The Surprising Connection Between C.F. Martin Guitar Co. and Revival History

My Martin Story

Recently I was able to purchase a second Martin guitar, an Om-28 Marquis after selling my 20 year old Taylor 414 guitar about a year ago. Buying a new guitar is a big deal to a musician. It sounds crazy but it’s almost like adding a new child to the family. (Interestingly, I sold my old guitar to my dentist who’s practice is a few blocks away and lives nearby. He told me I could come by and play the old guitar if I ever missed it.)

While I explored other guitars, I kept coming back to Martin’s with adirondack spruce tops (the way they used to make them before 1946). Even though I tried several other incredible instruments made by Collings, Larrivee, Bourgeois, and other master guitar builders, nothing had the combination of sound or feel as some of the Martin’s I tried.

Pictured - Cory Asbury with one of his Martin Guitars

A question arose on my heart. “God, what is it about Martin that they are so special? It almost feels like the guitars themselves are blessed?!” I saw many other worship leaders playing Martin’s exclusively, Cory Asbury, Brian Johnson (Bethel Music), Brooke Ligertwood (Hillsong).

I began to do some research that unearthed some very surprising results that links Martin Guitar with the Moravian revival in Hernhutt, Germany and I began to connect the dots.

There is a principle in both Biblical and revival history that when God moves on the Earth, often the friends of God (people unusually close to Him) often have interaction with each other since they have given the strongest “Yes” to partner with what God is doing on the Earth. It should come as no surprise to us that when God is doing something special, He involves people close to His heart.

However in this story it is very surprising that a humble German artisan startup, CF Martin would connect with the same Moravian’s that led John Wesley to salvation and partnered with the “Billy Graham of the 18th century”, George Whitefield. This story would unfold in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, the city named after the home of the original Father/Son Nazareth woodworker/carpenter, Joseph and Jesus.

Count von Zinzendorf

The Moravian Revival & It’s Impact on the 13th Colonies

So, how does the Moravian revival relate to Martin Guitar’s? Interestingly, both CF Martin and the Moravian’s story begins in Germany, but they would not meet on German soil but in the 13 colonies of what would become the United States. The Moravian’s story begins with a german nobleman named Count Van Zinzendorf in the early 1700s.

“When Zinzendorf was 27 years old, he took into his home a single Moravian refugee. Before long, Zinzendorf had 300 Moravian refugees living on his estate and he became their spiritual leader. They lived in a village called Hernnhut, Germany. Under Zinzendorf’s leadership, they prayed together, studied God’s Word together, and grew spiritually together.

On August 12, 1727, the Moravians conducted an all-night prayer meeting. The group decided to start a prayer vigil. They designated a place of prayer in the village, and they prayed in groups of two or three for one-hour increments.

There are 168 one-hour time slots in a week. The Moravians filled all 168-hour time slots with two to three people per hour. For 24 hours a day, seven days a week, two to three people were always praying in the place of prayer. This around the clock prayer meeting went on for 110 years!

The Moravians’ hearts began to burn with the things that are on the heart of God. Their hearts began to burn for the unreached peoples of the world. Over a fifteen-year period, this small group of 300 Moravians sent out seventy missionaries who went and lived among unreached people groups, learned their language and culture, then told them about Jesus Christ. - reference.

Among those 70 Moravian missionaries sent out from Germany, some of them came to the United States to evangelize the Naive Americans. Their journey would touch two of the three greatest revivalists in early American history and eventually impact the establishment of Martin Guitar Co. in Nazareth, PA. So a 110 year 24/7 prayer birthed missions and all sorts of wonderful Kingdom things.

The Salvation of John Wesley Through the “Nazareth Moravians”

Before even landing on American soil the very same Moravian group who settled Nazareth, Pennsylvania were a major influence in revival history through impacting the salvation of John Wesley (founder of the Methodist movement and revivalist from England) alone.

On the boat over to America to the Georgia colony, John Wesley found himself on the same boat as these Moravian missionaries. The Moravian’s fearless worship in a storm on the sea started a domino chain of events that caused John Wesley to be converted. “Many of the English passengers aboard screamed in terror that they would soon be swallowed by the deep. But a group of Moravian missionaries from Germany calmly sang throughout the squall. They were unafraid of death, an astounded John Wesley later recounted in his journal.-reference “

Later on Wesley wrote at a Moravian prayer meeting back in London following his harrowing journey - “I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ alone for salvation.” So before even arriving on US soils the Moravian settlers of Nazareth were being used powerfully by God to break Wesley out of a religious relationship with God to a real and personal one.

Those Moravian’s who came over in 1736 first targeted Georgia as a home base, experienced persecution there due to their evangelistic efforts and friendliness towards reaching the Cherokee Indians with the gospel. The other settlers viewed the Native American’s fully as enemies, so the Moravian’s were expelled from Georgia being seen as a security risk to the region. Sadly, politics took a higher value than the gospel. Other early colonist were not as sold out for God as the Moravians. Luckily, God had already orchestrated a “plan B” for them.

The Moravian’s Fortunate Friendship with George Whitefield & Journey to Nazareth, PA

In Germany, the Moravian’s had thrived in a society focused entirely on Jesus and the things of the Kingdom of God. The time they spent in prayer gave them an unusual level of intimacy with God and great passion for Him. They were a people like the Levites in the Old Testament, set apart for a heavenly mission. After the conflict they experienced in Georgia it became clear to them that they needed a place to settle where they could collectively pursue God with the same passion they had in Herrnhut, but this time on US soil. But where could they go? They were not wealthy in earthly terms, having their treasure instead in heaven.

Enter, an unexpected figure. George Whitefield was the greatest evangelist of the 18th century, preaching to crowds of 10,000 people with a voice that boomed audibly without the aid of a microphone. He was also the most famous person in the 13th colonies. Along with Jonathan Edwards, and John & Charles Wesley, he was God’s chosen vessel for starting the first Great Awakening. His final sermon in Boston was to a crowd of 23,000. When he wasn’t evangelizing crowds of thousands Whitefield also helped establish God’s Kingdom in other ways. His private life mirrored his public profession of faith.

Somehow, George Whitefield heard about the plight of the displaced Moravians and in them he saw perhaps God’s hand or recognized God’s calling. Whitefield invited them to come and live on the land he owned in Nazareth, Pennsylvania in 1739. Originally, Whitefield’s plan was to form a school to educate the children of former slaves.

The initial Moravian settlers of Nazareth lived in simple log cabins, but when the Whitefield house was completed and they were able to occupy it. Unfortunately, a doctrinal disagreement caused a break with Whitefield, and the Moravians moved nearby to Bethlehem, PA but later purchased the city of Nazareth from Whitefield when he fell on hard times on July 6th, 1741. -ref

Fast forward to 1833, CF Martin the 1st has transferred his guitar business from Germany to the New World to escape the German instrument building monopoly by the violin maker guilds that barred him from building instruments in his home town. They initially set up shop in New York city, but for reasons unknown, either him or Mrs. Martin disliked the New York City and wanted to be somewhere more quiet and heard about Nazareth, PA. The timing of CF’s move is quite interesting.

The Moravian’s begin their 100 years of prayer in 1727 and went to 1837. Just 1 year after they had prayed 24/7 in shifts for 110 years in Hernhutt, Germany and completed their prayer meeting, CF Martin choose to move his operation to the outskirts of Nazareth, PA.

Later on, C.F. Martin became a member of the Moravian church as it was a requirement to live in the town (his Moravian church membership document is still kept in the Martin archives). It is unknown if CF Martin’s conversion or joining the Moravian church/movement was the result of his own personal spiritual awakening or just a savvy business mode, but either way, due to the city’s history and occupants, almost all Martin guitars were initially build by Moravians and now many of their descendants.

If you think about this it means the hands that built early CF Martin guitars were hands of prayer, hands of faith, hands of saints or levites set apart who had spent 110 years of prayer. The guitars later on were built of the descendents of these same men and women of great faith, who had come to the United States as missionaries, who indirectly helped cause the Great Awakening.

The Martin Factory along with the entire city of Nazareth is built on land previously owned by the great revivalist George Whitefield.

Multi-Generational Carpenter Families from Nazareth

What’s fascinating about the Martin factory’s location is that in the Bible, Nazareth, Israel is mentioned as the location where Joseph/Jesus family carpentry business was located. It was a multi-generational father/son woodworking establishment just like Martin Guitar Co.in Nazareth, PA. We don’t know how many generations back the family of Joseph in the Bible goes back, but the Martin Guitar Co. is now 6 generations deep in guitar making and further back in woodworking.

"One hundred and ninety years ago, on November 6th, my great, great, great grandfather and grandmother and their two children arrived in New York City from Germany. They came to America seeking opportunity and freedom. They initially settled at 196 Hudson Street and opened the first Martin Guitar workshop in the New World.

- C.F. Martin IV

Jesus, Joseph and Mary at the Nazareth Woodworking Studio

Before Jesus began his miracle ministry he was in Nazareth doing carpentry work with Joseph, his adopted earthly dad. We don’t often view craftsmanship or woodworking as a holy occupation but actually the very first person to be filled with the Holy Spirit in the Bible was a craftsman, Bezalel who fashioned the ark of the covenant from gopher wood.

Matthew 2:23 - and came and lived in a city called Nazareth. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets: “He shall be called a Nazarene.”

Mark 6:2- 3 When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.“Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? Isn’t this the carpenter?

This picture imagines Bezalel carving the cherubim wings of the ark. The tabernacle of David’s design from Moses showed that worship should not just be functional but also beautiful.

Exodus 31:1-5 - Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills— 4 to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, 5 to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts.

Supernatural Craftsmanship or Just a Honing of Skill Over Generations?

The original C.F. Martin invented the X brace around 1850 which is credited as the major breakthrough differentiating modern steel string guitars or American guitars versus the earlier Spanish guitars.

“I think one of the most interesting features of an early guitar theme C. F. Sr. built is the adjustable neck guitar, built around 1834. The development of the now universal X-brace was, we believe, developed over time as a way to create enough structure to hold the top together and produce a very pleasant tone while replacing the traditional fan bracing to accommodate a bridge with bridge pins.” - CF Martin IV - ref

We don’t have any record of how the X-brace and other innovations were made or know how CF Martin went from making Stauffer type traditional European guitars to the Martin guitars we recognize today, but it is very possible that some of the design ideas came from divine revelation like Bezalel in the Old Testament, but we cannot rule out just simple trial and error and generational momentum of craftsman trying new things.

However, the Moravians were people of prayer and since a very great number of Martin employees throughout the years were Moravians and their descendents (including the Martin family by conversion) it is very possible when they faced obstacles of design that they followed the example of the hymn “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” and prayed to God for heavenly solutions.

What a friend we have in Jesus, All our sins and griefs to bear!

What a privilege to carry, Everything to God in prayer!

Oh, what peace we often forfeit,Oh, what needless pain we bear,

All because we do not carry, Everything to God in prayer! - Joseph Scrivener

Blessed or Sacred Instruments?

There are so many supernatural interventions that led the Moravians to Nazareth, Pennsylvania that I personally believe God was up to something. We don’t know why Whitefield or some other faith-filled person named the town Nazareth, but the name of the Jewish carpenter but whoever did prophesied the future of the city into a town of expert and inspired instrument making.

When the Moravians came to Pennsylvania and even when CF Martin began making guitars and relocated there, the guitar was not an instrument of worship but a folk instrument. Churches were filled with choral music, organs, perhaps pianos while guitars were not considered sacred instruments.

Organ from the 1800s - The primary worship instrument of the era

Both Whitefield and Wesley took the church outside of the building to reach people pioneering open air preaching (where it would have been impossible to bring organs or pianos). Likely they just sang a cappella hymns but if it had been in vogue, having guitars accompany them would have been powerful.

Is it just a coincidence that soon after the 110 years of 24/7 prayer finished, Moravian’s hosted the guitar maker who would build the instruments which would be used for the Jesus People revival 130 years in 1967 and the next 24/7 prayer movement 162 years later in 1999 and the modern worship movement that has continued from the 1960s to today?

God knew even before CF Martin came to the USA that in the future the guitar would become a sacred instrument and perhaps He wanted it to be built by people of prayer. Part of the decline of Christianity in certain places was that it became a dead religion or lofty theology disconnected from the human heart and experience. Worshiping God with an instrument of current culture like the guitar vs one of a previous culture like the organ is one way to counteract this tendency and connect with new generations.

I don’t think it is far fetched to think that the 110 years of prayer of the Moravian’s and the anointed craftsmanship could impart something special into the design and the instruments themselves. While of course musicians who both love God and are ideologically opposed to him have used Martin guitars over the years, as any tool it can be used for good and evil.

For protestants the idea of “blessed objects” seems strange, but in the Old Testament and for most of the history of the church it is assumed that God’s glory can impact physical objects. The candles, vessels, and other things used in the Old Testament temple were placed on the altar to be blessed and set apart for a holy service. While in the New Testament, prayer was used to transform normal every day objects such as oil (James 5), handkerchiefs (Acts 19), water or mud into agents of healings, and many other things for a heavenly purpose.

In the Old Testament cities where God did something extraordinary the ground or place became blessed and in some cases even received a new name. God is not the gnostic god who refuses to engage with sinful physical matter, and is only spiritual things are good. He is rather the God who formed Adam and Eve with his own hands in the dirt. He is the Jesus who touched and made well those whose physical bodies were damaged by the sickness induced by the Fall. Were the chairs made by Jesus and Joseph carpentry business blessed in some way? I wouldn’t be surprised if they were the best chairs and tables in Nazareth.

The Moravian Idea of 24/7 Prayer Returns Along with Stringed Instruments in the 1960s and 1999

Today in 2023, guitars are the main voice and sound of worship on the Earth today and we can see a different Nazareth carpenter as the inventor of these designs. Is it a coincidence that King David invented the idea of 24/7 prayer with the tabernacle and the shifts of thousands of musicians who worshiped the Lord with “stringed instruments”? In the time of the Moravian’s worship with guitars or stringed instruments had fallen out of favor for over 1000 years. The only instruments we see in heaven are angels with harps (stringed instruments).

King David worshipping the Lord with a harp (stringed instrument)

King David wrote - ”Praise Him with tambourine and dancing; Praise Him with stringed instruments and flute. - Psalm 150:4”

Hippies pioneering worship with guitars in 1960s

In the 1960s with the Jesus People Movement guitars brought back the stringed instruments into the church, replaced organs for worship as the instrument of the people/culture displaced organs. While not all Martin guitars they were American made guitars, influenced by Martin and X-braced steel string instruments.

Later, in 1999 the torch of the Moravian’s was grabbed hold of once again as the Lord began re-inspiring 24/7 prayer through three separate movements, International House of Prayer in Kansas City, Pete Grieg in England, and 24-7 prayer movement in the Roman Catholic church. -ref

Those prayer movements as well as the modern worship movement are centered around praying scripture but also worship with guitar. So, in conclusion, the Moravian’s legacy and the legacy of CF Martin Guitars, modern worship, 24-7 prayer and revival history remain intertwined to this day.

When I play my Martin guitars, I think about the revival history connected with the Moravians in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. I think about John Wesley on the boat and George Whitefield’s house in Pennsylvania and CF Martin joining as a member of the Moravian church. I think about Bezalel getting supernatural downloads about how to carve the cherubim wings and wonder if CF Martin got similar revelation about carving those X-braces. I think about descendents of those same Moravian’s building guitars in the Martin factory to this day.

I write this article a few weeks before Christmas. I see the vague dots of something God was up to nearly 200 years ago and I can’t fully fill in all the blanks but that’s okay.

There were a lot of strange and mysterious events around the birth of Jesus. Part of worship is wonder and mystery. I just know that when I play my Martin guitars there is something special about them. A lot of other worship leaders agree. You’ve heard some of the history. What do you think?

Brian Johnson from Bethel leading worship with his Martin guitar

What Has God Been Doing Since Acts 28 or the end of the Bible?

Miracles and Miraculous Gifts - The Search Begins for What Happened After the Bible Ended

Growing up looking at Jesus and Bible stories in stained glassed windows I had the sense that God had done a lot of amazing things a long time ago…but what has he done since Bible times or has he been silent or absent? Was the God of the Bible like the Rolling Stones, with all the hit songs from many years ago, or has he been active in all of human history? Was the point of this life to merely learn facts from the Bible and wait for Jesus to return or ourselves to die to have a real meaningful relationship with Him?

When Jesus ascended to heaven as recorded by Matthew 28 and Acts 1 he made promises to “be with us till the end of the age”, but where was He actually and what has He been up to? Was He still doing miracles? Was anyone friends with God now like they were with Moses in the Old Testament or John the Beloved in the New Testament?

When I was searching for answers at first none of the answers were satisfying to me. I found a few videos of miracles happening but the first footage I saw didn’t convince me. Was it real or faked? Then there were passages of the Bible that I had no context for in my church experience. I had never seen a demon cast out of anyone. I had seen pastors pray for people in the hospital during the liturgy, but it seemed more like nice words to make the family feel loved, rather than any expectations that the prayer would be answered or change events in the real world. Also, there seemed to be scandals with some famous pastors who did believe in healing. Were the scandals proof that healing was also fake? My grandfather was the valedictorian of Harvard Medical school and a doctor for many years and most of my family are highly educated from Ivy League schools. Was a belief in a miraculous present God a denial of intellect?

First Exposure

When studying abroad in London at Oak Hill Theological College I met a student named Paul who shared that God healed him from a broken foot where he was walking around with crutches at a conference. Other events began to happen which I had no place to file in my worldview or theological system. I met a few charismatic believers and visited one or two services but to me the charismatics I met seemed too emotional, too touchy feely (I couldn’t go ten feet without random strangers trying to give me a hug), and some of the guys seemed weak/effeminate. In reality, my own background in church had often been so intellectual and un-emotional that any display of emotion at church was uncomfortable for me.

My Testimony

Also, I wrestled with passages in the New Testament that seemed to speak about miracles as normative. In this time of wrestling I found a book by Larry Christensen called “Charismatic Renewal in the Lutheran Church”, written in 1971.

In this book, he clearly examined New Testament passages about speaking in tongues and other spiritual gifts. Growing up Lutheran for some reason I felt more comfortable hearing an ordained Lutheran pastor explaining these things and it began to click with me.

Oddly enough the beginning of faith can be doubting the doubt one has. After reading that book, I feel I began to doubt my doubt enough to pray a simple prayer, “Lord Jesus, if the gifts of the Holy Spirit are for today, please give me one? I won’t believe it from any person only from you God”. At that moment a warmth came on my throat alone in my room and I began to speak in tongues and felt the presence of God come on me from head to toe.

This was a shocking experience as I hadn’t expected anything to happen and didn’t know a single charismatic person or attended a charismatic church. Up till that moment in my life I don’t recall a single answer to prayer that I was aware of. Also, one of my roommates at the time, his Dad is a professor at Dallas Theological Seminary, one of the major university’s that is strongly cessationist seminaries.

After that my life began to resemble the book of Acts. I was driving in Austin, TX on the East Side and there was a lady by the side of the road and I felt the still small voice of the Holy Spirit say, “She has a demon, go and help her”. Not knowing what to do, and being a total noob/rookie I approached her. She was barefoot on a street with broken glass and staring into nowhere as though in a trance. I shared with her, trembling inside, “This may sound weird but is there something bad inside of you that you want to get rid of?”. She said, “Yes, that makes sense”. I didn’t know what to pray so I just said, “Satan, I command you to leave her with all your demons”. Instantly she shrieked like the horror movies and then calmed down and seemed transformed. Then I said, remembering the story of the house swept clean “Do you want to receive Jesus?”. She said yes.

Growing up Lutheran our version of the salvation prayer was the Apostle’s Creed so I guided her in confessing it.

“I believe in God, the Father almighty,
      creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
      who was conceived by the Holy Spirit
      and born of the virgin Mary.
      He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
      was crucified, died, and was buried;
      he descended to hell.
      The third day he rose again from the dead.
      He ascended to heaven
      and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
      From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
      the holy catholic* church,
      the communion of saints,
      the forgiveness of sins,
      the resurrection of the body,
      and the life everlasting. Amen.”

After that I knew I needed to deal with the practical problem of her not having shoes so we went out and found some and I did the best I could to get her to a safe place. This was my first experience with the miraculous. Later on I heard about John Wimber’s book “Power Evangelism” and realize that God himself had been teaching me this way of releasing His Kingdom and that the gospel itself is both show and tell.

My 2nd miracle I recall was when my back was hurt in a car accident while I was a student at Bethel. Sometimes people have the thought that the most famous person is the most likely for God to use and when Bill Johnson prayed for me, the pain in my back decreased, but it was actually a random church member who prayed for me when I was fully healed even though I had little faith anything would happen since the person seemed to not know at all what they were doing.

Sometimes God likes to use the foolish things to shame the wise. The most recent testimony I’d like to share was a person in 5th stage kidney disease who was told by a doctor they would be on dialysis the rest of their life. After prayer for her, she reported and was confirmed by lab work that her kidneys were healed and are now normal. She shared the lab work with me so I could see the levels that had returned to normal. I like miracles that are confirmed by lab work and doctors reports because they can help a skeptic see that this stuff is really real and not just a placebo affect or the emotion of the moment.

The 7000x Principle and My Search Through Church History

Over time I not only saw God do amazing things in response to prayer personally, but in my research of church history I discovered that the Lord had never stopped. Even among charismatics there is a popular theory that there were a lot of miracles the first few centuries or only on ministry trips, but then they trickled out until modern times, but the record shows otherwise. There is no century where God wasn’t doing miracles. Another odd theology says miracles can still happen but the gifts of the Holy Spirit no longer exist.

Both ideas are totally false and make no sense. If the apostles and early church needed the gifts of the Holy Spirit it would take a supreme level of arrogance to suggest that somehow we now possess a capability in our natural selves without those gifts to complete the Great Commission or even our call as believers on the Earth. If the great men and women of God throughout history required those gifts…we mere mortals need them even more.

I wanted to prove that there was no century without miracles and miraculous gifts in operation and I’ve done research and created a non-exhaustive list below showing the miraculous gifts of the spirit in continuous operation since Bible times. As far as I’m aware this is the 1st list ever compiled with this exact information. It includes gifts of the Holy Spirit in operation in time when only one church existed from 0-1000AD, Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches from 1000-Present, Protestant groups from 1500 - Present. God doesn’t require someone to have advanced theological degrees or perfect theology on every point to give a gift of the Holy Spirit.

Since the list of Biblical miracles is widely known I won’t include that. Finally it is important to note an important principle from the Elijah story. Elijah thought he was the only prophet left and the only one who had not bowed the knee to Baal. God responded to him that “No Elijah” you are not the only one. There are actually 7,000 who haven’t and many prophets left that you are not aware of. This to me establishes a principle of 7000x. I think it is safe to assume that God is doing at least 7,000 times more than we see Him doing or have a record for, probably more. So for every name written here, assume 7,000 more less famous saints and heroes that we will only meet in heaven.

Church History - Miraculous Gifts in Continuous Operation from 1st Century to 21st Century AD

1st Century – 0-100AD

i. 12 Apostles – Book of Acts, Steven (Non Apostle), Daughters of Philip, Apostle John - gift of prophesy

ii. Post Completion of Bible

iii. Julian, Bishop of Cenomanis (Le Mans) - Healing, Dead Raising, Casting

out Demons

c. 2nd Century - 100-200AD – Culture of Miraculous - St. Irenaus - “Those who are in truth His disciples,

receiving grace from Him, do in His name perform [miracles], so as to promote the

welfare of other men, according to the gift which each one has received from Him. For

some do certainly and truly drive out devils, so that those who have thus been cleansed

from evil spirits frequently both believe [in Christ], and join themselves to the Church.

Others have foreknowledge of things to come: they see visions, and utter prophetic

expressions. Others still, heal the sick by laying their hands upon them, and they are

made whole. Yea, moreover, as I have said, the dead even have been raised up, and

remained among us for many years…. The name of our Lord Jesus Christ even now

confers benefits [upon men], and cures thoroughly and effectively all who anywhere

believe on Him".[15]

i. Quadratus of Athens - Prophet

d. 3rd Century - 200AD - 300AD – St. Anthony the Great – Healing, Casting Out Demons, Prophetic, Tryphon,

Phrygia Greece (250) Healing, Casting out Demons. Panteleimon- Healing Blind Eyes

e. 4th Century – 300-400AD - St. Patrick of Ireland and St. Nicholas of Myra, Healing gift, Dead Raisings,

Prophetic gifts, nature miracles

f. 5th Century – 400-500AD - Macedonian from Antioch – Healing/Prophesy

g. 6th Century – 500-600AD - Saint Benedict of Nursia – Healing/Dead Raising/Prophetic, Remigius –

France/Gaul – Healing/Casting out Demons

h. 7th Century – 600-700AD - Cuthbert of Lindisfarne – Healing/Casting out Demons/Prophecy, Eumenes,

bishop of Gortyrna - Healing,, Casting out Demons, Theodore of Sykeon (613) – Healing,

Casting out Demons

i. 8th Century - 700-800AD - Hilarion the New, abbot of Pelecete, (754) – Healing, Casting out Demons

j. 9th Century – 800-900AD - George the Confessor, bishop of Mitylene (~820) Healing

k. 10th Century - 900-1000AD - Thomas of Mt Maleon (10th c.) – Healing (including blind), Casting out

demons

l. 11th Century – 1000AD - 1100AD - Nikon of the Kiev Caves - Healing

m. 12th Century – 1100AD - 1200AD - St Francis of Assisi – Healing/Dead Raising, Bernard of Clairvaux – Healing gift

n. 13th Century – 1200-1300AD - Simon, Founder of Simonopetra Monastery, Mt Athos (1287) – Healing,

Prophecies, Casting out demons

o. 14th Century – 1300AD-1400AD - Sergius of Radonezh – healing, Alexis, Bishop of Moscow (1378) –

Healing, including blind eyes

p. 15th Century - 1400-1500AD - Gregory Palamas the Archbishop of Thessalonica – Healing gift

q. 16th Century – 1500-1600AD - Francis Xavier – Healing, 10 Dead raisings, baptized millions of people. A demonstration of John 14, doing greater works than Jesus

r. 17th Century – 1600-1700AD - George Fox (Quakers) – Healing, Prophecy, Martin Luther - gift of healing, prayed for Philipp Melancthon who was healed

s. 18th Century – 1700-1800AD - St Jean Vianney - powerful gifts of healing, prophecy, and word of knowledge.

t. 19th Century – 1800-1900AD - Johann Blumhardt – Healing, Casting out Demons, Charles Spurgeon –

Prophecy/Healing, Seraphim of Sarov – Healing, Prophecy, Word of knowledge

u. 20th Century – 1900-2000AD - Smith Wigglesworth – Healing, Dead Raising, Aimee Semple Mcpherson –

Healing, Kathryn Kuhlmann, Maria Woodworth Etter, St. John Maximovitch – Healing,

Prophecy, Word of Knowledge, Saint John Kronstadt – Healing, Oral Roberts - Healing

v. 21st Century – 2000AD - Present - Elder Ephrem of Athos - healing, prophesy, Bill Johnson - Healing, Damian Stayne – Healing, Heidi Baker – Healing, Surprese Sithole - Dead Raising, Reinhardt Bonnke – Healing/Dead Raising, TB Joshua – Healing/Dead Raising, Prophecy

Risktakers

When I read the Bible from cover to cover I don’t see anyone in it who God used powerfully who played it safe.

Noah, at tremendous financial cost, investment of time and inconvenience built a boat in a place with no water because He had a word from the Lord. He ignored the insults of culture. The voice of God was louder to him than anything else he could hear. It was louder than the ridicule he faced from outside or any voices of doubt from within.

Elijah kept his mission as a prophet as a land went further and further into spiritual decay and darkness even when he was isolated and felt like the only one who was still burning. He confronted evil political power, walked with God in great signs and wonders but also father prophetic people and formed healthy community of people who refused to compromise.

David as a teenager took on a seasoned warrior Goliath on a stage bigger than the World Cup, Super Bowl and NBA Finals combined with everyone watching. He had everything to lose but because He took the risk with God, He came away a hero.

Jacob in a moment of great faith, risky passion you might say or faith wrestled with God and won and became Israel.

Joseph risked his career and life resisting sexual advances from Potiphar’s wife and risked his life again even in prison continuing his ministry even with nothing. In one moment he got a makeover and shave and went from the prison to the palace. Even as his situation changed, he kept his core value of taking risk for God and being unchanged by pressures.

The disciples agreed to take a risk and go out and preach the gospel, heal the sick, raise the dead and cast out demons in groups of two - going without Jesus to places they had never been with no money in their pockets and no weapon to protect them in an era where police could not be counted on. Based on Jesus word they said yes and despite their imperfections, the same things that happened when Jesus came to a town happened when the disciples came to a town.

Jesus even though He was fully God, being fully man He had the opportunity to sin or walk away from His call to redeem mankind. He took risks preaching around dangerous people who wanted to kill him and dying on the cross for our salvation and walked out of the grave on the 3rd day.

We all want to be heroes but sometimes we can be afraid to take the risk. Whenever I am about to take a risk with God I have a variety of emotions

1. Excitement/Butterflies - When God is calling me to do something there is a strange mix of excitement, nervousness, joy, worry.

2. Second Thoughts - Almost like when you are a kid and you are about to jump into a swimming pool, you know it won’t do to inch your way in slowly, you have to go in all at once, but something inside wants to hold back. After this feeling I try to summon courage and just go for it.

3. Inner Dialogue - At the same time I’m praying - “God are you sure?” my mind is thinking, “What if I get rejected? I hate that feel….and what if nothing happens when I pray? - It is a battle between fear and faith.

4. Peace/Awareness of God with Me - I wish I could say everytime I try to share God’s love/message with someone it works out awesome. It works out better being spirit led than being random, but having an awareness of God’s love for me and knowing He is pleased with us and loves us as sons and daughters and values risk/faith over success is so key. Eric Liddell the Olympic runner said, “I feel God’s pleasure when I run”. I feel God’s pleasure when I see someone encounter Jesus for the first time or the first time in a long time.

There is so much that could be said about being a risktaker. When I miss opportunities that God is giving me and realize later I repent and apologize to him and He is always so gracious. Even the missed opportunities are chances to learn and recognize what God had a heart to do through you.

Lord Jesus I pray you touch people reading this, break supernaturally the power of intimidation/witchcraft/control/fear over people that they would fully say yes to You and live a life of which the world is not worthy (Hebrews 11:38). Help us to take risks outside the church building, to stop for the one in our daily lives, to love well because love never fails, not compromise truth or bow to the spirit of political correctness but to have the heart of the Father who left the 99 for the one.

“Starry Night in Maine”

I was on the dock visiting Maine and this poem came to me about how amazing God is and also how short life is and how quickly it passes us by. Hope you love it, feel free to share

Starry Night in Maine - A.M. Stewart - Original Poem - July 2021

Creator of the Stars

There seems no end

to what You've made

We give You the worship You deserve

Take our lives, words, prayers and days

You have made us rich with beauty

We see it everywhere

Yet there is even more beauty we cannot see

Angels and archangels

Ascending and descending

In furious graceful movement

In the heavenly realms

Veiled from the 5 senses

Which some lay such confidence in

Somehow Your creation keeps moving

These fish look like the exact same fish

I saw shining in the water when I was 5 years old

But generations have come and gone

They are the great great grandchildren

Even though we seem to be standing still

We spin quickly, noting only the wrinkles

And decay of things that have worn out

And people whose voices no longer share the scene

Like actors who have no more lines to read

New faces emerge to star

in this current chapter

Or wait for their moment to walk on

Hesitating and peering from stage right

for the Director's magical nod

Someday in years to come

They are often unaware of

the Wondrous One Who has made all of this

Let us not make that mistake

For He is infinitely worthy

YHWH the true living God

Our faces mark the passage of time

Generations rise and fall

but You remain eternal

You uphold all things by Your power

Jesus in this still water at midnight

Do you still walk on the glassy surface

when no one is paying attention?

Thank you for dragging glaciers across

Forests with Your mighty hand

In Millennia past

Thank you for carving Echo Lake from

honest dirt, rough burly rock, and felled timbers

Hewing stone and redirecting water flows

And painting and speaking

The creatures into Existence

who would live in this place

Thank you for your kindness to us

And letting us join the ranks

Of loons, moose, fish, deer and herons

Lightning bugs flashing magic

Through gentle forest breezes

Thank you for Letting us be

Part of the living landscape

The good Artist who chose to include us

Imperfect as we are

By Grace and costly blood

in His masterpiece

In the hugeness of this universe

Your attention still notices us

Counts every hair and notices

If a single eyelash would fall

Or tear of joy cascades down

Still You see when hands are raised in praise

In the pitch black dock at midnight

10 Keys to Walk in 24/7 Joy - Part 2

It is a passion of mine that joy is not a rare occasion that happens now and then in my life when things are going great but how I walk through every day. 24/7 joy is possible for you and for me!!!!

No matter who you are or where you are there are always reasons to not be happy or experience joy. We live in a world where pain, death, disease, disappointment and brokenness from sin is pretty much everywhere, not to mention all the minor annoyances and inconveniences we face on a daily basis. You could be miserable all the time if you wanted to and have “good reason” to be so.

However, depression is not God’s plan. I have coined a phrase “Supra-situational Joy” which means a joy that exists and is sustained above all circumstances. I’m not talking about a fake artificial plastic joy but a real joy from God. Here are 5 more keys to walking in a lifestyle of 24/7 joy. So let’s go after this and if you see me, release more joy of the Lord towards my world and I will do the same for you.

Key #6 - Forgiving & Forgetting What Lies Behind - Phil 3:13 - One of the easiest traps to suck the life out of us is to think constantly about the past. One of my favorite movies is Napolean Dynamite. In this movie the Uncle Rico character is living in the 1980s in a state of constant regret where he felt he lost his opportunity to become a famous football player. While not everyone is such an obvious case, all of us can get stuck in the pain of the past. The enemy wants us to focus on our past defeats and failures from the past and live from the past. The Lord wants us to remember His testimonies and how He has worked mightily in our past and to forget the past and move forward.

Say with me, “Lord Jesus, I repent of living in the past and an attitude of overfocus. Help me remember your work in my life and focus on that and move forward in hope and joy”

Key #7 - When you Find the Presence of God You Find Joy - Psalm 16:11 - In His Presence there is fullness of joy.

Have you ever had a friend who can shift your mood the moment you see them? You were down but then you feel free, you feel understood, at peace, or fully safe? In the presence of some people things begin to look different. I want to tell you that God does that times a million. If you can find a place where He is moving and find His presence, you can find joy. Joy doesn’t come from knowing every answer (wouldn’t that be nice), but being with Him downloads supernatural joy, hope, peace into our souls.

Key #8 - Not Drunk on Wine but Filled w/ the Holy Spirit -

Ephesians 5:18 - 18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit

Alcohol can be an answer for many people in moments of pain but the Bible says that drunkenness with alcohol causes dissipation…in other words the good things in your life escaping away. Part of the attraction of alcohol is that it shifts our minds out of our moment and provides a sense of shift and release. Though this is not widely taught, the Bible teaches that one can be intoxicated with the Holy Spirit in a similar fashion to someone drunk with alcohol. When the Holy Spirit descended in tongues of fire, the disciples in Acts 2 were acting in such a way that they appeared to people as drunk. Also, Hannah in the OT, the mother of the prophet Samuel also appeared drunk to the priest. You would not think someone speaking in another language was drunk or praying quietly was drunk unless there may have been other signs.

In moments of extreme pain, I want to be extremely filled with the Holy Spirit. It doesn’t have to make sense…but I want to be some consumed with God that whatever I’m facing is small compared to His majesty, so take a drink of His presence and be a “bartender” of the joy of the Lord to other believers. Truly there is nothing in the world that is better than what is in God’s Kingdom. Proverbs 17:22 - A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones.

When you are drunk on alcohol you may do something very stupid, because your fears and inhibitions disappear. When you are drunk/filled with the Holy Spirit, you might be like Peter and go from being afraid of one girl around a campfire to preaching and seeing 2,000 people saved in one day or you might see a miraculous childbirth like Hannah!

Key #9 - Father God is Happy - Zeph 3:17 - The Lord your God is in your midst—a mighty Savior! He will delight over you with joy. He will quiet you with His love. He will dance for joy over you with singing.

I used to have a picture like in the vintage police movies that Jesus was the “good cop” and Father God was the “bad cop”…like God the Father wanted to release wrath on us and was constantly in a bad mood but Jesus was always like “No Dad, No don’t hurt them”. This comes from people wanting to explain the atonement as the death of Christ as satisfying the wrath of God, justice/holiness of God and it’s true that God is a righteous judge. However, don’t let anyone convince you that God is a mean or tyrannical being. He provides Jesus sacrifice so we could experience covenant relationship with Him. While we should “Fear God” - have a reverential respect for Him, we can know Him as a good Father who is dancing over us with singing. He loves us, Oh how He loves us, Oh How he loves. He’s not mad, sad, because you were bad. But he’s glad and a good Dad who paid every price so you could have intimacy with Him now and into eternity. Just receive Jesus and enter into a new covenant with Him. Walk into His good mood.

Key #10 - Meditate Often on the Reality of Heaven - Rev 21-22 - When I was studying abroad in London I studied Jonathan Edwards in depth, reading many of his sermons and studying the early reformed church in the United States. Though the Puritans have been remembered as “fire and brimstone” harsh and judgmental type people, there is actually a totally other side to them. Jonathan Edwards wrote another sermon less famous than “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”, called “Heaven is a World of Love”. I read that believers in that era would meditate and read the Bible passages about heaven constantly to live with an awareness of God’s full redemptive future.

As a musician/artistic temperament I’ve battled depression for a lot of my life. After this I began to read the last 4 chapters of the Bible and all the other verses about heaven and it basically cured my depression when I read through those chapters. How can you be sad, when you know your future in Him? I am feeling joy welling up just thinking about it. The more you think about what heaven is like, the less the trials you are facing now will affect you.

So those are 10 keys to walking in 24/7 joy! As I’m finishing this I am actually thinking of even more of these keys, but I am praying now for everyone reading this post that you enter into the joy of the Lord. Remember the power of forgiveness, it’s not about your performance but Jesus perfect sacrifice, be filled and begin to pray and ask the Lord to help reform/transform your life into 24/7 joy in all situations! He is good!

10 Keys to Walk in 24/7 Joy - Part 1

Joy is one of the least appreciated and pursued fruits of the Holy Spirit, but nevertheless it is one of the most important. In 2021, 18% or Nearly 1/5 Americans are taking anti-depressant medications, not to mention all the others who are self-medicating in different healthy (exercise) or unhealthy means (entertainment, sex, drugs, and rock n roll). A lot of times, Christians aren’t doing much better in walking in joy. We have somehow very often become too much like the world…and let our mouths become instruments of complaint, gossip, fear and criticism, rather than celebration, joy, and the happy confidence of sonship. This is rooted in counterfeit versions of holiness that make God boring, serious, joyless, and fun-less that have permeated Christian theology and practice for millenia.

So will reading one blog post cure your joyless week? All things are possible with God! I hope at least this gets you dissatisfied enough to call out to God who has power to change you and shift your habits, thoughts, words, and patterns. I pray for transformation for everyone who reads this…that God will take information and it will cause a snowball affect into transformation. So here we go with 10 keys to walk in 24/7 joy.

1) Key #1 - Joy is in the Character of Jesus - Which Jesus do you knew? Do you know the Jesus who is full of joy/happiness? Growing up in a more traditional church I could not fathom any idea of Jesus being a cool, happy, fun or joyful guy. All the images of Him were either serious, angry (at the Pharisees or Disciples), or in great turmoil in his suffering on the cross. I knew He loved me, but I didn’t think he was very happy. I was shocked to discover that the Bible paints a very different image of Jesus if you scrape away centuries of dogmatic dust.

In Hebrews 1:7, it states about Jesus “YOU HAVE LOVED RIGHTEOUSNESS AND HATED LAWLESSNESS; THEREFORE GOD, YOUR GOD, HAS ANOINTED YOU WITH THE OIL OF JOY ABOVE YOUR COMPANIONS."

The phrasing of this is a little hard to grasp at first but its communicating that Jesus was the most joyful person above any of his friends/companions. He was the happiest person He knew. This makes sense why he was so popular with sinners. Sinners tend to want to hang with people who like enjoying life, and Jesus seemed to be that kind of a person (in contrast with John the Baptist). Yes, there were other times when He was described as a man of sorrows…but the scripture is clear “Sorrow remains for a night but joy comes in the morning”. Jesus experienced moments of pain as he embraced the fullness of our human experience but his normal modus operandi (mode of operation) was supernatural joy. That was His personality. As you get to know that Jesus, you will notice Him transforming your Christianity from seriousness to joy.

2) Key #2 - Joy Comes from the Holy Spirit - When life is kicking my butt and weighing my down, I know that in myself or in the world I won’t be able to get out of a place of hopelessness, fear…it has to be a supernatural joy. Luke 10:21 carries a key…that joy comes through being full of the Holy Spirit.

Luke 10:21 At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.” The Holy Spirit bubbled up in Jesus and the result was joy.

3) Key #3 - Joy is a Choice which requires Self-Control to Enter into - There have been many times where I prayed passionately for aspects of my situation to change because I believed those external changes would provide me with joy and fill the holes inside. The truth is that joy requires my cooperation/intentionality with the Lord to walk into. In Philippians 4:4, Paul writes “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.” Paul is speaking to the Christians in Philippi (modern day Turkey) and telling them to re-joice or re-enter into joy. What’s so crazy about this statement is that this was a blanket statement to everyone. People who received this letter were probably in a myriad of different situations, but there were no subsets of different commands. After he says it, he immediately repeats the statement… “Again, I say rejoice”. The thing with joy is that it can easily be lost…we are feeling joy/happiness one moment and then the next it feels gone, so we need to exercise self-control to re-access the joy of the Lord that is available to us 24/7. King David prays in Psalm 51:12 - ‘Restore to me the joy of your salvation”. He had joy and then it was lost and David was not willing to live without it, so he returned to the source of all joy, God himself.

4) Key #4 - Joy Comes through the Cross of Jesus - One of the most amazing things about God is that He provides everything we need for this world and the next. There are so many pictures of salvation, but on the cross of Christ, he suffers in our place, for us, as us, we are crucified with Him, and through what He did we have the relationship with God restored for both now and forever. We can have joy in this life and we can enter into an eternal joy

Psalm 13:5 - But I have trusted in Your lovingkindness; My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.

Isaiah 51:11 - So the ransomed of the Lord will return, And come with joyful shouting to Zion, And everlasting joy will be on their heads.They will obtain gladness and joy, And sorrow and sighing will flee away.

The joy being described here is the joy that everything is going to be alright as we receive what was paid for on the cross of Jesus…intimacy with a good God, eventually we all get to walk into heaven like some massive parade. This is a joy of not being afraid to mess something up. We didn’t save ourselves and we can’t mess it up. It’s covenant with God and He does the heavy lifting. Nothing is heavier than the cross that Jesus carried…nothing happier than his bursting out of the grave and rising from the dead…better than any amazing movie conclusion yet its real life not fiction. It actually happened.

Key #5 - Joy is not about Us - Acts 20:35 - “In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' "

Depression and sadness almost always is selfish and self focused. I walked through a painful season after a tough breakup where I was so sad and hopeless and in such a dark place that I was praying for my own death. The only relief I could find was in ministering to others. I was the last person on the prayer lines at Bethel every service praying for as many people as I could. They were receiving things from the Lord through me and in those moments as I let God love others through me, my focus was off of my own pain. If you are not feeling joy, try blessing someone, try to pray for someone or do something kind for someone else.

The word blessing in the Bible is “macharidzo” which means hilariously happy. It is more radically happy/joyful to give then to receive. If you are poor and have very little or have a lot we can always give something. In taking our eyes off of ourselves we are taking the first step towards joy.