Whisper Revival, Part 5

The Search for Whisper Revival

0:00 Speaker 1: The following is from the book Whisper Revival by Timothy Williams.

0:05 Speaker 1: The book Whisper Revival examines today's reality that if a religious event can be promoted as revival, then it is not of God.

0:15 Speaker 1: We live in a time period of marketed, advertised and manipulated Christian events.

0:22 Speaker 1: Thus, to spot true revival, we must look for a whisper revival, as 1 Chronicles, 12, verse 32, instructs.

0:32 Speaker 1: We are to be wise like the men of Issachar, who understood the times and knew what Israel should do.

0:39 Speaker 1: The Consider Podcast Examining Today's Wis, folly and madness wwwconsiderinfo.

0:49 Speaker 1: 10.

0:55 Speaker 1: The Acid Test.

0:57 Speaker 1: Now, after years of repenting, the acid test revealed who really loves the Lord and to whom God can grant the new life.

1:07 Speaker 1: After their small steps of repentance have led up to this day and moment, think of a mother who gives birth.

1:16 Speaker 1: Think of all the little things that must be done the eating of proper foods every day, the joy, the anxiety, the preparation of the room, the selection of clothing, choosing names, a thousand and one things thought of and done every day.

1:33 Speaker 1: A good mother must order her life, do all she can, run the course marked out for pregnant mothers and trust the Lord.

1:43 Speaker 1: If the Israelites had failed at this point, they would have lost everything they had worked for.

1:49 Speaker 1: In order to pass this all-important test, you must confess your sin and self fully once again.

1:57 Speaker 1: Think of it Over fifteen years of waiting and it still ended with more confession of sin.

2:04 Speaker 1: Are you willing?

2:07 Speaker 1: It appears that some of the priests, like our pastors of today, delayed their full repentance, and it came as a shock to Ezra.

2:19 Speaker 1: He had thought that by this time all would have repented.

2:20 Speaker 1: That after all God had done and the mercy he had shown, certainly they would have taken care of this matter.

2:25 Speaker 1: That after all God had done and the mercy he had shown, certainly they would have taken care of this matter.

2:26 Speaker 1: That after all the sacrifices they had performed, surely no sin would be found in their lives.

2:32 Speaker 1: Zeal in work often blinds us to sins.

2:36 Speaker 1: This explains why God will often remove work, especially ministry work, from a man.

2:42 Speaker 1: It explains why God will at times remove worship services from us.

2:47 Speaker 1: During those quiet, slow and boring times, god will allow sin to rise to the surface for you to deal with.

2:56 Speaker 1: If you are sick and unable to work or hemmed in for some other reason by the hand of God, then resolve to watch your life and doctrine closely.

3:06 Speaker 1: Rid yourself of distractions and ignore fleshly discomforts.

3:11 Speaker 1: Make every effort to seek the Lord.

3:14 Speaker 1: Everything comes to a halt because, as the verse below states, the people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands.

3:26 Speaker 1: Let us also halt before revival goes any further and ask ourselves how separate am I from the world?

3:34 Speaker 1: How separate am I, in holidays, dress, money, in all ways, from the custom of those around me?

3:41 Speaker 1: This especially applies to leaders, because they set the example and, as verse 2 in the following passage states, the hands of the princes and the rulers have been foremost in this unfaithfulness.

3:55 Speaker 1: How sad that the church leaders of today remain loaded down with the sins of loving, sports pleasure, other women, divorce and remarriage, money and self in general.

4:09 Speaker 1: If ever a passage applied today, this is it.

4:14 Speaker 1: Now, when these things had been completed, the princes approached me saying the people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands according to their abominations, those of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians and the Amorites, for they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy race has intermingled with the peoples of the lands.

4:49 Speaker 1: Indeed, the hands of the princes and the rulers have been foremost in this unfaithfulness.

4:55 Speaker 1: And when I heard about this matter, I tore my garment and my robe and pulled some of the hair from my head and my beard and sat down appalled.

5:06 Speaker 1: Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel on account of the unfaithfulness of the exiles gathered to me and I sat appalled until the evening.

5:17 Speaker 1: Offering Ezra 9, verses 1 to 4.

5:22 Speaker 1: When you see such sin, do you pull some of your hair out?

5:26 Speaker 1: Have you sat down to think about these sins until you feel appalled by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit?

5:33 Speaker 1: Only those who become appalled will have wisdom from God as to how such sin should be dealt with.

5:41 Speaker 1: Only the one who weeps will know from God what is holy to do.

5:46 Speaker 1: To put this in New Testament terms, can God, by the Holy Spirit, work the following passage in your life?

5:54 Speaker 1: For, as I have often told you before and now say again, even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.

6:05 Speaker 1: Philippians 3, verse 18.

6:07 Speaker 1: Are you flowing with tears because so many claim to be Christians but are really enemies of the cross of Christ?

6:16 Speaker 1: Do you count them as your enemies.

6:18 Speaker 1: Do you warn others?

6:19 Speaker 1: Only those who tremble at God's word and who do not deny him by their actions will experience revival and rally to God's true teachers.

6:30 Speaker 1: Everyone else will find teachers who suit their needs.

6:35 Speaker 1: Only after Ezra sat down to think about these sins did he get on his knees to pray about them.

6:41 Speaker 1: How many pray so haphazardly about sin because they do not want to sit down and look at sin in a serious manner?

6:49 Speaker 1: How easily we pray for others about their sins without first sitting down before the Lord to become appalled.

6:57 Speaker 1: How few of us can claim to be as embarrassed as Ezra at the sin in others' lives?

7:03 Speaker 1: When was the last time you felt embarrassed before the Lord because of the sins of others?

7:09 Speaker 1: Most of us are probably not even embarrassed by our own sins, let alone concerned about someone else's.

7:17 Speaker 1: We only care about ourselves and our personal salvation.

7:22 Speaker 1: For this reason, so many who talk about sins in the church do so little about it.

7:27 Speaker 1: By the power of the Spirit, only when we feel embarrassed like Ezra will we feel fit to stretch out our hands and pray from our knees about the sins of others.

7:39 Speaker 1: But at the evening offering I arose from my humiliation, even with my garment and my robe torn and I fell on my knees and stretched out my hands to the Lord, my God, and I said O, my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift up my face to Thee, my God, for our iniquities have risen above our heads and our guilt has grown even to the heavens.

8:07 Speaker 1: Since the days of our fathers to this day, we have been in great guilt and on account of our iniquities, we, our kings and our priests have been given into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity and to plunder and to open shame, as it is this day.

8:29 Speaker 1: But now, for a brief moment, grace has been shown from the Lord, our God, to leave us an escaped remnant and to give us a peg in His holy place.

8:40 Speaker 1: That our God may enlighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our bondage.

8:47 Speaker 1: Ezra 9, verses 5 to 8.

8:49 Speaker 1: In verse 8, we see for the first time Ezra talking about grace and the word revival or reviving used Naturally.

9:00 Speaker 1: Now they can honestly talk about being enlightened in the Lord, of really understanding what grace and revival are about.

9:08 Speaker 1: Oh, that God's people would also go to the end of revival, that they too would see that grace provides the power to change, to overcome and to be victorious.

9:20 Speaker 1: Read Titus 2, verses 11 to 15 below, and notice how it instructs us that God's grace gives the power to change.

The Process of Revival and Repentance

9:30 Speaker 1: The grace of God, if alive in you, teaches you to say no to sin and to live self-controlled, upright and godly right now, in this present age.

9:42 Speaker 1: The grace of God gives overcoming power to say no to self, and if you don't have this grace, you need revival.

9:52 Speaker 1: Titus states that this is the grace that has appeared to all men.

9:58 Speaker 1: This is what God means by grace, and it is quite a contrast to sermons preached today.

10:05 Speaker 1: How many claim to agree with this grace but know it not.

10:10 Speaker 1: From a position of revival, for the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.

10:18 Speaker 1: It teaches us to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives.

10:29 Speaker 1: In this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope, the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

10:48 Speaker 1: These, then, are the things you should teach, encourage and rebuke with all authority.

10:55 Speaker 1: Do not let anyone despise you.

10:57 Speaker 1: Titus 2, verses 11-15.

11:00 Speaker 1: This grace, presented with all authority, with encouragement and rebukes, is exactly what Ezra showed the Israelites.

11:17 Speaker 1: 11.

11:17 Speaker 1: The Whole Camp.

11:19 Speaker 1: As we said at the start, revival is for the remnant of the remnant.

11:24 Speaker 1: The remnant is tested and only an escaped remnant stands before the Lord.

11:30 Speaker 1: Be afraid, because few, very few indeed, survive a revival.

11:36 Speaker 1: Revival is the removal of dross, not the gaining of new members.

11:41 Speaker 1: The Israelites stand in the midst of reviving, yet Ezra trembles that it could all be lost if the people do not repent.

11:50 Speaker 1: Ezra was not selfish or self-centered about revival.

11:54 Speaker 1: He had the love of God in him.

11:56 Speaker 1: He knew that if the whole camp did not repent, then each individual's revival was at stake.

12:02 Speaker 1: Today everyone would walk away too satisfied with themselves to worry about a few folks who will not repent.

12:10 Speaker 1: How little love is in the church today.

12:13 Speaker 1: No one wants to confront sin, but each person remains selfishly satisfied if they feel secure in the Lord.

12:22 Speaker 1: For we are slaves, yet in our bondage.

12:25 Speaker 1: Our God has not forsaken us but has extended loving-kindness to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us reviving, to raise up the house of our God, to restore its ruins and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem.

12:42 Speaker 1: And now, our God, what shall we say after this?

12:47 Speaker 1: For we have forsaken thy commandments, which thou hast commanded by thy servants, the prophets, saying the land which you are entering to possess is an unclean land, with the uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations which have filled it from end to end, and with their impurity to your sons, and never seek their peace or their prosperity.

13:22 Speaker 1: That you may be strong and eat the good things of the land and leave it as an inheritance to your sons forever.

13:27 Speaker 1: And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and our great guilt, since thou, our God, has requited us less than our iniquities deserve and hast given us an escaped remnant as this, shall we again break thy commandments and intermarry with the peoples who commit these abominations?

13:47 Speaker 1: Wouldst thou not be angry with us to the point of destruction, until there is no remnant, nor any who escape?

13:55 Speaker 1: O Lord, god of Israel, thou art righteous, for we have been left an escaped remnant, as it is this day.

14:03 Speaker 1: Behold, we are before thee in our guilt, for no one can stand before thee because of this.

14:10 Speaker 1: Ezra 9, verses 9-15.

14:13 Speaker 1: Do you see this?

14:16 Speaker 1: After years of building, sacrificing, repenting, worshipping and waiting upon God, they conclude Behold, we are before thee in our guilt, for no one can stand before thee because of this.

14:29 Speaker 1: Didn't God answer their fasting and prayer?

14:32 Speaker 1: Did not God give them victory to this point?

14:35 Speaker 1: Maybe they were just being too hard on themselves?

14:38 Speaker 1: Would we not, in our foolishness or in our jealousy of their revival, comfort them and tell them to claim the blood of Jesus?

14:46 Speaker 1: Would we not point out their sin in our self-righteousness?

14:50 Speaker 1: Instead of repenting, wouldn't we seek to knock the other person down to size In this way?

14:57 Speaker 1: So many people pervert righteousness.

14:59 Speaker 1: While in captivity, they want everyone to do poorly in the Lord.

15:03 Speaker 1: If they cannot be blessed Like Cain, they are downcast because of their brother's righteousness, until, of course, they can cause them to stumble.

15:13 Speaker 1: If a fellow wanderer in the desert is blessed in the Lord, it gulls them to no end and they must do something about it.

15:21 Speaker 1: And until they make them stumble, they are not happy in the Lord.

15:25 Speaker 1: However, would not Ezra and his fellow worshippers quote to us the following passages Therefore, come out from them and be separate, says the Lord.

15:37 Speaker 1: Touch no unclean thing and I will receive you, I will be a father to you and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.

15:46 Speaker 1: 2 Corinthians 6, verses 17-18.

15:50 Speaker 1: Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.

16:06 Speaker 1: 2 Corinthians 7, verse 1.

16:07 Speaker 1: So few in the church today can speak of perfecting holiness by cleaning up their spirit and body.

16:14 Speaker 1: Today, the church, however, constantly says all God cares about is the heart.

16:20 Speaker 1: How blessed the Israelites were that they did not have this attitude and realized that the heart reflects in how a man dresses and behaves.

16:31 Speaker 1: For you see, all the little brokenness and little sins God had shown over the years had prepared them for this day.

16:38 Speaker 1: Similarly, jesus rebuked Peter for three years to prepare him for his denial at the end of those years.

16:46 Speaker 1: For over three years, jesus' rebukes to Peter were mild preparations for getting to the cross.

16:54 Speaker 1: At that point, peter finally despaired of self.

16:57 Speaker 1: In other words, because the people repented of the small things over the years which God showed them he could deal with all of self In the same way, since Abraham learned to surrender and trust God daily, he could one day be faithful enough to sacrifice his own son, samson, who learned literally to die in sin.

17:19 Speaker 1: His own son, samson, who learned literally to die in sin, slew more when he died to self than when he was alive.

17:25 Speaker 1: Samson said Let me die with the Philistines.

17:27 Speaker 1: Then he pushed with all his might and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it.

17:34 Speaker 1: Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived.

17:40 Speaker 1: Judges 16, verse 30.

17:41 Speaker 1: You too must learn this literally that you will kill more for the Lord when you die to self than when you are alive.

17:50 Speaker 1: Until that time, like Samson, your passions, fleshly desires, stubbornness, lies and half-truths will continue to cause you to be taken captive.

18:02 Speaker 1: Consider the quiet time in jail and discipline that Samson endured before this revival took place.

18:09 Speaker 1: Pray that you will never need revival and prepare yourself, if you do, for what God must work to reconcile you.

18:17 Speaker 1: Samson had to have his eyes gouged out and be bound in chains to learn his lessons.

18:24 Speaker 1: What will it take for you to no longer halfway weep over your sin?

18:28 Speaker 1: Pray that you will be as Jesus described he who is faithful with little will be faithful with much.

18:36 Speaker 1: Those willing to daily repent of the small things will be ready to sacrifice self on the day God calls for the end of revival.

18:45 Speaker 1: After all, he who repents of small things will never again need revival.

18:51 Speaker 1: Blessed is the church with leaders that can direct the people in this.

18:55 Speaker 1: But as long as you consider short times of weeping as crucifixion, even the most godly leaders will profit you nothing.

19:04 Speaker 1: Day of Birth Does the following sound like the crowning achievement called revival?

19:13 Speaker 1: Yet it is God's revival.

Complete Repentance and Obedience for Revival

19:16 Speaker 1: Now, while Ezra was praying and making confession, weeping and prostrating himself before the house of God, a very large assembly men, women and children gathered to him from Israel.

19:29 Speaker 1: For the people wept bitterly.

19:31 Speaker 1: Ezra 10, verse 1.

19:33 Speaker 1: Again, hadn't they wept many times before?

19:37 Speaker 1: Of course they had, but their hearts needed to fill up with the cross of Christ.

19:41 Speaker 1: Sadly, the church often accepts individuals after small tokens of conviction.

19:47 Speaker 1: Counting the cost just does not happen often in the church today.

19:52 Speaker 1: The cost that says we must give up all, certainly calling the crowd of visitors who come to your church vipers, is totally unheard of today.

20:03 Speaker 1: The people of Israel came to this place where they either had to decide to give up all or lose all.

20:10 Speaker 1: Either the baby would be born alive or stillborn, either they would give that one final push for delivery or kill the baby in the womb.

20:18 Speaker 1: Either the Israelites would have the strength to finish the revival or the revival would become an everlasting disgrace.

20:25 Speaker 1: How many churches and individuals reach the end of revival only to find out they haven't the strength to finish it?

20:33 Speaker 1: They return to their old, comfortable, religious ways.

20:37 Speaker 1: They get right to the end having thought all along that this revival is great but only gave 99.9% to the Lord.

20:46 Speaker 1: Because of this, they didn't have the strength to deliver the new life.

20:50 Speaker 1: They told him.

20:52 Speaker 1: This is what Hezekiah says.

20:54 Speaker 1: This day is a day of distress and rebuke and disgrace.

20:59 Speaker 1: This day is a day of distress and rebuke and disgrace, as when children come to the point of birth and there is no strength to deliver them.

21:05 Speaker 1: Isaiah 37, verse 3.

21:08 Speaker 1: Notice below that they sent away their own children and wives in order to have the Lord.

21:14 Speaker 1: They had come to a day of decision.

21:16 Speaker 1: Each person had to ask themselves.

21:18 Speaker 1: They had come to a day of decision.

21:19 Speaker 1: Each person had to ask themselves Is fellowship with God more valuable than fellowship with my wife, children or with the world?

21:26 Speaker 1: Put in New Testament terms, they would have to live as though they are not married, not look for a wife and cleanse themselves from the world.

21:36 Speaker 1: What they needed to do was clear, for they had been unified in God's Word and Spirit.

21:42 Speaker 1: No longer were any debates necessary as to what they should repent of.

21:47 Speaker 1: We waste much time in the church today because men can't even recognize sin, let alone know how to repent of it.

21:54 Speaker 1: And Shechaniah, the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said to Ezra we have been unfaithful to our God and have married foreign women from the peoples of the land, yet now there is hope for Israel in spite of this.

22:11 Speaker 1: So now let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives and their children, according to the counsel of my Lord and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God, and let it be done according to the law.

22:26 Speaker 1: Ezra 10, verses 2 to 3.

22:28 Speaker 1: If revival comes from God, then let it be done according to the law or according to the word of the Lord.

22:36 Speaker 1: Let your church demonstrate so much obedience that others will call it legalistic.

22:43 Speaker 1: If there is any hope left in spite of your church's sins, let each person seek the counsel of the godly and of those who tremble at the word.

22:51 Speaker 1: If you are just one individual in the midst of revival, then seek out those who know what is to be crucified with Christ and ask for counsel, beg for it, go out of your way for it, and if they call you a dog, all the better.

23:06 Speaker 1: Don't find someone you consider to be your equal in the Lord or someone you feel comfortable getting advice from.

23:13 Speaker 1: Seek out those more mature in the Lord and demand counsel.

23:18 Speaker 1: Keep away from anyone who puts obstacles in your way, either by their life, doctrine or words.

23:25 Speaker 1: Out in the open, no one can mistake it.

23:30 Speaker 1: Boldness and openness mark this type of obedience.

23:35 Speaker 1: If you have to tell someone you are repenting or being revived, then you are not really repenting.

23:40 Speaker 1: Don't ever say you are repenting, because everyone will see that in you.

23:45 Speaker 1: If it is true, like Zacchaeus, let us not repent quietly hidden away somewhere.

23:50 Speaker 1: Let us arise and proclaim our repentance by correcting our wrongs four times over.

23:57 Speaker 1: Do you want reconciliation, revival and salvation from the Lord?

24:01 Speaker 1: Then this is the only way.

24:04 Speaker 1: And Zacchaeus stopped and said to the Lord Behold, lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.

24:16 Speaker 1: And Jesus said to him Today, salvation has come to this house because he too is a son of Abraham Luke 19, verses 8 to 9.

24:28 Speaker 1: Let us stop everything and claim the day of revival, repenting fully of what God shows us.

24:36 Speaker 1: Let everyone see you stop everything, especially ministry work, and tell the Lord how you plan to specifically repent.

24:45 Speaker 1: Make a list of your sins with scriptures on how to repent and then set out to obey.

24:51 Speaker 1: The Holy Spirit will meet you there.

24:53 Speaker 1: Let all see your shame, your sin and your repentance.

24:57 Speaker 1: This is where salvation is found, for this is God's way of revival.

25:03 Speaker 1: He blesses those who show courage in their repentance.

25:07 Speaker 1: The Israelites repented with so much zeal that they sealed it with an oath.

25:12 Speaker 1: Since they resolved to repent, it would be done and nothing would stop them.

25:17 Speaker 1: In fact, ezra did not enjoy any fellowship the bread and the water with the Lord until repentance took place.

25:25 Speaker 1: Let no good thing of the Lord that you keep you from repenting first.

25:30 Speaker 1: Let nothing keep you from making sure others repent.

25:34 Speaker 1: Do not be selfish and content in the Lord if others do not repent.

25:39 Speaker 1: Arise for this matter is your responsibility, but we will be with you.

25:45 Speaker 1: Be courageous and act.

25:48 Speaker 1: Then Ezra rose and made the leading priests, the Levites and all Israel take an oath that they would do according to this proposal.

25:57 Speaker 1: So they took the oath.

25:59 Speaker 1: Then Ezra rose from before the house of God and went into the chamber of Jehohanan, the son of Eliashib.

26:06 Speaker 1: Although he went there, he did not eat bread nor drink water, for he was mourning over the unfaithfulness of the exiles.

26:15 Speaker 1: Ezra 10, verses 4-6.

26:19 Speaker 1: Encourage your leaders to arise and deal with sin in each home and family.

26:25 Speaker 1: Invite your pastor into your house and plead with him to point out anything sinful.

26:31 Speaker 1: You heard that right.

26:32 Speaker 1: Encourage him to arise, act and be courageous.

26:36 Speaker 1: How many love pastors who mind their own business.

26:39 Speaker 1: You see, before this time, at the start of God's warnings of captivity, they had refused those whom he sent In the scripture above.

26:48 Speaker 1: They pleaded with Ezra to go and confront people with God.

26:52 Speaker 1: But in Isaiah's day they said.

26:54 Speaker 1: They say to the seers See no more visions.

26:58 Speaker 1: And to the prophets Give us no more visions of what is right, tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions.

27:07 Speaker 1: Leave this way, get off this path and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel.

27:13 Speaker 1: Isaiah 30, verses 10 to 11.

27:17 Speaker 1: Ezra and the leaders did arise, so much so they arose with an oath, a revival that does not come this way is not of God and will not end in reconciliation with Him.

27:31 Speaker 1: As the passage below declares, anyone who doesn't accept this revival will forfeit all he owns in the Lord and be excluded from the church.

27:38 Speaker 1: And they made a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the exiles that they should assemble at Jerusalem and that whoever would not come within three days, according to the counsel of the leaders and the elders, all his possessions should be forfeited and he himself excluded from the assembly of the exiles.

28:01 Speaker 1: Ezra 10, verses 7 to 8.

28:03 Speaker 1: Of course, the passage below would say three days.

28:07 Speaker 1: Jesus was raised on the third day and all of Scripture points to him who he is and how he deals with us.

28:15 Speaker 1: So all the men of Judah and Benjamin assembled at Jerusalem within three days.

28:22 Speaker 1: It was the ninth month of the twentieth of the month and all the people sat in the open square before the house of God, trembling because of this matter and the heavy rain.

28:34 Speaker 1: Ezra 10, verse 9.

28:37 Speaker 1: Of course revival was out in the open, in the light, where everyone could see sin being dealt with.

28:42 Speaker 1: These folks were walking in the light long before the command was written with ink.

28:48 Speaker 1: Of course they were all at church and not doing as they pleased on Sunday.

28:52 Speaker 1: No attendance problem here.

28:54 Speaker 1: Of course, only men led in this revival, since women did not lead in the church.

29:00 Speaker 1: Of course, the rain sent from God that washed away their sins symbolized their water baptism that, a long time ago, saved them.

29:08 Speaker 1: God could wash away their sins because they willingly trembled over what they had done and read each line of Scripture with a holy fear.

29:17 Speaker 1: They were now ready to obey Scripture all the way.

29:22 Speaker 1: Indeed, they wanted with joy to give all in order to obey God and to hear His voice once again.

29:29 Speaker 1: Fellowship with God now meant, more than anything, the one thing God had waited for, the one thing that would bring full reconciliation and the normal Christian life.

29:40 Speaker 1: The Israelites were now willing to do.

29:44 Speaker 1: These people were not foolish virgins who only had enough oil to get them by.

29:48 Speaker 1: For a few short hours In the parable, five of the virgins, though they kept themselves pure, did not overflow with the Holy Spirit and the Word of God.

29:58 Speaker 1: These virgins, more virtuous than those churches around them, were still sadly wanting in the Lord.

30:05 Speaker 1: They were even so noble as to realize they needed to go and buy some more oil.

30:11 Speaker 1: They even set out, with great speed and action to buy some oil.

30:16 Speaker 1: They looked like they repented.

30:18 Speaker 1: They knew they needed revival, but they had waited too long to allow revival to do its work.

30:23 Speaker 1: Their hearts would never be right.

30:26 Speaker 1: The only reason they desired more oil sprang from a selfish motive they only wanted Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior.

30:35 Speaker 1: These virgins wanted more of the Lord and His righteousness, but it was too late.

30:39 Speaker 1: They thought they had enough oil to get them by and didn't need a thing.

30:44 Speaker 1: They even made it through most of the dark night and though they felt in their hearts something wasn't right, they considered conviction by the Spirit to be enough.

30:53 Speaker 1: They even ran off and bought more oil because of their need to be closer to Jesus.

30:58 Speaker 1: Let us learn the lesson that being convicted of sin and having some oil is never enough to save one's soul.

31:07 Speaker 1: They had overestimated their standing in the Lord, the first sign of the need for revival.

31:13 Speaker 1: But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived.

31:19 Speaker 1: The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet and the door was shut.

31:24 Speaker 1: Later the others also came, sir, sir.

31:28 Speaker 1: They said open the door for us.

31:30 Speaker 1: But he replied I tell you the truth, I don't know you.

31:34 Speaker 1: Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

31:39 Speaker 1: Matthew 25, verses 10 to 13.

31:48 Speaker 1: 12.

31:48 Speaker 1: Words of Comfort, of course the Israelites did not hear words of comfort unless you count comfort as being allowed to obey God.

31:59 Speaker 1: They did not hear words of encouragement and peace unless you count humility, the best self-esteem in the world.

32:06 Speaker 1: Ezra was no false prophet preaching in the church who told them how God loved them, so they were free to please themselves.

32:15 Speaker 1: This was an honest-to-goodness, godly revival where the priest went straight for the sin.

32:21 Speaker 1: He demanded that they repent, make confession, do God's will and obey the Scriptures.

32:28 Speaker 1: This is not the kind of preacher we want in our churches today.

32:32 Speaker 1: This is a godly preacher that demands obedience to the Lord in all things, not just a few select commands.

32:39 Speaker 1: Then Ezra and the priest stood up and said to them you have been unfaithful and have married foreign wives, adding to the guilt of Israel.

32:49 Speaker 1: Now, therefore, make confession to the Lord, god of your fathers, and do His will and separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives.

33:00 Speaker 1: Then all the assembly answered and said with a loud voice that's right, as you have said, so it is our duty to do.

33:10 Speaker 1: Ezra 10, verses 10 to 12.

33:12 Speaker 1: What unity among the people that they could all proclaim it was their duty.

33:18 Speaker 1: They all agreed what to repent of and how to repent.

33:22 Speaker 1: The daily foundation of sacrifice paid off.

33:26 Speaker 1: They had done their daily duty and now they could do all that God required with a joyful heart.

33:33 Speaker 1: What denial of self.

33:35 Speaker 1: We see what grand righteousness, what overflowing holiness, like a never-failing stream, belonged to them.

33:43 Speaker 1: Their acts of righteousness would not stop and start In the past.

33:49 Speaker 1: They might do some righteous acts one day, but the next day be full of self.

33:53 Speaker 1: Once their worship services had been sin.

33:56 Speaker 1: Now they would be acts of holiness.

33:59 Speaker 1: At one time there might be a trickle of purity from them.

34:03 Speaker 1: Now they had overflowing righteousness like a stream.

34:06 Speaker 1: In order to get this righteousness, god had to stop their assemblies and send them into captivity Because they submitted to this discipline.

34:16 Speaker 1: Mercy would be theirs in abundance.

34:20 Speaker 1: I hate, I despise your religious feasts.

34:22 Speaker 1: I cannot stand your assemblies.

34:25 Speaker 1: Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them.

34:30 Speaker 1: Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them.

34:36 Speaker 1: Away with the noise of your songs.

34:38 Speaker 1: I will not listen to the music of your harps, but let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream.

34:47 Speaker 1: Amos 5, verses 21-24.

The Crucial Step to Revival

34:53 Speaker 1: Now the Israelites would be fit to deal with the enemies around them.

34:56 Speaker 1: No longer would they wallow in self-absorption, dealing with their petty personal problems and discomforts.

35:04 Speaker 1: No longer would their weekly Bible studies just be self-help groups that come together and chat about their personal problems.

35:12 Speaker 1: The kind of Bible studies that do just enough good deeds and say just enough righteous words to make one feel righteously comfortable in the Lord.

35:22 Speaker 1: Or a Sunday school class where everyone goes around and shares their stupid opinions about what they think God's word means.

35:30 Speaker 1: They had been willing to tremble with fear, so God allowed them to touch the hem of his garments.

35:37 Speaker 1: They were granted the mind of Christ.

35:39 Speaker 1: The depth of unity concerning God's word displays the fruit of revival.

35:46 Speaker 1: God does not grant revival and then leave each man to interpret His Word as he sees fit.

35:53 Speaker 1: That kind of disagreement shows the need for revival, not the result of revival.

35:59 Speaker 1: See how united the Israelites were concerning God's Word.

36:04 Speaker 1: Note how they listened and submitted to the leaders God had given them.

36:08 Speaker 1: In fact, in their zeal they asked that the leaders represent the whole assembly in this matter.

36:14 Speaker 1: What a change.

36:16 Speaker 1: Before captivity they despised and rejected the authority of God's teachers.

36:21 Speaker 1: Now they embraced and loved teachers that dealt with sin.

36:26 Speaker 1: In the past they were powerless to do that which was right, to understand the correct course.

36:32 Speaker 1: Now they could run in the way of righteousness.

36:36 Speaker 1: No longer would their deeds not be complete.

36:39 Speaker 1: But there are many people, it is the rainy season and we are not able to stand in the open, nor can the task be done in one or two days, for we have transgressed greatly in this matter.

36:55 Speaker 1: Let our leaders represent the whole assembly and let all those in our cities who have married foreign wives come at appointed times, together with the elders and judges of each city, until the fierce anger of our God on account of this matter is turned away from us.

37:13 Speaker 1: Ezra 10, verses 13-14.

37:16 Speaker 1: How could they talk of God's fierce anger and take several days to repent when he had brought them so far in the rebuilding of the temple?

37:27 Speaker 1: The answer lies in the meaning of true revival.

37:30 Speaker 1: In the rebuilding of the temple.

37:33 Speaker 1: The answer lies in the meaning of true revival.

37:34 Speaker 1: The closer we draw to God, the more we realize the shameful sins in our lives.

37:36 Speaker 1: Those far from God in need of revival have little sense of what they do wrong.

37:43 Speaker 1: Those whom God chooses to bring to Himself must come to see sin and self clearly.

37:49 Speaker 1: When the disciples first fell on their knees at the calling of Jesus, they no doubt thought they saw all their sins.

37:57 Speaker 1: Little did they know that Jesus would convince them of the futility of self and sin in ways they could not nor wanted to imagine.

38:06 Speaker 1: Very often, those who talk of God's fierce anger and see that anger clearly on his face stand on the verge of forgiveness.

38:16 Speaker 1: Those who have backslidden and yet talk of taking days or even years to repent of a sin draw near to full reconciliation with God.

38:26 Speaker 1: Those who admit they don't really understand one's scripture by the enlightened power of the Holy Spirit will gain the mind of Christ.

38:34 Speaker 1: The person closest to the cross not only sees his sin and weakness of self clearly, but remains only days away from the resurrected life.

38:50 Speaker 1: 13.

38:51 Speaker 1: The One Thing.

38:53 Speaker 1: Sadly, many pass through all the valleys and travel along the winding roads that lead to the day of revival, only to turn back.

39:03 Speaker 1: They too have prayed, fasted, wept, rejoiced, waited, worked, sacrificed, accepted discipline and trusted God, but now they cannot do the one thing that would seal revival in their lives.

39:17 Speaker 1: The cost seems too high.

39:19 Speaker 1: And now they turn their backs on God Forever.

39:23 Speaker 1: What a waste to come to the end of revival and still remain dead in sin and self because they opposed the last and one thing God demanded of them.

39:34 Speaker 1: Think of it they gave 99% to God but refused to give 100%.

39:41 Speaker 1: They failed at the greatest command God gave.

39:45 Speaker 1: Let our officials act for the whole assembly.

39:49 Speaker 1: Then let everyone in our towns who has married a foreign woman come at a set time, along with the elders and judges of each town, until the fierce anger of our God in this matter is turned away from us.

40:04 Speaker 1: Only Jonathan, son of Asahel, and Jeziah, son of Tikva, supported by Meshulam and Shabbatai, the Levite, opposed this.

40:14 Speaker 1: Ezra 10, verses 14-15.

40:18 Speaker 1: What made Jesus a Christian while he walked with us?

40:21 Speaker 1: What was the one thing that made Jesus different from the rest of us and what is the one thing that, if we had it in fullness, would make us perfectly like him?

40:31 Speaker 1: That one thing is the cross.

40:34 Speaker 1: He carried his cross daily and was crucified to self perfectly, every hour and second of every day.

40:41 Speaker 1: Suppose Jesus had done everything God wanted him to do except die on the cross.

40:46 Speaker 1: Where would we be If Jesus had denied himself in every way that God called him to all those years but refused to die on the cross, there would have been no salvation for us.

40:59 Speaker 1: In the same way, if we refuse to be crucified to self by the power of the Holy Spirit, how can we be saved?

41:06 Speaker 1: To be sure, this is a salvation.

41:09 Speaker 1: Apart from works for God, works it in us.

41:12 Speaker 1: But if we refuse the cross, what hope is there?

41:16 Speaker 1: We must have the same attitude as Christ in order to put our flesh to death.

41:22 Speaker 1: Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin.

41:42 Speaker 1: 1 Peter 4, verse 1.

41:43 Speaker 1: Only those willing to hate their very lives will permit God to deal with them so powerfully.

41:45 Speaker 1: He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.

41:51 Speaker 1: John 12, verse 25.

41:54 Speaker 1: An individual who does not have this God-inspired hatred living in them will refuse the justifying work of the Holy Spirit.

42:03 Speaker 1: For it is this godly hatred that makes one ready to be a disciple of Jesus.

42:09 Speaker 1: This is what Jesus told the large crowds, the religious crowds that followed him.

42:15 Speaker 1: It is this word, hate.

42:17 Speaker 1: That Jesus turned and declared to them Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them, he said If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and his children, his brothers and sisters, yes, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.

42:37 Speaker 1: And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

42:42 Speaker 1: Luke 14, verses 25 to 27.

42:46 Speaker 1: If this godly hatred is present in a church, then everyone can carry his own cross and follow Jesus.

42:55 Speaker 1: For those who do not hate their own lives and permit the living God to crucify their sin and self, though they travel many miles with Jesus, will certainly die in hell.

43:08 Speaker 1: Now is the time to wake up, to revive what is about to die.

43:12 Speaker 1: Clean your soiled garments so that your name might remain in the book of life.

43:18 Speaker 1: Do you have ears that can hear the call to a whisper revival that God speaks to the churches today?

43:25 Speaker 1: Remember what you have received and heard and keep it and repent.

43:30 Speaker 1: If, therefore, you do not wake up, I will come like a thief and you will not know at what hour I will come to you, but you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy.

43:46 Speaker 1: He who overcomes shall thus be clothed in white garments and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.

43:59 Speaker 1: He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

44:04 Speaker 1: Revelation 3, verses 3-6.

Starting Over

44:13 Speaker 1: 14.

44:13 Speaker 1: Discipleship To begin.

44:17 Speaker 1: People often ask where do I begin?

44:20 Speaker 1: The answer lies in the nature of revival.

44:24 Speaker 1: Revival means starting completely over and beginning again.

44:29 Speaker 1: It is new life.

44:31 Speaker 1: A man or woman unwilling to lay everything at the cross and start from the very beginning is not ready for God's revival.

44:38 Speaker 1: Everything must be plowed up.

44:41 Speaker 1: For God's good seed of revival to be planted in you, the ground of your heart must be laid bare and made ready to receive God's revival seed.

44:50 Speaker 1: To be sure, the old ground that was never plowed must be broken up, for many never received any blessing of his seed.

44:59 Speaker 1: The hard soil, the ground with weeds and the mixed field of wheat and weeds must all be laid bare to the wind, sun and water that causes God's seed of revival to produce a harvest of righteousness.

45:14 Speaker 1: That very beginning, the good seed, can be examined in my book entitled Hating for Jesus.

45:21 Speaker 1: For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem Break up your fallow ground and do not sow among thorns.

45:32 Speaker 1: Jeremiah 4, verse 3.

45:35 Speaker 1: If you long for revival and are prepared to examine yourself to see if you need revival, then Hating for Jesus is the next book you may want to read.

45:45 Speaker 1: This book will help you start with a clean slate, even if you feel strong in the Lord.

45:52 Speaker 1: It will help you allow the Lord to prune you back so that you will produce more fruit, for you can't just sew on this new patch of material and expect it to survive attached to old spiritual ways.

46:06 Speaker 1: No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, otherwise the patch pulls away from it the new from the old, and a worse tear results.

46:18 Speaker 1: Mark 2, verse 21.

46:22 Speaker 1: Hating for Jesus deals specifically with the very first step everyone must take before they can call themselves a Christian.

46:29 Speaker 1: Indeed, if someone is not living and fully preaching John 12, verse 25, and Luke 14, verses 25 to 35, then they have no eternal life in them.

46:41 Speaker 1: Take warning Hating for Jesus is not a book for those who do not like the tone of Jesus' offensive cross.

46:49 Speaker 1: Revival can only come from the living, true God.

46:54 Speaker 1: If this Holy Spirit-inspired hatred is present and growing, hating for Jesus speaks directly to this first issue, which must be the issue of issues every day for every Christian.

47:08 Speaker 1: Everything said, with all of this said, may you humbly accept the revival that is according to His Word.

47:19 Speaker 1: May you be revived, but only according to His living Word.

47:24 Speaker 1: My soul cleaves to the dust.

47:27 Speaker 1: Revive me according to Thy Word.

47:30 Speaker 1: Psalm 119, verse 25.