Kingdom Qualities. Author Unknown, Curtesy of Professor Mike Gough (MNU):
"Edward Kimball was a Sunday School teacher in a Congregationalist church in Boston where he taught a class for teenage boys. Convicted by the Holy Spirit that he did not know the spiritual condition of each of his students, he began to visit them individually to find out if they were Christians. Kimball visited the shoe store where one of his class members, an 18-year old named Dwight, worked. In the room where he stocked shelves, Dwight Lyman Moody (1837-1899) gave his life to Christ. He went on to become an international evangelist, preaching to over 130,000 people in one day! He founded three schools and two publishing houses all of which are still in operation. It is estimated that in his lifetime, Moody traveled over one-million miles and preached the gospel to one hundred million people.
One of those converted under Moody's ministry was John Wilbur Chapman (1859-1918); he too became a full time evangelist. In addition, he wrote or edited 30 books and numerous pamphlets on the Christian life. William Ashley Sunday (1862-1935), a professional baseball player, was converted as a result of Chapman's ministry and also became a full-time evangelist. It is estimated that 300,000 people gave their lives to Christ during his evangelistic meetings. One of the converts in Sunday's ministry was Mordecai Fowler Ham (1877-1961). Ham devoted his life to preaching the gospel and saw hundreds of thousands of conversions. During a revival meeting held in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1934, William Frank Graham (1918-Present) was converted. Billy Graham was a shy sixteen year old- an unlikely candidate for international ministry. However, as a teenager, he committed his life entirely to God's service and prayed that God might use him in His kingdom work. During Billy Graham's ministry, hundreds of millions of people have heard the gospel and millions have responded in faith. On April 14, 1996 an estimated 2.5 BILLION people in 160 countries heard him present the gospel which was translated into 42 languages.
Did Edward Kimball know what would come of his obedience in 1855? Of course not. Did God? Certainly! Kimball was obedient to what God invited him to do and God used his obedience to bring millions to His kingdom. Every act of obedience carries with it the potential to mightily impact the kingdom of God. God invites YOU to obey His instructions for your life and to experience Him working in you to bring a world to Christ."
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