About having ears...

This is one of the most inspiring men to me; that unfortunately I will not get to me until eternity. His name...Count Von Zinzendorf. Born in the 1700s I missed him by a little bit. However, what his life has done for me I'm not sure can really be measured in its influence.

Zinzendorf as a young man loved the Lord. Born into a priveleged family he was highly educated in Hebrew, Greek, and a few other languages as well. As a young man he decided that he would dedicated his life to be able to have an inner conversational life with the Father. As a teenager at Halle Academy he and a few friends formed a secret society known as the Order of the Grain of Mustard Seed. They dedicated their lives to each other, to being kind to all men, to obey the teachings of Christ, and to go to the world. The group was known for their prayer vigils throughout the night. Zinzendorf himself, as a young man, was known for his all-night vigils. As an adult, Zinzendorf had much influence in Europe, and men such as the King of Denmark, and the Archbishops of Canterbuy and Paris were known members.

As an adult Zinzendorf was put into many difficult situations, but one that amazes me. there was a people group without a country known as the Moravians. Zinzendorf allowed this people to live on his land, and he shared his life with them. They called the town they lived Hernhut, meaning "The Lord's Watch". As a 27 year old man, the Count left the public life, with all its prestige to work among the troubled Moravians. For their own joy, Zinzendorf came up with a list of principle all member of Herhnhut would obey, known as the brotherlly agreement. Following this committment to Godly principle, prayer, and to a simple lifestlye they began to experience a renewal that later became known as the Moravian Pentacost. During a communnion service its been said that the Holy Spirt "fell upon the entire congregation". The community felt a deep desperation to pray....so began a ONE HUNDRED YEAR prayer movement of around the clock prayer in which men, women, and children all participated. On days when the communnity would have "intercession day" for the sick and destitute...people would walk hundreds of miles to be there. The Wesley's first came to faith in the Moravian community and in John's journal its written, "When will Christianity like this cover the earth like water covers the sea?".

Soon thereafter, was the largest sending out the world had ever seen and what became known as the Protestant Missions Movement....sending people, with their coffins, to Africa, West Indies, Russia, Greenland, America,, and many more places.
William Carey, known as the Father of Modern Missions, actually credits Zinzendorf with this title and oftern referrs to the Count and the Moravian church in his writing. By the end of Zinzendorfs life, missionaries from his church and community had been sent to the West Indies, Russia, Africa, America, and many more.

You might say that God's "hand" was on Zinzendorf. However, I believe this to be the natural outcome of what happens when you commit yourself to listening to the Lord. My favorite story of the Count is this...On his way back from America, the ship he was in was being thrown about in a terrible storm and all the men were deathly scared. The Captain, who tells this story, said he went below deck with a grave look on his face and told the Count to please pray. Zinzendorf simply replied, "the storm will be over in an hour". Sure enough, it was! The captain came rushing down to Zinzendorf and asked him the obvious, "How did you know?". Zinzendorf replied something like this, "Since I was a young man I have dedicated myself to a personal relationship with Jesus and I talk to him about everything. When I find myself in a situation I can't control and bad things are happening I immediately evaluate myself and ask him if there is anything that I am doing that is causing this to happen....when it is me I fall to the ground and ask for his forgiveness and strenghth to bring me through....when Its not me...sometimes I ask Him if He would explain to me why He's allowing this to happen. This time he told me it be over in an hour.

I love it. Makes sense though doesn't it? I mean think about your good friends and your acquaintances. Your good friends you tell things you would never tell those you sorta know. Is it the same with God? Does he tell his good friends more than those of us who are not spending time with him? I think it's possible. Daniel, David, Enoch, Moses, Joshua, Paul, Peter, John, Elijah, Zinzendorf,etc. These are men who had "ears to hear" because they spent time with Jesus.