The Chinese evangelist, John Song, shook China for
God unlike any evangelist since or before him.
His search and sermons hit his hearers like
a thunderbolt from heaven, bringing conviction to sin.
His brief 15-year ministry felt like a
meteor on China, consuming all before it as
he was the means of bringing several hundred
thousand souls to Christ through powerful revivals.
John Song's main message was the doctrine of
repentance, and he preached hard against sin.
And he went up and down China preaching
that message, and he had a famous sermon
he often used with great success, which brought
conviction to his audiences.
It was called, Open Your Coffin, and John
Song would hold a miniature wooden coffin with
a lid in his hands and open it
while he spoke, saying, We must open our
coffins to confess our sins.
He then would pull out little slips of
paper from the coffin that had certain sins
written on them, like lying, stealing, adultery, swearing.
Then, as he read off each one, he
would ask his audience to raise their hand
when they heard their sin.
Song's coffin was the means of many scenes
of revival where the platform would be filled
with broken-hearted sinners weeping and confessing their
sins.
We need revival in America today, friends, but
we don't see revival in America today because
we refuse to preach on sin.
How many sermons on sin have you heard
this year, friend, brother pastor?
How many sermons on sin have you preached
this year?
We get folks to join our churches without
ever dealing with their sins.
My Bible says, The soul that sinneth, it
shall die.
We must warn men and women and boys
and girls of the great danger of dying
in their sins.
Why do we shy away from mentioning sin?
If sin is to be repented from, it
must be confronted head-on and dealt with
by the Holy Spirit.
We don't see revival in this country because
we don't preach hard on repentance.
Because if you preach on sin, then you
must preach on the need to turn from
sin in repentance to God.
I believe in my heart, friends, that God
would rather send us revival blessings today rather
than destroy us.
But we must turn back to Him.
I believe the dark, clouded sky that hangs
over the nation of America from a closed
heaven can be penetrated like a rocket blast
if only the churches of the land would
repent themselves and turn back to the God
of the Bible.
The church herself needs to open her own
coffin and confess her sins of worldliness and
conformity.
Then after the church has realigned herself back
to God and regains her voice and authority
from God, she can then call this nation
back to God and we'll see a mighty
revival.
Let me ask you, friend, if John Sung
were here today and he was preaching to
you with his little coffin in his hand
as he pulled out his slips of paper
with the different sins written on them, what
sin would it be that would make you
raise your hand in conviction when you heard
it?
Open your coffin and reach in there yourself
and pull out your sin and give it
to God in repentance toward Him.
Let us pray.