We conclude our series by praying for a restoration of Cambridge's heritage of mission.
In November 1882, DL Moody the famous evangelist from Chicago, preached to university students at a mission in Cambridge. He had a very cool reception at first. Many of the students made fun of his American ‘twang’ when he preached on ‘Dan’l in the lions den’. However, D.L. Moody gathered a group of 150 praying mothers to pray on the Wednesday for the mission, and by the end of the week two thousand Cambridge university students gathered on the final night. At the end of the message, two hundred rose to give their lives to the Lord Jesus Christ. Moody looking up, murmured, ‘My God this is enough to live for’. C.T. Studd was at this time a Cambridge undergraduate, but he was playing cricket for England in Australia, while the Moody mission was taking place in Cambridge.
C.T. Studd’s father had been a wealthy plantation owner in India, returning to England, to raise his family in wealth and luxury in the magnificent Tedworth House, and he was converted to Christ in 1877. During the time C.T. studied at Cambridge and captained the cricket team he also had given his life to Christ. C.T. Studd became the greatest cricketer of his day, a household name, but as a Christian he was passionless and inactive. He said, ‘Instead of going and telling others of the love of Christ, I was selfish and kept the knowledge all to myself.’ Two old ladies who knew C.T. Studd’s father who had been a strong Christian, had set themselves to pray that C.T. be brought to re-dedication, but their prayers seemed unanswered. When C.T. Studd’s brother fell desperately ill C.T. sat night after night at his bedside, watching him hover between life and death. He felt the Lord showed him what the honour, the pleasure, and the riches of this world were worth. C.T. Studd’s heart was no longer in cricket after this; he wanted to win souls for the Lord. He felt God’s call to go to China and became one of the Cambridge Seven who left England in February 1885.
C.T. Studd gave up his cricketing career, along with a massive fortune of £29,000 ( equivalent today to about £2.3 million), and left everything to go to China. When his health had completely failed, and he had returned from China and a season as a missionary in India he received another call at the age of 50, to go and reach the unevangelised of the world. He started the Heart of Africa Mission, which became World Evangelisation Crusade (WEC), and he died in the Congo at the age of 70. He said:
'Some wish to live within the sound of Church or chapel bell,
I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell.'
Pray with us for that heritage to be restored:
Lord Jesus,
Thank-you that you were prepared to pay the price of even dying on a cross so that your mission of reconciling the world to God could be accomplished. Thank-you for C.T. Studd and his willingness to give up much so as to be part of your mission of preaching the gospel to the nations. Would you restore that heritage in Cambridge today. Do it again! Revive your works in these days, we pray.
In Jesus' Name,
AMEN.
No comments:
Post a Comment