Bishop William Nicholson long Message, March 26, 2023, 6 pm worship.(Shown below is Moravian Revival in Woodcutting, 1727, given to Bishop Nicholson, by Bishop-elect The Rev. Dr. Doug Norwood Jr, just before his death)
The message tonight will probably be the most important message I will give in many years. It deals with preparation. We all need God to visit His people. Not just to help us with our needs, but so that He will manifest His presence in such a way that His church and a watching world have no choice, but to know that it was God. This will draw our unsaved loved ones to God.
We all should agree that we need God to step into our circumstances, into our church services, into our homes, into the mess of our government. We need God to visit His people! God wants me to bring biblical understanding on historic Revival history and timing. We all have been praying for revival.
God’s visitation is a season of revival when God brings His Church back to life; when He breathes life into it to bring it back to its original state like in Acts 2. When God visits, God draws hear, God comes down. When God visits, supernatural breakthroughs happen. Divine visitation should not be considered an exception; instead it should be our expectation.
In Luke 1:68,78 its says, “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people….the Dayspring from on high has visited us”. We need this if our Moravian Revival Church is to survive and grow. We should expect God to visit us at every worship service.
The Prophet Malachi speaks of God’s seasons of Revival. In the Old Testament, he was the last Prophet speaking to God’s Chosen people Israel. Malachi’s last words to Israel, helped God’s people through 400 years of prophetic silence. Malachi’s words are good for us today. Before I read Malachi 4:5-6; let me state that we think we are alone and God is not listening or not doing anything in our Churches, He is still on His throne doing what He wants and He will get it done in our lives.
Let’s hear what the Prophet Malachi says, in Malachi 4:5-6 – “Listen, God’s people, Elizjah is coming sent by God before the dawning of the Lord’s Day. ¶ Behold, I will asend you bElijah the prophet cbefore the coming of the dgreat and dreadful eday of the Lord: 6 And he shall aturn the bheart of the cfathers to the dchildren, and the heart of the echildren to their fathers, lest I come and fsmite the gearth with a hcurse.
Here we are in the 21st Century. God is still working. Down through the centuries, down to our present day, God has been allowing special times of revival to wake up His Churches. What I just read in Malachi chapter 4, to do this during the end days, according to Malachi it appears that God will be sending Elijah the Prophet before the coming of that Day of the Lord.
Instead of revival, what we are really seeing are hundreds of thousands of believers, millions around the world; born again and committed to Godly living are walking away from Churches. They are looking for something. They are walking away because they know their Churches are not following God’s word. Their Churches are building on old wineskins; they know it deep inside that the Church is not speaking to their everyday needs. The programs are not working. Even big Church organizations have a spirit of religion stopping the Holy Ghost move, which is needed. The Holy Spirit has been damned up and the living waters are not able to flow freely, especially into the younger generation.
World Fellowship of Moravian Revival Churches, which we are a part of is a Moravian Revival Church. UIMM is a big leader in this revival organization. In 2016 or so, when a number of us from Alaska traveled intercontinentally to Kenya, Africa, we met several Moravian Revival bishop from five countries. We agreed and assured that UIMM’s leadership and our Moravian Churches throughout the nine nations, will remain committed to Moravian Revival. As we prayerfully keep this spiritual focus, from what we have just read from Malaci 4:5-6, Elijah’s spirit of fire and power will appear, somewhere, sometime; and it will appear throughout the world. Remember according to Malachi God will be sending Elijah the Prophet before the coming of that Day of the Lord.
Here is what we need to know tonight! According to God’s word we must know that God uses the Spirit and Fire of the Old Testament Prophet Elijah in unlikely people in unlikely places for bringing back or restoration of revival fire. Who among us are willing to be used like Elijah or even his student Elisha? These are anointed prophets. God is bringing these kind of people into our midst. I claim this in Jesus Christ name. Prophets are rising up; they are and will be around us assuring that our Church is in God’s Will and favor and blessing.
Prophets? It’s a big Word! We have been hearing more and more about this calling. But what is a prophet of God? According to what I know from God’s Word, it is someone who as a special ability to speak forth a message from God. A prophet is a spokesman for God. Definitely, all Holy Spirit-filled pastors can serve as prophets as they speak the Word of God. But there is more. There is the prophetic gift. This gift is one that involves teaching, encouragement, or even rebuking others who have taken the wrong path. Prophetic speaking is a special gift of someone who can hear the voice of God through their spiritual senses and speak God’s Will.
Prophetic gifts functioned in the New Testament. Today they are still functioning. People who hear the voice of God. Folks they are appearing in our Revival Churches; its going to happen more. God is preparing us for something very very big and something very very good! I believe that God favors you and our little Church; certainly God favor other Churches too.. The reason why I feel this is true for us is that we all have a spiritual covering through United International. This ministry group is literally a new Holy Spirit movement; an end day Remanent Church movement that I’m hearing, more and more, especially from Cuba and Honduras. What we do is being seen as a light to the nations. Let’s keep it up!
We have had powerful worship services. People have been saved, recommitted themselves to the Lord; others have been healed, and many have a new purpose and hope, love, joy, and peace they never had before. Together, Praise God, so many of us have experienced the presence of God’s Glory. We know the presence of Christ’s glory. We want more of God’s glory. It’s really God’s blessed presence. When God’s glory came upon the Temple in Jerusalem, according to 2 Chronicles, it was God in a cloud. We learned last Friday night when Pastor Bob Monette spoke prophetically, that we must be of one accord to receive God’s blessing as a Church. When God’s Glory comes upon us. When God’s glory is around us, it is then that Jesus will lead us.
My first experience of this was in Dillingham, Alaska. There years ago, as I entered into the Elementary School, I walked into a hot thick presence of God. Pastor Fred Nielsen was leading worship. One of our Pastors from Bethel told me that experienced that same presence. He said he felt it strongly before he entered into our Church sanctuary at Skyline, he fell on the steps. He got up like a drunken sailor.
Maybe I need to repeat what I’m speaking on again, reflecting among what God is doing through Malachi and reminding us. A new prophetic leadership will come during our end days before Christ comes in the Clouds with glory. This prophetic leadership is appearing around us. We have been hearing and experiencing it’s effect in our worship over the last several months.
God is preparing us; He is preparing you. He is preparing us as a Remanent end day Church that will display Acts 2 again and in a powerful way. It not only happening here in Anchorage, Alaska, but in Honduras. Just a few days ago, our UIMM Bishop Isai Granwell who is UIMM’s International Outreach Director says, they are and we are a Remanent Church preparing people for the next powerful move of God.
Sadly, the fact remains the old church is not working anymore. We must anticipate the new. For this to happen may we look up and together pray more, hope more and anticipate leaders in the Church that will and are committed to operating in the spirit and power of Elijah. This will prepare us for what the Lord is and wants to do now.
There are things we need to watch out for. We cannot experience Moravian Revival unless our hearts are right. We must walk, be led, and live in the Spirit of God which Galatians 5 speaks to. Transformation of our hearts is a key! We must exercise our faith. Good big spiritual leaders are saying, change is coming whether or not we are ready. We must get ready for the biggest changes of our lives. It is already happening. My dream just over a month ago tells me that we in a season of shaking and sifting.
We can’t cling stubbornly to our comfortable traditions. Old Wineskins are resistant to a new filling; it will take new wineskins empty and willing. Jesus has already picked up our Moravian churches, removing the old foundations and he has set us on new foundations. This is with leaders who operate in the five- fold ministry. Remember that Prophetic leadership is needed, now more than ever before. Prophetic Pastor/leaders allows Jesus to do what he wants.
As we close this meeting tonight, it is my prayer that God will give you prophetic gifts. Study them, ask for them, use them. Several of you may be called to operate in the prophetic gifts; Words of Knowledge; all the spiritual gifts. From what I study and realize in my own life is that when we yearn to speak with the fire and power of Elijah’s spirit, God will move and give us more understanding and wisdom as to our prophetic calling.
The time is short. God is preparing us to do what He wants. He created you, called, and gifted you to do in the coming season of Moravian revival. In other countless Churches outside of ourselves; God is doing the same. When the Trump shall sound, our Savior wants as many lost souls won for the Kingdom of God to rise to him when He comes in the clouds with glory.
Another day of the Lord is coming! Judgment is coming. The Great Tribulation spoken about in Revelation is coming. The Anti-Christ spirit has already arisen on the world. The Antii-Christ is living in our time. The Jewish temple will soon be Built. For His true remnant Churches, the Body of Christ, our Savior Jesus Christ is shaking off the dust.
God gave me a dream of dust. This shaking off the dust is similar to an extremely vivid dream/waking vision I had of the traditional worldwide Moravian Church, just before a number of us traveled to Germany about eleven years ago. I saw in my dream a huge white one-time majestic Moravian Church, which I walked through. It was dark and cold and full of dust, everywhere on top of everything. Suddenly as I walked to another big room against a white wall, I saw a statute of Count Nicholas von Zinzendorf. Most of you know of him. He was the rich count who renewed the Moravian Church. He started the renewed Holy Spirit Church in Germany in 1727. Back to my dream. What I saw, was Zinzendorf’s head topped with dust and his face became alive and appeared to be sad. As I passed him; I then entered an extension of the majestic huge Church. There I heard carpenters pounding. What I saw was a new white Moravian White building without dust anywhere, white and clean and shiny, being erected board by board. This place was full of life and purpose.
There was no dust in this new Moravian building. I was not a dreamer, but about that time, God began to give me dreams and they happened before big events in the life our Churches. It was amazing that God would speak to me this way; and He will you too if you are open.
This vivid dream when I saw Zinzendorf sad and a new Moravian Church coming into being happened just a couple of days before Nellie Kiunya, Ferdinand Sharp, a couple of others and I traveled by jet to Germany. This was in November 2012. Out of the Moravian Unity Board meeting we attended and testified at in Herrnhut, Germany, our United Alaska Moravian Ministry was born. When we got the news, we celebrated. It was a miracle of God. Almost two years ago, this ministry group became United International Moravian Ministry Group, which we are operating under now.
God does not want our Churches do not need to gather dust! We need to do our part to dust off the dusty shelves and pews and clean our Churches with Living Waters. Our Churches do not need to be powerless when the Gospel is preached. We do not need to be powerless in winning lost souls for the Kingdom of God. Acts 2 – signs and wonders are coming folks! The Spirit and Power of Elijah is still available today to cast off the cow webs! Since the days of Elijah, according to malach 4:5-6, God has been sending His people leaders who can prepare people for His visitation.
From what I know, a Visitation by God is one of our Heavenly Father’s seasons for the Church, a time when Jesus moves and gets very close and personal with His people. Revivals always come in seasons.
When the Spirit and Power of Elijah is at work, we know that the Father is getting us ready for a visit. Jesus even described His ministry as a season of visitation: In Luke 19:44, he says, “Your house is left unto you desolate because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you”. God literally visited His people back then. We have all heard of historic revivals and even recently, at Ashbery, Kentucky, during these dark times in the United States.
How about today, here where we live in Anchorage, Alaska? How can we prepare for our own visitation. That is a question I’ve been asking. GOD WANTS ME TO GET ALL OF YOU THINKING AND PRAYING TO PREPARE SPIRITUALLY. We need to mature in God’s Word, be faithful in doing His Work. And daily 24/7, we certainly need to walk in the Spirit of God and seek His Will daily.
I’ll close in just a few minutes. God wants to encourage us, to prepare for His visitation. But there are just a few of us? We may feel alone and persecuted. Wow, the enemy is at work in incredible ways, but He is a loser. We will always win because the God who is in us is greater than he that is in the world. But remember the example of Elijah, the prophet who was full of the fire and power of God. In 1 Kings 19:1-18, Elijah felt all alone. He said, “ I alone am left, and they seek to kill me”. God answered him in verse 18 of 1 Kings 19, and said, “I have a remnant; I have reserved to myself 7,000 who have not bowed their knees to Baal.”
Also in the New Testament, Paul the Apostle knew that God wanted to work during his time as He did during Elijah’s day. In Romans 11, Paul says, God is working with the spirit and power of Elijah in my generation to prepare a remnant selected to fulfill His purposes. Romans 11:5 says, “So too, at the present time, his day, there is a remnant chosen by grace”. We are not living in Malachi’s day, nor Paul the Apostle’s day. We are living in the 21st Century. Now God is looking for His remnant Church, which He has chosen to use to bring revival in our society to change lives and society for the better.
Still praying for Revival? Both Pastor Bob Monette, UIMM’s National Outreach Director and I have been proclaiming Revival is already here; been here! We must simply live it, teach it; share it, and live it again.
The greatest weapon of the enemy of God is to try and make God’s children think they are alone – to make them think that He has left them and that they have no friends. The enemy is trying to make us think that our Church is weak with only a few members, when we used to have 100s during our traditional phase.
Feeling alone goes against God’s own Word. When we believe that, we do not believe God. Do you have a guess the last time God let or abandoned someone in the Bible? Judas? No. Judas left God. If Judas had waited three days and repented, I know Jesus would have forgiven him.
The last time anyone was abandoned by God was on the cross. When they mock Jesus on the cross and say, “He saved others, but can’t save Himself”, the truth is He could have saved Himself. He chose instead to save me. He couldn’t save Himself AND save us. So Jesus stayed on the cross, left by God. And because of that, you and I may be forgiven. And we will never be left alone by God. Anything since then is us leaving Him – us not believing His promise that He will never leave us nor forsake us.
Jesus died alone on the cross that you; you never need be alone again. What did He say? It is better that I go so I can send you a helper. You have a helper. That Helper is the Holy Spirit and He will send Revival Fire in His timing; in His season, and in His way among His chosen vessels.
Let’s Pray: Father God, we believe that you are the One True God. We have faith. Give us more faith that will give us new eyes with a far greater range of vision than natural eyes. We also want ears that hear you words clearly and hearts that will do you Will. Help us to ready for the season of your visitation and be obedient to do your bidding then. And thank you for the message about realizing we are not alone in our battles – that God is with us when we are His. Bless each one of us and we believe you will go with us and protect us we leave this place. In Christ name. Amen.