Rosebank BIC Church

Part One

Text: “….except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal”. (John 12:24-25)

Today marks the start of a three-week emphasis on the Great Commission, culminating in a great International Missions Banquet on Sunday evening, February 25^th, 2007. Nothing is higher on God’s agenda than missions. It is his mission to reconcile men and women, boys and girls all over the world to himself. Out of His mission, we are commissioned to GO … “Go ye – into all the world,” and he also promised that when the Holy Spirit breaks in on us we would BE, not do, but BE his witnesses in Judea, Jerusalem and to the uttermost part of the earth. In the contemporary Harden version that same verse reads, “And when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you shall be my witnesses in Rosebank, New Dundee, Baden, New Hamburg, Kitchener, Waterloo, Wellesley, Plattsville, Ayr, Cambridge and unto the uttermost parts of the earth.

There are some very special names when it comes to the whole area of missions and a passion for lost souls. Names like William Carey, J. Hudson Taylor, and perhaps Dr. David Livingston are among the first to come to mind, but there is another name that we need to hold in high esteem and recognition today. Adoniram Judson’s was a life well lived. His legacy includes over 7,000 conversions, most on a personal basis. Over 63 Churches planted, 123 missionaries sent out that were his converts, and in excess of 2,700 pastors and missionaries trained in the Bible Schools or Missionary Societies he founded. The story of Adoniram Judson is the story of a man’s intense love for a nation that was hostile to the Gospel and of how that love was perfected through suffering.

Near the end of his life, Adoniram Judson made a visit to America and spoke at a number of large gatherings. He was asked after one occasion why he had preached a regular sermon when people had gathered from everywhere to hear the wonderful stories of his work on the other side of the world. He replied, “I wish to tell only the most wonderful, thrilling story that anyone could ever conceive.” His inquisitor responded, “But the story you told in your preaching is one they’ve all heard before. What they wanted was something new from you regarding your work on the other side of the globe.” Dr. Judson, then sighed and replied revealing the burden of his heart, “Then I am glad they have it to report, that a man coming from the other side of the world had no greater message to share with them than the wonderful story of Jesus and his great love, love shown in the giving of His life.”

Adoniram was born in 1788 in Malden Massachusetts. Both his father who was a pastor and his mother, Abigail who was a gentle cultured woman, enjoyed great respect in the New England states. From the very start it was clear that Adoniram had unusual gifts of perception and understanding. With some parental tutoring he had learned to read well by the time he was 3. At 4 years of age his favourite activity was to play church, where he would gather in his playmates and preach to them just like dad did each week. When he was 7 years of age he read somewhere that the earth revolved around the sun, so he actually designed his own experiment that could actual observe and track the movement of the earth. At 10 years of age he had learned navigation skills from a retired sea captain, and by 12 years of age he could both read and write in classical Greek.

Adoniram had just turned 16 years of age and was beginning to be very aware of his talent and gifts when he left home to start University at Providence College, which later became Brown University. University life thrilled Adoniram and stimulated his keen young mind. He became best friends with another young man, Jacob Ames, who also had amazing intellectual gifting. In the midst of their friendship an intense rivalry developed in matching wits and the marks they garnered for their studies. They studied politics, philosophy, and religion, and would often debate with passion and fervour late into the night. Slowly over the course of a couple of years, Adoniram’s religious faith began to erode before the constant barrage of logic, and philosophy from his atheistic friend. After all these were days of enlightened thinking in university and many scholars were freeing themselves from religious influence and recognizing the great possibilities of the human mind!!!

After commencement, Adoniram went home and announced himself to his parents as an atheist, in search of the pleasures and provisions of the world. A broken hearted father and a crushed mother tried to reason with him, but Adoniram would not be deterred by their conservative world-view. Though they went different directions, he wanted to be like his friend Jacob Ames and fill his life with wine, women, and song, along with the pursuit of riches. He left for New York City in hopes of experiencing all the joys this world had to offer. With countless nights of drunkenness, and immorality he drove from his mind the teaching of his father, but he could not fully erase or forget the tears of his mother.

It was precisely because of his unwise choices and his atheistic beliefs that God allowed young Adoniram to fall deeply into a wallowing pit of sin that began to affect him adversely physically and emotionally. After more than a year in New York city, Adoniram knew he must leave the area if he was to survive, but rather than admit any mistakes and return home, he left for the west.

On the first night of his journey west, Adoniram stopped at a small inn, looking for a night’s lodging. The owner explained that the Inn was crowded but they had one large room in which there were two beds. There was a curtain hanging in the middle of the room, but they warned Adoniram that the man on the other side was quite sick and he might be disturbed by coughing. Judson was so weary he agreed to the arrangement and fell into bed exhausted. It was not very long until he was aware of the coughing on the other side of the curtain, but even more disturbing was the torment of spirit he recognized. Moans, groans and the occasional hopeless scream pierced his awareness, robbing him of sleep and awaking in him questions about life and death. Would this fellow live? Would he die soon? Where would he spend eternity if he were to die tonight? He remembered the prayers of his mother and the constant teaching of his father. Adoniram smiled to himself as his mind wandered back to his university days and he thought of how absurd his old friend Jacob Ames would think him to be for even pondering such foolish questions. The groans eventually became somewhat quieter and Adoniram drifted off into a restless, agitated sleep.

In the morning when Adoniram went downstairs for breakfast before catching his coach, he asked about the poor man who had been on the other side of the room behind the curtain. The owner of the Inn replied sadly, “The poor wretch died early this morning, and the undertaker will be coming for him shortly.” Judson went back to the room to grab his bag and could not resist the temptation to peak behind the curtain. There to his amazement lay the body of Jacob Ames.

Adoniram would later write, “How I got through the next few hours after learning of Jacob’s death I do not know.” Over and over he heard Jacob’s agonizing moans, and screams, and then the words of scripture would reverberate through the echo chamber of his mind. “It is appointed unto man once to die, and after death, the judgement. – The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord, He who believes on the Son hath everlasting life; and He who does not believe in the Son shall not see life but the wrath of God abides on him.”(John 3:36) He heard the words repeat in staccato fashion, LOST, LOST, LOST, LOST, LOST, LOST. Suddenly he felt he had been so foolish, ….so wrong about what really matters and counts in life and he felt his parents may have been right all along, and he knew certainty somehow that Ames had been wrong.

Adoniram returned home immediately and startled his parents by enrolling in Andover Theological College for the fall term in 1808. He was not yet a real believer when he started his classes, but by December he had consciously asked the Lord to forgive him for his rebellion and sin, and to become his Lord and Saviour. In June of 1809 he placed himself under his father’s authority and joined the staff of the church his father was pastoring.

God had a great deal in store for Adoniram, and in 1809 God laid a real burden on his heart for missions. He had joined a number of other college students in an intense time of prayer for world outreach with the Gospel. These prayer meetings had been taking place for a couple of years already under the leadership of Samuel Mills. The students would gather to pray outside in view of other students, and one day a furious thunderstorm broke out and they took refuge in a huge over hanging haystack, and the prayer meetings were ever-after called the “Haystack Prayer Meetings”. It was out of these effectually fervent prayer meetings that God sovereignly called men like Samuel Nott, Samuel Newell, Samuel Mills, James Richards, Luther Rice, Edward Warren, Gordon Hall, and Adoniram Judson. What is it the scriptures say? “The harvest truly is plentiful but the workers are few. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into His harvest.” Friends, when Christians pray in line with the revealed will of God’s word, God always hears and answers just as He did in this case.

A life of trial and hardship started early for Adoniram. There was no such thing as an American Missionary society in the early 1800’s, and consequently Adoniram was chosen by the “Haystack” group to sail to England and visit the British Mission Societies and churches in hopes of raising support.

Adoniram set sail on the small ship, “The Packet”, but before they reached England the small defenceless ship was commandeered by the large fighting ship, “L’Invincible Napoleon” commanded by French privateers loyal to Napoleon. The year was 1811 and the following year all out war would be declared between the British and the Americans. Adoniram had little money and had no ability to communicate in French, so he along with most of the others was thrown into the cramped prison quarters in the heart of the big ship. The prisoners were so cramped they could not help being pressed against each other. Their personal waste and refuse mixed with the wretched deposits resulting from sea-sickness to create an unbelievable stench. Adoniram reported later he only got through this trial by mentally translating portions of the bible he had memorized in Hebrew, into Latin.

Once he arrived in France, Adoniram was marched up the main street of Paris as just one more of the common prisoners. In a moment of inspiration he began to shout at the on-lookers in English, crying out for help and hoping someone would understand and come to his aid. This is exactly what happened. A physician who was fluent in English promised to try and help him, but that did not keep Adoniram out of a smelly, damp, rat-infested prison for a time at least. Eventually through a bribe to a guard, Adoniram was able to escape, and years later he would write that this experience of deprivation and incarceration in France was an important step in teaching him that God could be faithful in every situation, no matter how bleak, and that a persevering trust in God would always win out.

Well Adoniram finally did make it to Britain and had an opportunity to share his burden with the British Missionary Societies, whereupon he was informed that they had just dispatched a delegation to America to set up an American Missionary Society and Adoniram ought to catch the first ship to America and deal with the newly formed Missions Society there! How would you feel??? On his way back to America, Adoniram did a great deal of soul searching as to why he had encountered such opposition. He felt like the Lord reminded him of some people he had wronged during his years of rebellious living in New York City. He had cheated a number of people out of money there and had run from his debts and now the Lord began to deal with him about restitution. Adoniram determined he would do whatever it took to attempt restitution and seek forgiveness. He travelled to New York immediately upon arrival in America and made the necessary contacts and arranged for a process of restitution. He returned home to Massachusetts with a clear conscience and what he later described as a new boldness in speaking the Lord’s word.

Some of you here this morning are ineffective and unusable in the service of the Lord because of a seared or caloused conscience. You have baggage that impedes your walk with the Lord. Baggage of unforgiveness, resentment, anger, lack of restitution, or unconfessed sin. Do you need to be set free so you can experience what it is to have a boldness in Christ? Do you need his cleansing power to wash away the impurities so that you can really begin to shine brightly for Him?

Near Christmas of 1811, Adoniram was invited to speak at a church not far from his home, and there he met one of the deacon’s daughters, Ann Hasseltine, who God told him he was to marry. Adoniram was impressed with her obvious deep love for the Lord, and the great evidence of inner joy that she constantly displayed on her face. He immediately sat down and wrote the following letter to her father:

“I now ask whether you can consent to part with your daughter early next spring, to see her no more in this world; whether you can consent to her departure and her subjection to the hardships and sufferings of a missionary life; whether you can consent to her exposure to the danger of the oceans; to the total influence of the southern climate of India; to every kind of want and distress; to degradation, insult, persecution and perhaps even violent death. Can you consent to all of this, for the sake of He who left His heavenly throne and died for her and for you; for the sake of all perishing, immortal souls, for the sake of Zion and the glory of God? Can you consent to all of this in hope of soon meeting your daughter once again in the world of glory, with the crown of righteousness, brightened and glittering with the acclamations of praise which shall redound to her Saviour from heathens saved, through her means, from woe and despair?”

In Christ, Adoniram Judson.

Ann’s father, a devout Christian and deacon, was impressed with Adoniram’s obvious dedication and spiritual character. He would be happy for his daughter to marry such a man, but he knew what it could mean for his daughter and felt the final decision should be hers without his influence….only his consent. Ann’s admiration and respect for Adoniram grew quickly over several weeks of seeing each other and after careful – PRAYERFUL consideration, she dedicated herself to God and to this servant of God to help fulfil the missionary vision he had been given. In February of 1812, just a few months after they met, Adoniram and Ann were married. They set out for their four month honeymoon trip to India only just a few days later.

Could they possibly have known the great tests that awaited them? Could they ever have imagined the kinds of trials that would be their lot? Could they possibly have known all that would be packed into their first year of marriage? What they were about to experience should never ever happen to a human being! But, the rewards they were to reap were also incalculable, and beyond their wildest dreams. If you want the rest of their story, be here next week when I will be happy to share, … THE REST OF THE STORY.

What do we learn from today though this life well lived?

1. All of the best this world has to offer falls miserably short when we are leaving this world.

Jacob Ames was not ready to face eternity and Adoniram knew it. ARE YOU READY?

2.) Just because God has called you does not mean everything will be smooth. It wasn’t for Paul, it wasn’t for Jesus and it wasn’t for Adoniram. God does a great deal through the stress we face to mature us and focus our vision. Winston Churchill once said, “There is nothing that can so wonderfully concentrate and focus your senses, as someone shooting at you and bullets flying just over your head.” The fire does refine the gold, and the winds of adversity do raise the kite of courage and trust higher. Listen friends, God is not looking for wimps.

3.) God always responds to prayer that lines up with His will and His word. “The effectual fervent prayer of a RIGHTEOUS MAN, availeth much.” Make sure your heart is right with God before for you expect God to work through you greatly to bless others.

The final lesson I want to extract from this PART ONE to the Adoniram Judson story is that the love of God pursues us and constrains us. Godly parents sowed the seed of the word in their son’s heart and God never quit building circumstances that would speak to Adoniram. When finally Adoniram yielded fully to the grace of God at work in him, he knew he was not turning to Christ for blessings only. It was not a “What’s in it for me” decision. His resolve to serve the Lord included entering into the suffering of Christ in a hostile world. Jesus had set such a clear example of what that meant, and Adoniram wanted no less than to set his face towards India and Burma as Christ had toward Jerusalem, knowing full well that it may cost him his life.

How deep is your commitment today? How deep is your resolve?