Give Your Life
Submitted by Ted Mock
October 30, 2024
2Co 8:5 And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God.
When Paul was trying to encourage the church at Corinth to take part in an offering to relieve the saints in Jerusalem, who were under tremendous persecution, He used the Macedonian church as an example of giving by faith.
The Macedonians were also being persecuted and were in deep poverty, but they still gave way beyond their means. Some historians say that young men and women sold themselves into slavery and gave the money Paul. That is why they had to beg Paul to take the money in verse 4, and it explains how they gave themselves first to the Lord and unto us at the same time.
If true, it would not be the last time believers sold themselves into slavery to further the cause of Christ.
In August 1727, Zinzendorf, along with 12 to 14 others, met to pray until midnight. They were so entrenched in prayer that they ended up praying throughout the entire night. A couple of days later, the Moravians had a communion service, where the Holy Spirit came down upon them and set a spark for missions. Soon, 24 men and 24 women covenanted to pray at certain times around the clock, and quickly the number of people praying at certain times of the day increased to 77. The Moravians guarded their hours of prayer with their life. This movement of prayer lasted for 100 years.
The Moravian community became a launching pad for missions around the world. Missionary service was envied by the Moravians.
The Moravian missionaries went to extremes in order to reach others with the Gospel. Once, 29 missionaries sold themselves into slavery. Though St. Thomas, now part of the US Virgin Islands, was a Christian nation, none of the slaves knew who Jesus was. In 1739, a slave put his ear on the church door, hoping to hear something, and his master got angry and cut his ear.
Twenty two out of the 29 missionaries died during their time at St. Thomas.
The Moravian community sent out 226 missionaries in 10 countries before Zinzendorf’s death in 1760 and sparked the modern missions movement.
Consider – After emptying his wallet during a mission’s offering, a note that said, “And my life.” Peter Torjesen, Norwegian Missionary to China.
