Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret - Chapters 1 and 2
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A Non-Biblical Hero
A Non-Biblical Hero
intro
Godly heroes exist outside the Bible - we need to be reminded of that because we distance ourselves from Esther, David, Daniel, Peter, Paul. . . that was them . . . I’m just regular and I will interact with God on a regular level
so we live with regular (low) spiritual expectations and goals
This book will encourage you that God still uses people in mighty ways
remember - Hudson Taylor and people in the Bible were not perfect like Christ, but they were willing to be used
Background
time: born 1832 in England, in Europe
no planes - travel by boat, horse, walking, modern train invented about 7 years before
no cell phones (telephone 44 years later) - wrote letters
Civil War in the U.S.A. would not happen until 29 years later
Goals
learn to talk about salvation
most people (including Church goers) don’t know how to answer the question, “Are you a Christian” . . . . “Are you saved?”
some are Christians but don’t know how to word it
some are not Christians, but mistakenly think they are
I consider myself a spiritual person
I was raised in the church
I try to live right
get a heart for witnessing/evangelizing
Learn to trust in the Lord more
Book
little old school talk, but you will get used to it
after laying some groundwork, the story will pick up some steam
but I will not ask you to read much every week
Chapter 1, An Open Secret
Chapter 1, An Open Secret
He took care of himself since he was 16
turned out to be a man of many talents
He lived a consistent spiritual life
God used Taylor to get the gospel to thousands of Chinese
God used Taylor to get others to spread the gospel
We are investigating what was the secret to his success . . . but it’s really not a secret, it’s open.
The answer behind his success, will be nothing new, but hopefully this book will help you understand with a fresh understanding
Chapter 2, Soul-Growth in Early Years
Chapter 2, Soul-Growth in Early Years
Hudson Taylor was the son of a pharmacist and Methodist preacher, but as a young man he did not accept the Christian beliefs of his parents. So he knew the gospel, but had not accepted Christ.
one Saturday he is at home by himself and needing something to do, so he chose to find something to read (dad had a lot of books and there was not much to do back in the day)
He ended up reading a evangelistic pamphlet entitled “Poor Richard”
What what his mother doing?
at the exact same time she is praying for his salvation
what caused her to pray? . . .she was burdened (p.17)
talk what it means to be burdened (Christian, spiritual talk)
sudden onset of concern, compassion, apprehension that won’t leave
in Christian lingo that means that God put the concern in your spirit
if God puts that in your spirit, then God wants you to do something about it
the first step should always be prayer
sometimes it can lead to other steps
simply put, God wanted her to pray about her son’s salvation . . . so she prayed according to God’s will
14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.
Don’t ignore burdens, pray about them.
Don’t ignore burdens, pray about them.
as soon as possible
if the only thing you have is a name . . . ask God to have mercy on them, help them, bless them
What words stuck out to Taylor while reading the booklet?
the finished work of Christ . . . then all that Christian training came back to him and began to make sense
What did Jesus say on the cross? It is finished
Christ did not say, I finished my part in your salvation, and now you need to finish your part in your salvation
no, Jesus did the complete work, Jesus paid it all
God gave Hudson Taylor the understanding that the salvation work is done
and when we look at Scripture we see words that speak of completed action
5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,
13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”—
18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation,
14 He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.
saved us, redeemed us, reconciled us, the charges are canceled . . . done, finished works
Christ finished the work
Hudson Taylor asked, “if the whole work is finished, the whole debt paid, what is there left for me to do?” . . . what was his answer?
Accept the Savior and his salvation, and praise Him forevermore
like me buying your ticket to the Super Bowl, luxury suites .. . . accept it and thank me!
What did Hudson find in his sister’s notebook?
she had promised to pray every day for her brother’s salvation
this happened a month before he was saved
There is agreement in God, one Spirit
sister set the ground work of prayer
mother finished it off that day with prayer
God answered . . . of all the books he picked, he picked Poor Richard . . . and then God gave him understanding
Prayer is the biggest part of evangelism!
Prayer is the biggest part of evangelism!
not you convincing them with the perfect argument
not the preacher preaching a good sermon when they accept your invitation to church
the biggest component is God moving on their hearts
WMBC has plans: social media, videos, witnessing classes . . . . but God will make it happen
6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. 7 So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.
at WMBC we want to see more people saved, more people serving the Lord, and we have our plans, but we ultimately depend upon the power of God to make it happen.
So we have
don’t ignore burdens, pray about them
prayer is the biggest part of evangelism
let me share a good example of both
36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Jesus had a burden for the people he saw
I have a burden for what I see and hear in the stores, barbershop, in the new media, family gathering, social media, group chats, values I see being taught through entertainment . . . confused and helpless and ignorant of the truth
Ex. People have rejected Christianity because they have the wrong idea of what Christianity is
Jewish History Podcast - talked about Paul one day
They believe that during New Testament times that Jewish religion was becoming popular (idea of one God, saw how dedicated Jewish people were)
but people did not convert to it because of all the rules: circumcision, sabbath, foods . . . (makes sense, we have stories of Roman Centurions who contacted Jesus through Jewish friends)
They knew Paul was a “Super Jew” and that he claimed to have seen Jesus and converted to Christianity.
“What did Paul believe about Jesus” . . . the Bible is not clear on that (Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians . . . . ) but it seems that Paul was trying to come up with a way that Gentiles could convert to Judaism without having to go through all the trouble.
They had no understanding that Paul was trying to tell Jews that all of the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah had come to pass in Jesus . . . so they should follow Christ
he wasn’t trying to convert Gentiles to Judaism, he was trying to get them to follow Christ too
A Jewish History podcast, but they don’t know hardly anything about one of history’s most influential Jews (Paul), nor about the greatest Jew ever, Jesus
it’s not that they knew it and rejected it, they didn’t even know it
Jesus was burdened, and I am burdened, so Jesus says . . .
37 Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. 38 “Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”
Pray . . . prayer is the biggest part of Salvation
Read quote from Hudson Taylor on page 19
the promises of God are very real
prayer is transacting business with God
prayer is the currency
you want God to work with you, through you, for you . . . you have to pray
Read Hudson quote on page 20 (1st part)
give me some work to do as an outlet for my love and grattitude
he could feel that his offer to serve was accepted . . . didn’t know what work at that time
deep understanding that he was not his own
19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
bought . . . past tense . . . already done
you belong to God now
1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
Since Jesus finished the work of salvation, what is there left to do?
praise Him, show gratitude, demonstrate it through service
Serve out of gratitude.
Serve out of gratitude.
at Super Bowl in that luxury suite: enjoying the sights, sounds, food, amenities, meeting famous people . . . I paid for all of that for you
least you can do is go get me a napkin if I ask for one
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