May History Repeat Itself
Sometimes we need to read history so that we don’t repeat it. Other times we need to read it so that we do. I’m writing this book because I believe our generation’s greatest need is for history to be repeated. Five hundred years ago, a mighty reformation shook Europe, and subsequently, the world. Two hundred and fifty years ago a powerful evangelical revival awakened millions in the colonies that would become the United States of America.
Today, in the twenty-first century, I pray God will again touch down and give the masses a fresh sense that He’s real and true. I dream of seeing churches overflow with crowds of people who are hungry to learn the Bible. I envision businessmen strategizing together about how to advance the gospel because their greatest passion is Jesus. I imagine college students gathering to talk about our great salvation and how they can spend their lives extending it to others. I picture Christians being marked by radical generosity and risk-taking action to see more lives changed, more souls saved, and more people sent around the world to reach the unreached. I envision more preachers proclaiming the great doctrines of the Bible with unstoppable courage, while God draws many to the Savior. I dream of thousands of people discovering their calling in God’s eternal kingdom and then running hard to play their part well.
How would our world be different if we lived like the real business of life was to love God and help as many people as possible learn to love Him too? What if we recaptured a sense of urgency to live for eternity? I desire this. I long to see God revive our generation. The conviction driving this book is that God works through people to change the world—and He’s not done yet. I believe our world can be different, and I believe God wants to work through us to make it different. The aim of this book is to ask and answer two very important questions: First, How has God worked through people to change the world? And second, How do we become those kind of people?
— excerpted from Gospel Patrons by John Rinehart
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. —Acts 2:42-47
Reflection: What would it take for the Church to re-embrace its sacrificial, first-century identity and posture? What role is God calling me to play? Or, as the author asks, “How do we become those kinds of people?”