of 1900 that left him with numerous near-fatal wounds. But they persisted. Jonathan was transformed by his encounter with revival in Korea in 1907 and desperately sought God through prayer, repentance and faithfulness to the scriptures that God might bring revival to China. 

And God graciously answered. In 1908 as Goforth spoke throughout Manchuria in various cities God moved in power bringing deep repentance of previously hidden sins among the Christians followed by thousands of conversions to Christ. The spiritual landscape was transformed. The fruit of this revival is felt to this day in the thriving Chinese church.

Goforth has left us some inspiring quotes on revival:

“There never has been a revival except where there have been Christian men and women thoroughly believing in and wholeheartedly pleading the promises of God,”

“Pentecost is yet within our grasp. If revival is being withheld from us it is because some idols remain still enthroned; because we still insist on placing our reliance on human schemes; because we still refuse to face the unchangeable truth that ‘it is not by might, but BY MY SPIRIT.’”

"I love those that thunder out the Word. The Christian world is in a dead sleep. Nothing but a loud voice can awake them out of it."

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