Monday, January 2, 2012

UNSUNG HERO OF THE FAITH - ROBERT SHEFFEY


JOIN US FOR 30 DAYS OF PRAYING THE NAMES OF GOD!
Last night I watched one of my favorite movies of all times about a great man of God and Appalachian circuit-rider - "Brother Robert Sheffey"!


(WATCH THE TRAILER OF THE MOVIE HERE)


In the history of famous preachers or evangelists or superstar pastors of today, you won't find the name of Robert Sayers Sheffey won't be found. However in God's book, he is one of the greatest in the kingdom! Best-selling TV star preachers are getting their rewards on earth now - with all their fame and fortune. However, this humble man with a horse, has impacted more regions and families of the mid-Atlantic coast than anybody I know.


How did Sheffey do it? By prayer! How he got started in prayer ministry is actually amazing. After getting saved, Brother Sheffey was so on Fire for Christ, that he tried to be licensed by the Methodist General Conference in Virginia, so he could be legally allowed into churches to preach the Gospel on the Circuit! They rejected him because he did not have enough education!


This is where God showed up and equipped Sheffey with the Power and Might of the Holy Spirit. While a powerful Circuit preacher who worked for nothing most of the time, except a hot meal (if that), Sheffey soon found out he was an Intercessor and Prayer Warrior! God's ways are not our ways and neither does He have to respect the institutional biases of educated 'religious' men! Look at what happened to the Scribes and Pharisees, who ended up not just killing Jesus the Messiah, but getting all the blood of the prophets they killed and persecuted, heaped on them!


This is the incredible thing about the Holy God we serve, friends! While Sheffey may not have had the book learning those Methodist Conference Head honchos did, he had something better - A Passion for God and His people!  His soul was consumed  with the fire for our Lord and Savior Jesus, to Whom he talked face to face daily and a desire to help others. Sheffey did both with integrity, passion and absolute success.  When his more than six decade ministry was over, he had both positively impacted the lives of ordinary people, while exposing the permanent decline of the Methodist denomination into an almost secular liberalism, with no passion for the One True God.


I tell you this very brief account of an amazing life for a reason - to spur us to the non-fancy or non-glamorous ministry of prayer.We don't have to ride the dangerous mountain roads and snowy trails of Virginia, like Sheffey did, but we are supposed to take the Gospel to the highways, biways and rest stops of American.....and THAT begins with total submission and application of the Believer to a life of permanent communication with Holy God through Prayer.


Therefore, with humility and joy in the journey, I wish to invite everyone reading this blog to a significant Prayer Initiative called THIRTY (30) DAYS OF PRAYING THE NAMES OF GOD!


This is now Day 2, so I will include both prayer points for January 1 and 2, 2012


Each point below, gives the specific Biblical name for God and describes the attribute which caused those Names!
The process is rather simple: 

1. Read the Bible passage recommended by the prayer point of that day and number 
2. PRAY the words found in the Scripture and just glorifying God first in that prayer back to Him! 


So let's get to praying, as the Rev. Robert Sayers Sheffey did over 120 or more years ago....in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen!


Day 1: God is Jehovah. The name of independent being—“I AM WHO I AM”—only belongs to Jehovah God. As we consider His greatness, we fall down in fear and awe of this One who possesses all authority. Exodus 3:13-15

Day 2: God is Jehovah-M’Kaddesh. This name means “the God who sanctifies.” A God separate from all that is evil requires that the people who follow Him be cleansed from all evil. Leviticus 20:7,8



4 comments:

lynnmosher said...

What a great post, Bernie! I love to hear stories of the unsung heroes! Thank you!

The Bernie Lutchman Blog said...

Why thank you Ms Lynn!I love the movie on Sheffey and studied circuit riders and how they operated in prayer and such joy! I'm more like him and Peter Cartwright than those people like Osteen or Hybels and those other modern rich pastors both local and national which we can all name, with their ipads and fancy dogs and expensive cars.....men like Sheffey and I are humble servants of Christ and will stay that way...and I remain, YOUR humble servant as well,
Bubba B

Rockytopva said...

I am currently posting The Saint of the Wilderness... The story of Robert Sheffey

http://www.christianforums.com/t7630646/

The Bernie Lutchman Blog said...

Rocky!

You da man, brother! Thank you for this comment and the fantastic link! Praise God for this man of God- Robert S. Sheffey! WOOHOO!

You have so much material there and I look forward to reading it! A pastor friend of mine - Pastor Donnie Plemons of Rock Island, Illinois told me he has a couple descendants of Pastor Sheffey in his Bible church...and that they needed prayer badly, due to some issues.

I will send him the link to your writings! Than you so much for sharing with me Rocky! God bless you and yours!