1 00:00:00,970 --> 00:00:05,070 I really believe, friends, that revival is possible, 2 00:00:05,590 --> 00:00:09,230 improbable, if we can only get honest enough 3 00:00:09,230 --> 00:00:09,990 with God. 4 00:00:10,210 --> 00:00:12,270 If we can get to the place of 5 00:00:12,270 --> 00:00:18,990 transparency with God, in desperation before God, in 6 00:00:18,990 --> 00:00:22,330 confession of sin to God, then God can 7 00:00:22,330 --> 00:00:23,170 go to work. 8 00:00:23,710 --> 00:00:25,150 Let me give you an example. 9 00:00:25,750 --> 00:00:29,190 My homiletical mentor, Dr. Stephen F. 10 00:00:29,350 --> 00:00:34,010 Olford, shared his story about the campus revival 11 00:00:34,010 --> 00:00:37,850 that occurred under his preaching at Wheaton College 12 00:00:37,850 --> 00:00:42,250 in January of 1948, and one of the 13 00:00:42,250 --> 00:00:46,890 students in attendance was Jim Elliott, the missionary 14 00:00:46,890 --> 00:00:49,150 martyr to the Yawka Indians. 15 00:00:50,290 --> 00:00:53,370 Well, Stephen Olford's story of the Wheaton revival 16 00:00:53,370 --> 00:00:57,030 is a remarkable one, where a God consciousness 17 00:00:57,590 --> 00:01:01,270 permeated the entire college campus to the point 18 00:01:01,270 --> 00:01:05,810 that the college president ordered all campus classes 19 00:01:05,810 --> 00:01:09,410 canceled so that the students could attend to 20 00:01:09,410 --> 00:01:10,670 the things of God. 21 00:01:11,610 --> 00:01:14,570 It was a cold winter in Chicago in 22 00:01:14,570 --> 00:01:18,610 1948 when a 29-year-old Stephen Olford 23 00:01:18,610 --> 00:01:23,570 was invited to preach at chapel services during 24 00:01:23,570 --> 00:01:28,450 the day at Wheaton College during January 11th 25 00:01:28,450 --> 00:01:32,430 through the 18th, but the breakthrough occurred at 26 00:01:32,430 --> 00:01:36,250 the large and prestigious Wheaton Bible Church at 27 00:01:36,250 --> 00:01:36,730 night. 28 00:01:37,310 --> 00:01:39,210 Here are his words. 29 00:01:39,510 --> 00:01:41,930 Please pay attention to his story, friends. 30 00:01:43,370 --> 00:01:48,090 That Sunday night, my theme was the blood 31 00:01:48,090 --> 00:01:48,870 of Christ. 32 00:01:49,590 --> 00:01:51,030 I poured out my heart. 33 00:01:51,570 --> 00:01:55,970 What I felt was the essential gospel message 34 00:01:55,970 --> 00:01:58,870 and sensed unusual resistance. 35 00:01:59,690 --> 00:02:02,430 I can only describe it as hitting a 36 00:02:02,430 --> 00:02:05,070 tractor tire with a sledgehammer. 37 00:02:05,630 --> 00:02:08,550 The harder I swung the hammer, the harder 38 00:02:08,550 --> 00:02:11,150 the words bounced back at me. 39 00:02:11,630 --> 00:02:15,050 I was disappointed and somewhat discouraged. 40 00:02:15,710 --> 00:02:18,590 I gave an invitation and I was never 41 00:02:18,590 --> 00:02:20,570 more shocked in my life. 42 00:02:21,070 --> 00:02:23,750 The devil just howled at me. 43 00:02:24,430 --> 00:02:28,030 There was indifference and absolute deadness. 44 00:02:28,530 --> 00:02:33,010 I pressed the invitation and no one responded. 45 00:02:34,430 --> 00:02:38,190 As I walked home with Dr. Joseph McCauley, 46 00:02:38,430 --> 00:02:41,730 I said to him, what's going on here? 47 00:02:41,990 --> 00:02:44,550 You invited me to preach and I have 48 00:02:44,550 --> 00:02:46,030 a fight on my hands. 49 00:02:46,430 --> 00:02:49,730 Brother, let's spend the night together in prayer 50 00:02:49,730 --> 00:02:52,030 till God shows us what to do. 51 00:02:52,810 --> 00:02:54,790 And as we laid hold of God, it 52 00:02:54,790 --> 00:02:58,630 became very apparent that the Holy Spirit was 53 00:02:58,630 --> 00:03:02,270 leading me to change my whole strategy. 54 00:03:02,770 --> 00:03:06,050 So I stopped praying and looked into Joe 55 00:03:06,050 --> 00:03:10,790 McCauley's face and said, would I betray you 56 00:03:10,790 --> 00:03:14,790 if I ministered to believers rather than trying 57 00:03:14,790 --> 00:03:16,190 to reach the unconverted? 58 00:03:16,610 --> 00:03:19,810 I don't believe there was an unsafe center 59 00:03:19,810 --> 00:03:21,870 in the audience this evening. 60 00:03:22,570 --> 00:03:24,930 And I feel that what God wants to 61 00:03:24,930 --> 00:03:27,830 do here is a deep work in the 62 00:03:27,830 --> 00:03:29,110 lives of Christians. 63 00:03:30,070 --> 00:03:33,570 Dr. McCauley, who was a deeply spiritual and 64 00:03:33,570 --> 00:03:37,190 sensitive man said, you do entirely as you 65 00:03:37,190 --> 00:03:38,770 feel God is leading you. 66 00:03:39,550 --> 00:03:42,150 And he got up and he left me 67 00:03:42,150 --> 00:03:45,950 to continue to pray by myself through the 68 00:03:45,950 --> 00:03:46,410 night. 69 00:03:47,390 --> 00:03:50,950 Monday morning, I spoke in chapel session at 70 00:03:50,950 --> 00:03:52,070 Wheaton College. 71 00:03:52,410 --> 00:03:55,770 Then came the evening service at the Bible 72 00:03:55,770 --> 00:03:56,370 church. 73 00:03:56,970 --> 00:03:59,510 The church was two thirds full. 74 00:03:59,990 --> 00:04:02,330 The message of the Lord laid on my 75 00:04:02,330 --> 00:04:05,950 heart was, prepare ye the way of the 76 00:04:05,950 --> 00:04:10,010 Lord and all flesh shall see the salvation 77 00:04:10,010 --> 00:04:11,010 of God. 78 00:04:11,670 --> 00:04:14,590 As I preached on what preparing the way 79 00:04:14,590 --> 00:04:18,010 of the Lord entailed in terms of spiritual 80 00:04:18,010 --> 00:04:22,670 issues in our lives, God broke in and 81 00:04:22,670 --> 00:04:23,990 I had to stop preaching. 82 00:04:24,910 --> 00:04:26,470 Every head was bowed. 83 00:04:26,970 --> 00:04:28,150 Many were weeping. 84 00:04:28,650 --> 00:04:31,950 And I just sat down and waited as 85 00:04:31,950 --> 00:04:36,590 the minutes passed, several prayed and broke down. 86 00:04:37,710 --> 00:04:41,290 The first man to walk the aisle was 87 00:04:41,290 --> 00:04:45,850 Peter Joshua, the brother of Joshua, who was 88 00:04:45,850 --> 00:04:50,650 so mildly used in the 1904 Welsh revival. 89 00:04:51,230 --> 00:04:54,590 He said, Mr. Alford, I want to say 90 00:04:54,590 --> 00:04:55,130 something. 91 00:04:55,790 --> 00:04:58,750 God has revealed to me the sin in 92 00:04:58,750 --> 00:04:59,490 my life. 93 00:04:59,890 --> 00:05:03,150 I have been preaching for years, but I 94 00:05:03,150 --> 00:05:04,370 am a hypocrite. 95 00:05:04,770 --> 00:05:07,890 I have been told by God to confess 96 00:05:07,890 --> 00:05:09,030 my sin. 97 00:05:09,890 --> 00:05:11,550 Well, that broke up the meeting. 98 00:05:12,790 --> 00:05:17,030 Dr. McCauley stepped up to the pulpit and 99 00:05:17,030 --> 00:05:18,510 said words like this. 100 00:05:19,030 --> 00:05:22,710 I rise to my feet to confess my 101 00:05:22,710 --> 00:05:25,150 sin to you, my people. 102 00:05:25,590 --> 00:05:29,550 I invited Stephen Alford to be our evangelist 103 00:05:29,550 --> 00:05:33,090 for an outreach to the lost, but I 104 00:05:33,090 --> 00:05:36,130 have to state that we haven't prayed or 105 00:05:36,130 --> 00:05:38,390 prepared as we should have done. 106 00:05:38,750 --> 00:05:42,010 I doubt if we have even canvassed the 107 00:05:42,010 --> 00:05:45,110 area to invite the lost to attend these 108 00:05:45,110 --> 00:05:45,750 meetings. 109 00:05:46,150 --> 00:05:49,430 I also have to admit in my own 110 00:05:49,430 --> 00:05:53,970 ministry, I haven't had a passion for souls. 111 00:05:54,330 --> 00:05:59,610 I've been merely occupied in dotting my theological 112 00:05:59,610 --> 00:06:04,990 I's and crossing my theological T's to please 113 00:06:04,990 --> 00:06:08,230 the professors and the students who attend my 114 00:06:08,230 --> 00:06:08,830 church. 115 00:06:09,510 --> 00:06:12,890 My messages have not carried the burden and 116 00:06:12,890 --> 00:06:17,430 passion of an evangelist, and I feel I 117 00:06:17,430 --> 00:06:21,030 have failed my dear brother in asking him 118 00:06:21,030 --> 00:06:24,210 to do what is virtually impossible. 119 00:06:25,710 --> 00:06:29,050 He had hardly finished that sentence when his 120 00:06:29,050 --> 00:06:31,830 wife came down the aisle and stood alongside 121 00:06:31,830 --> 00:06:36,290 him and simply said, I confess my sin 122 00:06:36,290 --> 00:06:36,810 also. 123 00:06:37,550 --> 00:06:41,450 I've encouraged him in his pursuit of popularity 124 00:06:41,810 --> 00:06:45,950 in this college community rather than in seeking 125 00:06:45,950 --> 00:06:49,350 to reach the untold numbers who are out 126 00:06:49,350 --> 00:06:50,870 of Christ in this town. 127 00:06:52,010 --> 00:06:55,650 With that, a preacher in the audience rose 128 00:06:55,650 --> 00:06:59,110 to his feet and made a similar confession, 129 00:06:59,550 --> 00:07:02,850 and that led to a time of unbelievable 130 00:07:02,850 --> 00:07:07,570 confessions throughout the entire congregation while we were 131 00:07:07,570 --> 00:07:08,830 there for hours. 132 00:07:09,470 --> 00:07:12,370 God had brought us all to the place 133 00:07:12,370 --> 00:07:17,930 of repentance, brokenness, and readiness for cleansing and 134 00:07:17,930 --> 00:07:18,450 renewal. 135 00:07:19,250 --> 00:07:21,530 We went to bed very late that night. 136 00:07:21,970 --> 00:07:25,510 The revival carried over to Wheaton College Chapel 137 00:07:25,510 --> 00:07:27,430 Hour the next morning. 138 00:07:28,110 --> 00:07:30,930 I did not even finish the message when 139 00:07:30,930 --> 00:07:33,870 God moved in and brought us all to 140 00:07:33,870 --> 00:07:36,730 our knees in repentance and confession. 141 00:07:37,690 --> 00:07:42,590 The acting president, Dr. Roger Voskell, came to 142 00:07:42,590 --> 00:07:46,170 the podium and announced that all classes were 143 00:07:46,170 --> 00:07:50,390 canceled until further notice and that professors and 144 00:07:50,390 --> 00:07:54,390 students were to form groups across the campus 145 00:07:54,390 --> 00:07:58,810 and engage in prayer and personal examination. 146 00:07:59,790 --> 00:08:01,930 I will stop there, friends. 147 00:08:02,530 --> 00:08:07,490 That revival that swept Wheaton College in 1948 148 00:08:07,490 --> 00:08:12,070 all began with a broken Stephen Oldford out 149 00:08:12,070 --> 00:08:15,110 of bed and on his knees all night 150 00:08:15,110 --> 00:08:17,870 before God in desperate prayer. 151 00:08:18,430 --> 00:08:22,350 Brother pastor, when was the last time you 152 00:08:22,350 --> 00:08:25,250 stayed out of bed all night in intercessory 153 00:08:25,250 --> 00:08:27,190 prayer for your congregation? 154 00:08:28,150 --> 00:08:31,409 When was the last time you had personal 155 00:08:31,409 --> 00:08:34,950 examination before God in prayer? 156 00:08:36,110 --> 00:08:39,450 Well, that's my little introduction, friends, to my 157 00:08:39,450 --> 00:08:40,490 message this evening. 158 00:08:41,190 --> 00:08:45,110 My message is entitled Tonight, I Washed My 159 00:08:45,110 --> 00:08:48,810 Hands in the Mississippi River and Got a 160 00:08:48,810 --> 00:08:49,650 Touch of Heaven. 161 00:08:50,430 --> 00:08:53,650 I believe this will be a transformational message 162 00:08:53,650 --> 00:08:54,470 to some. 163 00:08:55,030 --> 00:08:58,830 You know, friends, God is looking for the 164 00:08:58,830 --> 00:09:02,350 Moses who will take the time to turn 165 00:09:02,350 --> 00:09:06,510 aside and encounter him so God can send 166 00:09:06,510 --> 00:09:09,130 that man to deliver a nation. 167 00:09:10,090 --> 00:09:13,370 My text can be found in the book 168 00:09:13,370 --> 00:09:15,890 of Ezekiel in chapter three. 169 00:09:16,310 --> 00:09:18,250 You can turn in your Bibles there now, 170 00:09:18,750 --> 00:09:18,850 friends. 171 00:09:19,350 --> 00:09:22,930 We will be in verses 16 through 19. 172 00:09:25,160 --> 00:09:28,680 Here now is the word of God and 173 00:09:28,680 --> 00:09:31,860 may the spirit of the Lord attend the 174 00:09:31,860 --> 00:09:35,060 reading of his holy word. 175 00:09:35,940 --> 00:09:39,240 And it came to pass at the end 176 00:09:39,240 --> 00:09:42,500 of seven days that the word of the 177 00:09:42,500 --> 00:09:46,680 Lord came unto me saying, Son of man, 178 00:09:47,300 --> 00:09:51,560 I have made thee a watchman unto the 179 00:09:51,560 --> 00:09:52,900 house of Israel. 180 00:09:53,500 --> 00:09:58,020 Therefore, hear the word at my mouth and 181 00:09:58,020 --> 00:10:00,800 give them warning from me. 182 00:10:01,560 --> 00:10:05,760 When I say unto the wicked, thou shalt 183 00:10:05,760 --> 00:10:06,880 surely die. 184 00:10:07,440 --> 00:10:12,080 And thou givest him not warning, nor speakest 185 00:10:12,080 --> 00:10:15,440 to warn the wicked from his wicked way 186 00:10:15,440 --> 00:10:17,140 to save his life. 187 00:10:17,540 --> 00:10:21,060 The same wicked man shall die in his 188 00:10:21,060 --> 00:10:26,100 iniquity, but his blood will I require at 189 00:10:26,100 --> 00:10:27,320 thine hand. 190 00:10:28,020 --> 00:10:31,160 Yet, if thou warn the wicked, and he 191 00:10:31,160 --> 00:10:35,240 turn not from his wickedness, nor from his 192 00:10:35,240 --> 00:10:38,580 wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity. 193 00:10:39,140 --> 00:10:42,200 But thou hast delivered thy soul. 194 00:10:42,980 --> 00:10:44,900 I will stop there, friends. 195 00:10:45,520 --> 00:10:48,800 The prophet Jeremiah had a call on his 196 00:10:48,800 --> 00:10:52,580 life to be God's watchman and to warn 197 00:10:52,580 --> 00:10:55,880 men of their danger of dying in their 198 00:10:55,880 --> 00:10:56,460 sins. 199 00:10:56,860 --> 00:11:00,180 He was God's man with God's message for 200 00:11:00,180 --> 00:11:01,240 sinful man. 201 00:11:02,660 --> 00:11:05,420 I believe you can be a popular preacher 202 00:11:05,420 --> 00:11:09,000 and have a sincere heart, but still have 203 00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:10,040 a wrong head. 204 00:11:10,680 --> 00:11:15,140 There's nothing wrong with popularity in ministry, but 205 00:11:15,140 --> 00:11:18,240 there is something wrong to the one who 206 00:11:18,240 --> 00:11:21,640 is using his ministry to gain popularity. 207 00:11:22,500 --> 00:11:25,640 Jesus had his crowds, but he was not 208 00:11:25,640 --> 00:11:26,800 a popular preacher. 209 00:11:27,340 --> 00:11:30,880 His first sermon divided his crowd, and they 210 00:11:30,880 --> 00:11:33,160 tried to hurl him off a cliff. 211 00:11:33,680 --> 00:11:38,600 His penetrating preaching and searching sermons angered the 212 00:11:38,600 --> 00:11:42,860 lost religious crowd and led to his crucifixion. 213 00:11:43,920 --> 00:11:46,920 I want to share with you, friends, the 214 00:11:46,920 --> 00:11:51,820 following story, especially for my brother preachers, because 215 00:11:51,820 --> 00:11:54,320 I know you will relate to it. 216 00:11:54,860 --> 00:11:57,480 How you react to it is an entirely 217 00:11:57,480 --> 00:11:59,080 different story. 218 00:11:59,910 --> 00:12:02,580 When I was doing my research on my 219 00:12:02,580 --> 00:12:08,880 biography of the Calvinistic evangelist Rolf Barnard, who 220 00:12:08,880 --> 00:12:12,280 was used of God in several powerful revivals 221 00:12:12,280 --> 00:12:16,360 over a 40-year itinerant ministry all across 222 00:12:16,360 --> 00:12:21,540 America, I uncovered a story he told as 223 00:12:21,540 --> 00:12:26,240 it was related to him personally by Dr. 224 00:12:26,320 --> 00:12:29,100 R.G. Lee when they shared a Bible 225 00:12:29,100 --> 00:12:30,580 conference in the South. 226 00:12:31,480 --> 00:12:35,160 Dr. Lee was the pastor of Bellevue Baptist 227 00:12:35,160 --> 00:12:40,880 Church in Memphis, Tennessee from 1927 to 1960. 228 00:12:41,660 --> 00:12:45,020 He is known for his famous sermon, Payday 229 00:12:45,020 --> 00:12:48,340 Someday, but here's a remarkable story about him 230 00:12:48,340 --> 00:12:51,260 you probably don't know, and this is a 231 00:12:51,260 --> 00:12:55,040 story that R.G. Lee told Rolf Barnard. 232 00:12:56,360 --> 00:13:00,460 There was a member in Dr. Lee's congregation, 233 00:13:01,340 --> 00:13:04,220 an attorney, and this man had to be 234 00:13:04,220 --> 00:13:07,460 out of town a lot on business, but 235 00:13:07,460 --> 00:13:11,100 no matter where this lawyer went, he made 236 00:13:11,100 --> 00:13:13,700 sure to catch a train back to Memphis 237 00:13:13,700 --> 00:13:17,420 on Saturday night so he could hear Dr. 238 00:13:17,580 --> 00:13:19,780 Lee preach the next morning. 239 00:13:20,080 --> 00:13:23,300 Why, that man just loved to hear R 240 00:13:23,300 --> 00:13:27,240 .G. Lee preach, but one day this lawyer 241 00:13:27,240 --> 00:13:30,340 got cancer, and he was in the hospital 242 00:13:30,340 --> 00:13:33,740 dying, and he called for his pastor to 243 00:13:33,740 --> 00:13:35,820 come to his bedside. 244 00:13:37,820 --> 00:13:42,520 R.G. Lee entered the downtown hospital room 245 00:13:42,520 --> 00:13:47,820 whose windows overlooked the Mississippi River. 246 00:13:48,680 --> 00:13:51,520 As R.G. Lee sat by the man's 247 00:13:51,520 --> 00:13:56,040 bedside, the man told him the following story. 248 00:13:56,380 --> 00:13:59,840 He said, I want you to know how 249 00:13:59,840 --> 00:14:03,300 much I've enjoyed your preaching through the years, 250 00:14:03,440 --> 00:14:06,320 and I never missed a Sunday if I 251 00:14:06,320 --> 00:14:07,280 could help it. 252 00:14:07,700 --> 00:14:11,840 Now I lie here all eaten up with 253 00:14:11,840 --> 00:14:15,460 cancer, and the doctors tell me I only 254 00:14:15,460 --> 00:14:18,600 have a few weeks left to live at 255 00:14:18,600 --> 00:14:21,640 best, but I didn't call you here for 256 00:14:21,640 --> 00:14:22,140 that. 257 00:14:22,680 --> 00:14:25,460 I want to chastise you, sir. 258 00:14:26,200 --> 00:14:30,020 Your sermons were full of enjoyable stories that 259 00:14:30,020 --> 00:14:32,160 kept me on the edge of my seat, 260 00:14:32,580 --> 00:14:35,740 but I never knew how to be saved. 261 00:14:36,180 --> 00:14:39,040 You never preached the cross to where I 262 00:14:39,040 --> 00:14:39,860 could see it. 263 00:14:40,240 --> 00:14:42,880 You never put the blood out there where 264 00:14:42,880 --> 00:14:44,020 I could reach it. 265 00:14:44,480 --> 00:14:47,360 Now I'm a dying, and I may die 266 00:14:47,360 --> 00:14:50,460 in my sins, and I reprimand you, sir, 267 00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:52,200 for your lack. 268 00:14:54,860 --> 00:14:58,020 Well, R.G. Lee left that man's hospital 269 00:14:58,020 --> 00:15:02,100 room with his head hung down low, feeling 270 00:15:02,100 --> 00:15:05,000 berated and guilty as charged. 271 00:15:05,740 --> 00:15:08,880 It was now dark outside, and he decided 272 00:15:08,880 --> 00:15:11,480 to take a walk down to the banks 273 00:15:11,480 --> 00:15:13,780 of the Mississippi River. 274 00:15:14,620 --> 00:15:17,720 Once there, he got down on his knees 275 00:15:17,720 --> 00:15:21,100 in the mud, getting his white suit pants 276 00:15:21,100 --> 00:15:22,780 dirty in the process. 277 00:15:23,860 --> 00:15:27,520 The river ran silent with a beam of 278 00:15:27,520 --> 00:15:29,740 moonlight across the water. 279 00:15:30,560 --> 00:15:34,240 R.G. Lee rolled up his sleeves as 280 00:15:34,240 --> 00:15:38,160 he leaned forward and dipped his hands in 281 00:15:38,160 --> 00:15:39,880 the cold, dark water. 282 00:15:40,680 --> 00:15:43,080 He remained in that position for a while 283 00:15:43,080 --> 00:15:47,920 as he pondered that man's penetrating words. 284 00:15:48,620 --> 00:15:53,320 Looking up towards heaven, he promised God, right 285 00:15:53,320 --> 00:15:56,440 there and then, that from that point forward 286 00:15:56,440 --> 00:15:59,500 he would preach the cross and the blood, 287 00:16:00,000 --> 00:16:02,020 and he changed his message that night. 288 00:16:02,860 --> 00:16:05,760 And in a month's time, there was such 289 00:16:05,760 --> 00:16:09,480 a move of grace at that church that 290 00:16:09,480 --> 00:16:14,260 four blocks of downtown Memphis were shaken with 291 00:16:14,260 --> 00:16:14,980 revival. 292 00:16:16,240 --> 00:16:19,060 I love that story, friends. 293 00:16:19,320 --> 00:16:22,360 I gotta confess, it gets to me every 294 00:16:22,360 --> 00:16:25,660 single time, and that's the end of that 295 00:16:25,660 --> 00:16:27,860 remarkable story, friends. 296 00:16:28,520 --> 00:16:31,580 I know personally, I had to come to 297 00:16:31,580 --> 00:16:34,820 the place in my own ministry where I 298 00:16:34,820 --> 00:16:37,580 had to choose between two roads. 299 00:16:38,200 --> 00:16:41,240 I could continue to preach the same kind 300 00:16:41,240 --> 00:16:44,340 of sermons that made me a popular preacher, 301 00:16:44,720 --> 00:16:47,820 or I could ruin my reputation and go 302 00:16:47,820 --> 00:16:52,200 all out on a limb, preaching disturbing messages 303 00:16:52,200 --> 00:16:57,280 by pointed preaching with uncomfortable search and sermons 304 00:16:57,280 --> 00:17:03,079 that uncovered sin and exposed false foundations, losing 305 00:17:03,079 --> 00:17:06,300 much of my audience and all my support. 306 00:17:06,579 --> 00:17:09,940 But I had to ask myself, was I 307 00:17:09,940 --> 00:17:13,099 preaching for acceptance, or was I preaching for 308 00:17:13,099 --> 00:17:13,819 eternity? 309 00:17:14,720 --> 00:17:18,720 There was a reason George Whitefield was pelted 310 00:17:18,720 --> 00:17:21,700 with stones and had pieces of dead cats 311 00:17:21,700 --> 00:17:23,900 thrown at him, and he was shut out 312 00:17:23,900 --> 00:17:26,060 of the churches and had to preach in 313 00:17:26,060 --> 00:17:26,920 the open air. 314 00:17:27,520 --> 00:17:31,440 I faced that crisis in my ministry, and 315 00:17:31,440 --> 00:17:34,200 a time came when I got serious with 316 00:17:34,200 --> 00:17:37,720 God, and I washed my hands in the 317 00:17:37,720 --> 00:17:41,540 Mississippi River, so to speak, and changed my 318 00:17:41,540 --> 00:17:42,220 message. 319 00:17:42,680 --> 00:17:45,040 And I've got the scars to prove it, 320 00:17:45,440 --> 00:17:48,880 but I also know what it's like to 321 00:17:48,880 --> 00:17:50,200 taste revival. 322 00:17:51,520 --> 00:17:56,180 Brother pastor, maybe it's time for you to 323 00:17:56,180 --> 00:18:00,500 grapple with what is between you and a 324 00:18:00,500 --> 00:18:03,420 holy God in regard to your preaching. 325 00:18:04,180 --> 00:18:07,460 Maybe it's time for you to come to 326 00:18:07,460 --> 00:18:10,320 the river and get down on your knees 327 00:18:10,320 --> 00:18:13,420 and get your suit pants dirty in the 328 00:18:13,420 --> 00:18:18,680 process and get low before God as you 329 00:18:18,680 --> 00:18:20,920 get honest with God. 330 00:18:20,980 --> 00:18:25,380 Can you honestly say before God that you've 331 00:18:25,380 --> 00:18:28,640 been his watchman, that you've been warning men 332 00:18:28,640 --> 00:18:32,060 and women and boys and girls about the 333 00:18:32,060 --> 00:18:35,300 dangerous damnation in a devil's hell? 334 00:18:35,860 --> 00:18:38,640 Have you warned them about a future judgment 335 00:18:38,640 --> 00:18:42,220 that awaits all mankind, or have you been 336 00:18:42,220 --> 00:18:45,700 soft-soaping the gospel to grow your church? 337 00:18:46,260 --> 00:18:49,100 Have you been warning men about the terrors 338 00:18:49,100 --> 00:18:49,740 of the Lord? 339 00:18:50,320 --> 00:18:53,540 Can you say that you have been active 340 00:18:53,540 --> 00:18:57,880 in your ministry, preaching hard against sin and 341 00:18:57,880 --> 00:19:01,920 warning against hell and informing men of their 342 00:19:01,920 --> 00:19:05,740 duty of repentance and the rudder necessity of 343 00:19:05,740 --> 00:19:06,760 regeneration? 344 00:19:07,920 --> 00:19:11,580 Have you feared your deacons and wealthier members 345 00:19:11,580 --> 00:19:12,980 more than God? 346 00:19:13,360 --> 00:19:16,240 Are you preaching to impress others with your 347 00:19:16,240 --> 00:19:19,360 acquired knowledge like that Wheaton pastor? 348 00:19:20,080 --> 00:19:23,060 Are you preaching for acceptance in your congregation, 349 00:19:23,640 --> 00:19:26,900 or are you preaching to be accepting before 350 00:19:26,900 --> 00:19:28,680 Jesus Christ in heaven? 351 00:19:29,720 --> 00:19:33,240 Can you say before a holy God right 352 00:19:33,240 --> 00:19:36,200 now that you have been warning the wicked 353 00:19:36,200 --> 00:19:40,060 to turn from the wicked ways so they 354 00:19:40,060 --> 00:19:44,100 won't perish in an everlasting burn in hell? 355 00:19:44,460 --> 00:19:47,300 If you were to stand before God's mirror 356 00:19:47,300 --> 00:19:51,420 right now, would you look down on bloody 357 00:19:51,420 --> 00:19:52,320 hands? 358 00:19:53,520 --> 00:19:56,440 It is time to go wash in the 359 00:19:56,440 --> 00:19:59,580 river like R.G. Lee and get a 360 00:19:59,580 --> 00:20:02,920 touch heaven that will shake your church and 361 00:20:02,920 --> 00:20:05,340 community with revival. 362 00:20:06,200 --> 00:20:09,200 God gets serious with those who get serious 363 00:20:09,200 --> 00:20:09,960 with him. 364 00:20:10,540 --> 00:20:11,920 The sun is setting. 365 00:20:12,640 --> 00:20:14,180 The day is far spent. 366 00:20:14,760 --> 00:20:16,180 The night is at hand. 367 00:20:16,760 --> 00:20:17,960 What will you do? 368 00:20:18,520 --> 00:20:19,800 Let us pray.