In this sermon, the preacher shares a powerful testimony of a man who experienced the voice of the Holy Spirit. The man was about to shut a window when he heard God's voice telling him it was alright to shut it because God would be outside and he would be inside. This encounter with God broke the man and made him realize his own pride and selfishness. The preacher then goes on to talk about how God was also working in the lives of others in the congregation, breaking and cleansing them. The sermon emphasizes the importance of obedience to God and the need for personal repentance and sacrifice.

This message is one of the Times Square Church pulpit series. It was recorded in the sanctuary of Times Square Church in Manhattan, New York City. None of these messages are copyrighted, and you are welcome to make copies for free distribution to friends. Well, brothers and sisters, we'd like to thank God again for the wonderful privilege that He has given us that we are with you today. Paul has written, I think it's one or two congregations, where he's told the congregation, I thank God for you because your faith is being spoken about in different places. And I want to tell you today that it's the very first time that we've come to this church that is my colleague Chael and I, but we've heard for years now about what God is doing here. But I'd like to plead with you, brethren, when God does something, then it's for His honor and for His praise. Let us not rob Him of what belongs to Him. And the good name that the Lord has given for the work, let no one be guilty of ever spoiling that. But give glory to God through your lives, through whatever you do. After we have done everything the Lord Jesus said, we must say, Lord, we are useless servants. So glory be to His name for the work at Times Square Church and all the other ministries that are connected to it. And we thank God that today, this weekend, we could share with God's people. As I said before, excuses, we might speak a bit differently, we might say some strange things, but I hope that you look at us and see our hearts and know that we mean it well. I'm going to ask Brother Chael, and we're going to sing something for you in English. And if you know the song, feel free to join us. It's a simple song that we sing back in Africa, and I think that you'd agree with us. When we think of everything that God has done for us, we cannot and we will not go back anymore. When I remember what the Lord has done, I'll never go back anymore. When I remember what the Lord has done, I'll never go back anymore. No, no, no, no, no, I'll never go back anymore. No, no, no, no, no, I'll never go back anymore. When I remember what the Lord has done, I'll never go back anymore. No, no, no, no, no, I'll never go back anymore. Well, brethren, like I said to you the other day, you know, as we sing these songs, then we think of Africa, we think of home. And especially, like I said to you, that I like bass. And both Chael and I sing bass in our choir. You know, when we come to the part where you say, ka, ka, ka, ka, ka, then you must hear the man sing right at the back, ka, ka, ka, ka, ka, it sounds good. Well, brothers and sisters, I thought today, oh, we're both going to share. Brother Chael will continue from where he ended on Friday and share with you from the Word of God and some of the things the Lord has taken us. Because we're not just here just to tell you all the wonderful stories and then just go away. But we are here to take you through some of the things that the Lord taught us. Because we believe with all our hearts that anywhere and everywhere where the Lord finds hearts that are prepared and vessels that are clean, the Lord will work and I think you can testify to that as well. I thought I could share a bit more again about my people back in Africa. Because, as I said on Friday, it's wonderful to see how God takes the people with their culture, with their tradition, and if He is allowed to, there are things that He cleanses. He takes away from cultures and traditions. But there are things that the Lord enhances and enriches. And as I thought about it, I was reminded of Paul when after speaking about wonderful things, wonderful gifts, wonderful ministries to the Corinthians. He came to chapter 13 of the first Corinthians and he said, But I want to show you a more excellent way. Now, in our Christian lives, it's up to us. If we want to, we can be satisfied with the ordinary things. By ordinary things, I mean you go to church, you pray, you read your Bible. In fact, that should be a normal thing for every Christian. But the blessings of church history and even as we read in the Bible, it is when people have taken upon themselves, when people have gone to God and they said, Lord, I want your best for me. Do you want God's best for you? I'm reminded of an American minister, a man that was used of God in America, who wrote a whole, in fact, it was a whole sermon that he preached one day. He said, people, we've got high technology. We are great in America because we've got a lot of high technology. People are making experiments and people are doing research and that is why we are able to go to the moon and do all these wonderful things. But he said, who has researched what God can do if He is allowed to? Who has researched God's best? Have you asked yourself, Lord, what could you do? What do you want to do with me? Lord, if I am fully committed to you, if I am fully yours, what would you do? Who has gone into that kind of research? I want God's best. But often, we go through life and we are satisfied with whatever we get. And perhaps that explains why the church is in the state in which it is today. Not man's best, but God's best for us. And it is my prayer for you, but especially for myself and well, that I'll be satisfied with nothing less but God's best for me. And that is when people have experienced revival, when they have said, Lord, I want your best for me. Some men of God have even thought of people like Hannah in the Bible. She said to her husband, you've got to give me children or otherwise I'll die. You'd say, but that's crazy. And the husband said, but I can't do that. Only God can do it. Yes, only God can do it. And that's exactly what revival is about. What is impossible for men to do that God wants to do for us. And we must look for that. Back to the Zulus. I told you there are some good things about my people, but there are things that are bad also about my people. I'm frank about it today because I told you I'm not just a Zulu Christian. I'm a Christian Zulu. I'm a Christian and I'm a Zulu. Not a Zulu and then a Christian. That is why I'm prepared to speak frankly about things. I love my people, but at the same time, I won't say that wherever my people go, I will go. No, no. Wherever God goes, I'm going to go. One thing that worries me and that concerns me about my people is the long history of suspicion and fear. And sometimes people get sophisticated, but still, there is that suspicion and fear. I'm going to illustrate it to you. If I've got some stomach ache back in Africa, I've got to say to myself, but why have I got stomach ache? I must remember, somebody is trying to kill me. Now, where did I last eat? What was in that food? Why have I suddenly got stomach ache? That's a reality. Always suspicious. Somebody is jealous of me. Today, some of our people say, you mustn't build a nice house because if you build a nice house, you're going to die. Why are you going to die? Somebody will be jealous of you. Somebody is going to bewitch you. May I tell you how far that goes? Some of our people would plant vegetables, potatoes and things, but if the crop looks too good, some people in some areas would even go to the extent of taking sticks and beating everything down. It mustn't look too good. Otherwise, people are going to kill me because of jealousy. So strong is that amongst my people. Some people say, if I send my children to school, to university, and they're well qualified, people are going to kill me. It's a reality till today. Suspicion and fear. That is why our politics is what it is today. People are easily intimidated if you tell them, you will join my party or otherwise. You don't have to say any further. Or otherwise, and that's it. That fear and that suspicion, that's part of my people. That is why witches and witch doctors have got so much power. Speaking about witches and witch doctors, I hope that you will understand if I use this kind of language. Today, we've got what is called PC, politically correct language. They say, you mustn't speak about witch doctors and witches. You must speak about traditional healers. I'm sorry. Well, please allow me just to use the language that will make you understand these things even better. Because if I say to you traditional healers, then you will not understand that some of these people use any part they can find for their medicine. Even human parts are used sometimes. And if I say traditional healers, you will have some romantic idea of them. I'll call them witches and witch doctors. And they wield such a lot of power because they are able to wave away all these spells that have been cast upon you. I mean, in the morning, when you go out, you say, well, as I walk here, I wonder who walked here first. If the person that walked here didn't do something here on the ground so that when I go over it, I'll die. And let me tell you something. In some cases, it happens. There is evil power. The devil works through his power. But I want to tell you today, and you know it, of course, that for us that are God's people, we dare not fear. We're not afraid of these things. But yet, we dare not deny the fact that those are real things that are there. But Christ's power is above all this. But suspicion and fear. But let me mention, on the other hand, something that is very precious in the culture of my people. It's lost to a great extent. Hospitality. People back in Zululand are so hospitable. Oh, many of them used to be. In fact, I've studied a bit of our language. Amongst all the proverbs that we've got, I don't know of any other concept that has got so many proverbs as hospitality. Now, let me put it this way. If you should go to Gwazilu-Natal and you should ever get stranded one day and you need just to go to a place and spend the night or just a plate of food, do you know what you should do? You go to a Zulu home. Try to get a bit of the history. You know, the Zulus want you to know a bit of their history. Like, I am Fano Sibisi. But I don't want you to know that I'm Sibisi. I'd like you to know that one of my great-grandfathers was Puvungana Matase. You must mention all these things. And then I feel good. That's what the Zulus are like. Know a bit of their history. But after doing that, after greeting them, you use some beautiful language. You tell them, I've come here as a traveler. I'm just passing by. And you don't have to worry that I'll eat a lot. My stomach is as small as a kidney of a bird. That's part of the language. In Zulu you'd say, Or then they realize, even if you're a big man, but your stomach is as small as a kidney of a bird. Now, I could tell you many other things that just go around hospitality. But our people would give you their best. Even if it was their last chicken in the house, they'd slaughter it and give it to you. As a traveler, as a stranger, do you know why they do that? Because we're told in our Proverbs that you'll never know where you're going to land one day. Here am I today. I never thought that one day I'd be here. So I'd better be good to everybody that comes to my house because I'll never know where I'm going to land one day. Hospitality. And now when the Lord comes, that's even more enhanced. Openness. Warm hearts. Warm houses. And I tell you, dear Christians, in cultures where that gets lost, when God works through revival, that has got to change. I want to tell you, we've been to countries where people have lost the culture of hospitality, especially in Europe. We'd come there, and they'd tell us, well, there are a few people that would like to speak to you, people from Africa. We've told them to sit over there. Now, you come. We've got something for you to eat. We as Africans, we look at that. We say, these people have come to see us. Why must they sit over there and have nothing to eat whilst we eat? As far as we're concerned, that's not good testimony. The Lord has worked through things like that. That today, I'm happy. We've got two brothers here from Switzerland. They will testify with us today that when we go to Europe, our brothers know that hospitality is one of the attributes that God enhances in any culture. And there are countries where I say, Lord, work through your spirit, because I see some people are so cold. They hardly even would invite you. But Lord, I know that when you move through your spirit, that has got to change. At our Revival Centre, dear friends, we've got to live a life of sacrifice. You're happy if you're in your room, but there are times when you've got to have more people and sometimes you've got to move out of your room in order for God's people to come in, to have a place to stay, where you've got to share the food that you've got. Hospitality. That was there in the past, but it got lost. But when Revival started, God enhanced that hospitality. And if you'd like to, go to your Bible and read what the Bible has got to say about hospitality. And you can learn something out of that. Finally, let me speak about something else. A good thing that was there amongst my people that got lost a bit, but God has revived it. Our people had a sense of pride in their young people. Now, that differs from the West. You know the women in the West, now if you want to compliment them, I don't know what it's like here, but if you want to compliment a lady, you've got to compliment her for her slender figure. Is that what it's like here? It's like that in most parts of the world. You know, slender, you know, she looks good. But back in Zululand, it's not like that. When you write a book in Zulu and you want to describe a queen, for example, if you said, you know, there she stood with those thin legs and a slender figure, the Zulus would think, oh my, we won't have a queen like that. But if you write and say, as I approached the palace of the king, I saw her, there she sat like a mountain. Well, that's it. And, you know, sometimes some people, you know, get a bit of a fright, you know. Like, now, speaking about a lady's legs, now the Zulus have got a sense of, you know, what they say, if a woman has got good legs, they say they are as big as a baby. The legs must be as big as a baby, as a child, you know. One leg, you know, that's the size. Or like tree trunks. Those are things just for us to laugh about. But in that pride, there's something else. As they would see the young people and the father would say, I've got young girls, I've got virgins in my house. Virgins. Virginity, purity. That was highly treasured amongst our people. Let me tell you what some kings did. In some cases, kings and chiefs would have a special day where the whole tribe would come together. All the young women of the tribe would have to be there. War be tied if the tribe run away. They've all got to be there. The tribe has got to be there. And the chief of that area would have two flags, or two banners. One in his palace and one out there in the field. The one at the chief's place would be a white one. And the one over there would be a black one. And then the older ladies of the tribe would have to go aside with all the unmarried women of the tribe. And they'd go through each and every one of them to make sure if they are still pure. And if any girl was found to be not pure anymore, do you know what would happen? She'd have to walk through the whole tribe to the black banner or black flag And the father of that girl would have to pay penalty. A cow or two. Not the mother, the father. Because the father is supposed to be responsible for his family. He's supposed to see to his wife. He's supposed to see to his children. And what a shame that would be. A girl like that would often be given to an old man and say, okay, old man, you can choose from these girls. And the pure ones have got to wait for young people, the young men, for marriage. Those that are pure would have to rush to the king's palace and some would try to jump high to touch that white flag because before the whole nation they had been found pure. Now you'd say, but that was in the olden days. You're right. A lot of that has gone lost amongst my people. But when God came down through his spirit, that's one of the things that he revived, not only for Zulus, but for everybody in the revival. Purity, virginity has become a highly treasured norm and value again amongst our people. Why? Why? Because in the Bible, Paul even speaks about it, I want to present you before Christ a virgin. How can we understand that language, dear friends, if we lose things like that? Of course, some people are found by Christ and they have already lost it. But we say from now on, from now on, when you meet with Christ, there is second virginity and purity is called for again. That is why when our young people get married, what a joy it is when they can come to the front, white robes, a white garment, a veil, and we can testify, in most cases by God's grace, that they are pure. Let me share with you something that is very personal. My mother-in-law, the day I got married to my wife, she called me. She said, my son, I want you to know this. By God's grace, I'm presenting to you today a virgin. I'll never forget that. I respect her for it. I respect my wife for it. Now, don't think that this is far away. It's close. Don't think that it's culture, it's traditions that are far away. It's close. For those that are unmarried, even if you've lost it, you can have it again. For those that have got it, you don't have to be ashamed of it. We live in cultures today where we see on TV, in films, that people make you look as if you are stupid. If you're still keeping it, you're not. It's a virtue. And God wants it. And God demands it of us. And remember, you've got children. Mothers, but let me start with fathers. Fathers present before God your young girls pure by His grace. In the revival, we've seen that. And our marriages, by God's grace, have been blessed because our young people have learned to walk this way, not in their own strength, but in the power of His Spirit. Those are wonderful things. Those are pearls that I thought I'd share with you. I hope I haven't shared too much, too deep, but I hope that these will be things that you can also pray about. Should I say, perhaps, that's some of the prizes for revival. May the Lord bless you. Turn with me, if you have your Bibles, to Leviticus, chapter 9. And we're going to read from verse 22. Leviticus, chapter 9, from verse 22. If you remember, for those of you who are here on Friday night, we began by sharing with you a little bit about the preparation in the hearts of God's people for revival. Remember, we shared with you from John about the living water, about that old cow shed that they prepared by removing the dung, which is a condition of revival, but removing the dung for prayer meetings and how they began to seek God's face in earnest prayer, how God began to speak to them through His Word. Now, let's continue in that vein, and we're going to share with you a little bit about more preparation, some of the price and the conditions of revival, and then some of the glorious results of revival. But let's start in Leviticus 9, verse 23. And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation. That's chapter 9, verse 22. And Aaron lifted up his hands towards the people and blessed them and came down from offering of the sin offering and the burnt offering and peace offerings. And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation and came out and blessed the people. And the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the people and there came out a fire out from before the Lord and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat, which when all the people saw, they shouted and fell on their faces. Let me just repeat the first part of verse 24. And there came a fire out from before the Lord and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering. Dear brethren, I'd like to share with you an aspect. There are various aspects of revival which we cannot cover even if we're to speak about the subject in every service today. But the aspect of fire. God, our God, who is a consuming fire. And if we ask for revival, we need to know what we're asking for. We're asking for fire. In the last book of the Bible, it says that He will come like a refiner's fire and who will be able to stand? There are those who pray for revival, who long for revival, who talk about revival, but oh, when He does come and when He does work with His fire, who is able to receive it? Fire. What is fire like? One of the aspects of fire is that it burns. It burns the rubbish. And if we pray for God to work, He begins by burning the dross and the rubbish in your life. And some don't want Him to do that. And they will build a wall of protection and have a fire service to protect themselves, so to say, and have a fire hydrant and a fire hose close by in case it gets too hot because they hold on to rubbish and to dross. While they're in the church, while they worship the Lord, while they're witnessing of Christ, they're holding to rubbish. But when the fire of God comes, He burns. We're going to speak about that in depth later on. Another aspect about fire is that when the fire of God comes, He brings light. You know, when God's light shines, fire shines. It brings light. And when that light shines, there are some things about yourself which you never knew and which may horrify you, may shock you. But God wants to deal with it. And that light will penetrate. It will go deep. His Word will penetrate and cut even between the bone and the marrow. Can you imagine such depth, such separation? The other aspect of fire is that it brings power, divine authority and power. Paul said, be careful, especially in the last days, because there will come a people, and he means Christians, at least those who profess faith, who will have the form of godliness, have the right teaching, the right doctrine. Everything will be right. They will have the right shape, the right color to it, say the right things, but they will deny the power of it, for they lack the fire. But now, what is it that brought the fire? And we're going to be speaking a little bit about this, and I'd like to share with you some of the things that God dealt with in the lives of His people, because it wasn't just that fire appeared out of nowhere. I'd like you to do a little bit of homework. When you get home, study a little bit of chapter 9 and see for yourself what happened prior to this time. It wasn't just a sudden event and a prayer meeting or two and fire came down. They were implicitly obedient to God and brought the sacrifices, each one as they had to be, symbolizing the cleansing, the shedding of the blood, the peace atonement. And when the last offering had been offered, God's fire came down. Now, so it was with God's people that they, as they gathered in this little old cow shed, God began to burn with His fire already, even before He poured out His Holy Spirit. He began to burn and to shed light and to speak to them in power about things in their lives. And let me just touch upon a few things which the Lord spoke to them about and which I believe is relevant still today. That happened way back in 1965 and the Lord continues to work. But let me share with you some aspects, some things that the fire may point out and the light that He may give. God wants everything on the altar before His fire comes down and He won't be worshipped with anything else but with His fire. We're going to read a little bit later on in chapter 10 about another fire, about a strange fire. But if you want God's fire, He wants everything, the last thing on the altar. One of the things that Christians sometimes withhold is their body. Now, I'm not speaking about those in the world who still live in immorality and I trust that that's not what troubles you at all, whose bodies are still belonging to the devil, who still live in fornication and in adultery and defiling themselves with themselves, with pornography or whatever it is. But you know, some people, their bodies are like an idol to them. They have never brought it to the altar for God's fire to burn. They've never presented themselves as a living sacrifice to God and their bodies are still conformed to this world. It still follows the fashions of this world and the pride of this world. And one finds that in that person, the mind is still undealt with by God and you find that that mind is used for evil, lustful thoughts. How many Christians aren't there who are free from adultery, free from messing around with the opposite sex, but who are bound and in bondage and enslaved to dirty thoughts and will live for years nurturing and entertaining dirty thoughts. And you will find, dear Christian brother and dear Christian sister, that this will cripple you. You will be crippled. You will be immobilized. There's a brother here who went skiing a week or two ago and he had a bit of trouble and his poor leg suffered as a result and he's still feeling it today and he's semi-crippled. He's getting out of it. But there are some Christians who are totally crippled because their thoughts have never been brought to the altar. They've never been willing to sacrifice their thoughts and they live enslaved. Do you know what a slave is like? A slave cannot do what he wants to do. He's got to do what he's told. And that person's mind is churning over and over again the same old thoughts and they've never brought it fully to the cross. They've never been willing to confess it and to drop it and to leave it and to resist it. And you find that that person is fireless with no power, no light, no authority and that person is dead and dry. God dealt with dirty thoughts. God dealt with the minds of these. You know some people, they're not troubled by sexual lust in their thoughts but they're troubled by superstition in their minds. Now I'm speaking about believers. Brother Fanon was sharing about the superstition that is prevalent among the Zulus, the unconverted ones. Let me speak about us in the West. We speak and counsel many, many people and this problem I don't know if it troubles you but wherever we go, especially in Europe the trouble with suspicion minds who are bound by suspicion perhaps you walk past your pastor and you think, well, is he going to greet me? Or some brother that you look up to in the church and perhaps they were distracted by something else and they didn't greet you with the smile you expected and you're suspicious. Aha! He's got something against me. There must be something that he's thinking about me. A week later you see that same brother or sister speaking confidentially to one or two people and as you walk by because you have a heart and mind of suspicion you notice that they glance at you and they're talking softly and you cannot hear Aha! They're speaking about me. And you're suspicious. And the next time you greet that brother there's something in your heart against that brother already which the devil has poisoned your spirit with because it's come through your mind and you think, now, let's see whether this brother is free towards me and of course the reality is you are not free towards him and that's why he's not free towards you and you think, now, is he really going to smile? Does he still love me? What has he got against me? What grudge has this person got against me? And in the meantime you're being deceived. You're the one who's got the grudge and at night you pray and you say, Oh Lord, you see how some of your children are on bondage to grudges. You see how they talk about others. Lord, forgive them. They do not know what they do. And in your heart you are the one with the grudge. Your mind is bound with suspicion. Oh dear friends, suspicion can cripple. It can destroy. That's the dross and the rubbish which the fire of God needs to burn out of our lives. Some people's minds are troubled by fantasy. They cannot stop their thoughts. Now, some people it's sexual fantasies. For some people it's heroic fantasies. You know, perhaps it's a young lady that has caught your eye and the young man begins to fantasize, rescuing her from an impossible situation. You the hero and she thinks you are so great because of the fantasy. The devil controls the mind and you entertain these thoughts. You know, it was a man of God who one day said, you can't stop the birds from flying over your head, but you can stop them from making a nest in your hair. And some people entertain these thoughts. Some fantasize about marriage and then bondage to the craving to get married. Oh, it's a wonderful thing to be free and to be pure, even if you've been impure before your conversion. But when Christ has come and set you free and has burned away the dross and the rubbish and He is Lord over all, you are free. And when He gives a marriage partner, you are still free. But then there are those who fantasize about it and fall into bondage. You heard maybe about the young lady said, Oh Lord, give me a husband. Lord, a husband, please. She prayed for weeks. Lord, a husband. One day in her fervency, she went outside. She had a tree where she would sometimes pray under. She went outside at night and she prayed earnestly to the Lord under the tree. And as she lifted up her voice with the plea, Oh Lord, give me a husband. There was an owl seated high up on a branch and the owl got quite a fright from the loudness of her prayer and suddenly she heard, Who? Who? And she said, Lord, anybody, anybody. Some people's minds have never been brought to the altar. They are still controlled by the evil one. Poisoned by suspicion. Poisoned by sexual fantasy. Poisoned by thoughts that keep your spiritual cripple. God dealt with these things in each life. You know, as they would come every night to pray in this little cow shed and seek God's word, they saw themselves in the light of God's word. God dealt with pride. Olo Stegen, the missionary who was together with these Zulus, he says, and openly confesses, he says, the main thing that God dealt with me about was my pride. He said, one thing the Lord showed me was my racist heart. He said, you know, the Lord said to me, if you want revival, you need to become the servant of all. He said, Lord, even the servant of the blacks? Now that was the time when South Africa was at the peak of apartheid. Oh, he was ashamed. When that thought came to him, he was immediately ashamed. He said, O Lord, is that what my heart is like? You see, sometimes you think thoughts and the Lord says, is that what you like? You can think that about your brother? The Lord said, you need to be the servant of all. One day, and I'm going to relate to you an incident which he says happened in those days where God was breaking his pride and burning that dress away. He came to the prayer meeting. Now, this cow shed was situated just on the other side of the road where there was a tennis court. And the dignitaries of this village, the postmaster, all whites, the postmaster, the police superintendent and others used to have a tennis match on that particular day at that particular time when they were going to have their prayer meeting. And as he walked in, he suddenly felt ashamed. He said, Lord, they're going to hear us praying because at that time they were praying in desperation. It would be prayer that would be audible and heard outside. He said, Lord, they're going to hear us at the tennis court. This is the end of side one. You may now turn the tape over to side two. With these black people, he said, Lord, wouldn't it be perhaps more appropriate just to shut the window? And he walked to the window. Now, in Africa, it's hot. And that is why we leave our windows open most of the time. And this particular town is very hot. And it was one of these slide-up windows. And as he took the window to shut it, he says, the Holy Spirit said to him, It's alright. Shut the window. I will be outside and you will be inside. And as he heard that voice from God, he cried, he wept before the congregation. He told them of his thoughts. He said, Oh, dear brethren, these are my thoughts. God broke him. God dealt with this rubbish in his life. He was only conscious about his own life before God, his own thoughts, his own pride. Not realizing that at the same time, God was dealing with these other brethren. God was speaking to them, breaking them, burning that rubbish. They were bringing that which was of the devil in their hearts to the altar. Bringing it all to be sacrificed. Fathers would go to their children and say, Children, I'm sorry. Remember that time when I lost my temper? Remember that time when I kicked the cat? And I shouted those words? Forgive me. It's a humbling thing, isn't it? For a father. Husbands would go to their wives Now, that's a humbling thing, isn't it, gentlemen? And say, Wife, forgive me. You know the angry words I've spoken? The way that I've mishandled you? The way that I've abused you? The way that I've mistreated you? Forgive me. Wives would go to their husbands and with great sorrow, with great sorrow, not just a simple apology, but with a heart that is broken by God, say, Husband, forgive me. This is what I've been like. You see how I always had the last word. You see the things that I've said. I'm sorry. And you know, as God was dealing with them in these, sometimes they'd get into their car and travel miles, many miles, just to go to somebody and say, Brother, forgive me. Do you remember that time when I argued with you? I'm sorry, I was wrong. Now, don't go to somebody and say, Well, brother, I'm sorry about it, but you were wrong as well. No, no. When the Holy Spirit works, humble yourself. Don't worry if the other person was also at fault. That's their problem. Humble yourself. And as God was doing that, suddenly, one day as they were in prayer, God's fire fell. All was on the altar. And God came down in Holy Ghost power and fell upon them. You know, some of the things which happened are so amazing and so strange in a sense that one can hardly describe it. They say there was a rushing of wind so powerful it was like being at a filling station where they, you know, where they pump a tyre, car tyre, with that air, high pressurized air, there was a rushing of wind and a fire that burned in their hearts. It was so overwhelming that the whole atmosphere was like the very atmosphere was alive with God's presence. They didn't go out and advertise anything. They rang no church bells. They proclaimed nothing. But suddenly the heathen began coming. You know, when we pray for revival, we often say, Lord, save the heathen. And that is true. We need to pray that prayer. But sometimes we need to, Lord, say, save us, O Lord. Deal with us. And that's what God began to do in their midst. And then God answered their prayer, dealt with them, and immediately He began to reach out to the heathen. The first person to come was a witch. She arrived and she knocked on the door of this place. They opened and here she was. And an old witch can be a very frightening thing to see. I don't know if you've got them around here. Although, when I walked the street yesterday, there was somebody showing us around. I saw some similar faces. And some shops where it was full of the occult. But this witch said, Can Jesus break these chains of hell? That was her first statement. They were shocked. They said, Woman, who told you this? She said, Don't waste my time. Can Jesus save me? Can He break these chains of hell? I'm on my way to hell, she said. They stood in amazement because for twelve years they'd been reaching out to the witches and not one had broken through for Christ. Yes, they'd been those who made a profession but always mixed their Christianity with the occult. They would hide their skins under western clothing and at night perform their secret rituals. But here she was under conviction of sin. The fire of God was burning. She said, Is it possible? Is Jesus able to break these chains? Eventually they realized they can't ask too many questions. It was God who had brought her and they explained the way of salvation. That sin can be brought to the cross. Jesus can indeed forgive. And she turned to the Lord with all her heart. And then they realized they better pray for this woman. She's in bondage to demonic powers. They didn't know what to do. They took her into a smaller room and a few of them then just sat on chairs. They'd never prayed for somebody like this before but they began by singing an Easter song. Jesus has died. A very straightforward song of the message of the gospel. Jesus has died. He's risen. He's conquered death and he's conquered the devil as well. And as they began to sing, she dropped down on her knees and began to crawl around like a ferocious beast with a terrible expression on her face. So much so that one of the co-workers ran out. They were so afraid. There was such a demonic horrifying expression on her face. She began to growl, to bark with many dogs in her, to grunt with many pigs. By the way, I say brethren, let's beware of any movement in the church where the sounds of animals are revived again and where we blame it on the Holy Ghost and we say it's the spirit that's at work. When we hear animal sounds, we know it as coming from another source. They prayed a simple prayer of authority that these demonic powers should leave. Now I'm not going to mention some of the things that were said as well. There's not time but it wasn't long when these authorities, these powers who said we are 300 strong-armed men in this room and we will not let her go had to leave because the fire of God had come. They said since God's fire has come, we've got to leave. And they left. And they say in the moment, at that very moment when these authorities left and these demonic powers were out, her face changed from that of an old wrinkled witch to that of a saint who had walked in the presence of God for years. She suddenly had an angelic expression of relief and freedom and godliness upon her face. Then the next one came also in demonic bondage. It was like the walls of Jericho were crumbling. God's fire was burning. He was bringing people from all around. Evangelism is us going out to the people. Revival is God bringing people to himself. And so, they would wake up sometimes in the morning and there would be 200, 300 people maybe outside on the grass weeping, crying. They should have been at work already. Now Zulu men are real men. You know, one of the problems and one of the reasons why we have a women's lib in the world today is that men aren't men anymore. But Zulu men are generally real men, really strong-willed, really strong in themselves. But oh, when God began to work with his Holy Spirit fire, even these strong men melted. They said, we can't go to work. We've been beating our wives. We've been living godless lives. They said, our sin is so great, we've got to confess our sin. They would often openly confess their sin. They wouldn't find relief until they'd spoken it out. And oh, the relief and the joy when God comforted them through the Lord Jesus, saying that I forgive. I cleanse. I totally remove and I wash it away. Whiter than snow. Brother Fano and I, we come from a country where there is no snow. Occasionally on the mountains very far away where we don't see them. But for us to wake up this morning and see this beautiful white snow and to be reminded that the blood of Jesus washes whiter. Can you get whiter than the snow outside? But the blood of Jesus washes whiter than the snow. And oh, the relief when God would set these people free. A wife would go home. Her life was totally changed. And after a while the husband would say, man, what has happened to you? Now, traditionally, a woman washes her husband's feet. Now, I'm not telling you that you've got to follow the Zulu culture, but she would wash her husband's feet and he would say, but why is it you always washed my feet when I commanded you to and you did it grudgingly and even then you did it with cold water. Now without asking, you bring hot water. What has happened to you? And he said, you listen to me. And remember, this is a heathen man, an unreasonable man, sometimes alcoholics. He said, you know, what I couldn't do with my stick, because Zulu men often use the stick on their wife. And some of these sticks are thick sticks. Often they have a knob right at the end. He said, what I couldn't accomplish with my stick, the God of the white man has done for you. And he would say, take me to this place. Where is it? And he would turn to the Lord. And be saved and be completely changed. Children would go home to their parents. And, oh the difference. Let me tell you when young people turn to Christ, there must be a difference. You young person, teenager, if you are here in this audience. If you've turned to Christ with all your heart and you are still backbiting and bickering and complaining to your mother and your father and backchatting and doing things that you know you shouldn't do, which they don't want you to do. You still need to repent. You still need to bring these things to the altar. You know, God worked such wonderful things such glorious things we could speak about it for a long time. But let me just tell you of two or three instances where I tremble to tell you because miracles is not revival. But revival is often accompanied with miracles. Now people began to come from miles away. Sometimes 15, 20 miles away they would walk. And this area was up hills and down valleys, across rivers just to get there. Some would bring their friends crippled on wheelbarrows to bring them there. They said, the God of these people even heals them. Jesus can heal. And very often these same people who were brought in the wheelbarrow would push their wheelbarrow all the way home again because God had healed them. Very often without even special prayer under the preaching of the word, suddenly people would be healed. There was an instant instance where a man now again I tremble to say it because I don't want you to get the idea that this is always what happens and that this is the norm. Let me tell you, we are going to share this afternoon perhaps of the story of Lydia who God raised from the dead. But let me tell you another story. A man had died and was in a mortuary in King Edward Hospital in Durban. King Edward Hospital is the biggest hospital in our state of KwaZulu-Natal. And while he was lying there on the cold concrete block a nurse walked in to do whatever she had to do and suddenly his toes began to wriggle and she ran out screaming. He sat up and soon a doctor was called in and he was alive again and he said something has happened to me God has spoken to me and while he was dead now we didn't know the man, he had never heard of KwaZulu-Natal while he was dead God spoke to him now I'm not going to give you the full story but God said you are on the way to hell but I want you to go to that place of KwaZulu-Natal and at that place you are going to see this particular man and he saw a man in this vision as he was dead, you go to that man and I want you to ask him how to get right with me and he said please let me go, let me out of here he was released he insisted on getting out of hospital he went back to his home area I think it was Umlazi one of the big townships in Durban and he began to ask people where is KwaZulu-Natal now that is the center of revival KwaZulu-Natal means the place where people are helped and that is the center now which we have and nobody had heard of the name at that time until he came across one man and said you know I had a friend who just came back last week, he was an alcoholic and he had been there for some weeks and the Lord has delivered him and I know where that place is and he was brought to the car and the first person he saw was the man the Lord had shown him when he had been dead and he immediately poured out his heart he said I am not ready for heaven, I am on my way to hell God said I must speak to you tell me what needs to be said he was brought to the cross poured out his sin and Jesus forgave him he shone immediately his life was changed was different and a few days later only he said I want to go home just three weeks later they got the news he had died and the Lord had given him that opportunity that special opportunity to get right with himself there are many instances where one can only say the Lord has sovereignly worked where we hesitate sometimes to speak about it because some people immediately sensationalize it and say well that is revival when dead people are always being raised from the dead and cripples are walking well God can do that and does do that but that is not revival in itself revival is God amongst his people when the fire of God is burning and God has continued to work in a glorious way at the center of Gwasisabantu we can now accommodate about 4000 people we feed at least 1200 people at every meal free of charge we have a Christian school there of about 570 people the Lord has added to the coworkers the full time missionaries we are about 100, 110 and we go out in teams we still evangelize but God continues to bring the people not just Zulu people but you will find sometimes hardened white Afrikaans people who have hated the blacks who have heard about this place and somehow they get there and when they see so many blacks around them they are a little bit disappointed and they will make sure that their hand is behind their back when it comes for an opportunity to shake hands because they have never shaken the hand of a black man before but God's fire deals with them sometimes just in one weekend and by the time they need to go they not only want to shake hands they want to embrace their black brethren and God has been doing that through the peak and the height of the it's never been a problem where God is at work there is unity and you become the servant of your brother you cannot think that somebody is less than yourself you know some people some people it's not race and color it's class that person earns far less or he is jobless and who is he how can I sit on the same row as he is sitting on and there is a pride in your heart that God's fire needs to burn and oh the fire of God has gone further and further and has done such wonderful things I could share with you many things let me just share with you one instance that happened recently again this is an exception and this is not generally what happens a girl who came from Switzerland had AIDS and she had been diagnosed as HIV positive by her specialist there she was a drug addict had used dirty needles and she came to Sizaban to die she was in a terminal state she couldn't walk very far anymore she couldn't keep food down and she was obviously coming to the end but she turned to the Lord with all her heart this happened in the Christmas 1993 she turned to the Lord I think it was about November turned to the Lord and poured out her heart to him and received cleansing and forgiveness and she had the peace and rest that at least I'm going to heaven we tell AIDS people that the wages of sin is death you are going to die but in this instance God just did something different though we didn't ask for it we tell people of course you can be forgiven God can totally forgive you and you can go to heaven and you're going to die but she began to get better but one thought well you know AIDS sufferers they go up and down and sometimes it looks a little bit better but she got plumper now for the Zulus that's a very good sign like we told you in fact my wife one day having lost a few pounds which she was quite glad about a Zulu lady after a service came and to compliment her she said to my wife you know you're looking so healthy so beautiful your legs are just like tree trunks now that is a sign of beauty well she was getting plumper she was beginning to even help around starting to wash dishes at the back and she asked for work after a few weeks the director of the mission he is still there today said you know I think you need to go for an AIDS test he knew of her background sent her to the district surgeon at about 12 miles from us took her blood and sent it to a pathologist in Peter Meritsburg 80 miles away with a note that this is the lady and he would like a blood count and to find how far the HIV has progressed it came back HIV negative with a nasty note saying the wrong blood must have been sent and with a note saying now next time make sure that you draw the blood and that you personally put it into a sealed envelope which he did personally drew the blood sent it there and again the letter came back HIV negative and she is still with us today she is preparing to go back home she has been helping in our bakery and she is plumper than ever is very healthy and God has healed her however again let me emphasize the wages of sin is still death this was God's sovereign act for which we didn't even ask for now I would like to get on to a part just in closing a part which is disturbing and which we need to take careful note of we ended in verse 24 let's continue to the very next verse chapter 10 verse 1 and Nadab and Abihu the sons of Aaron took either of them his censer and put fire therein and put and put incense therein and offered strange fire before the Lord which he commanded them not now brethren God's fire was already burning and God had declared that all true worship must have this fire from his altar which he had ignited he insisted as he does today that he will be served with nothing less than his own fire nothing less than his own fire for he had come down on this altar and he had given the fire and we need to be careful that we don't make the same mistake that these two priests of God made they were preachers so to say, they were ministers unto the Lord they weren't just congregation members they were servants of God and we don't understand the full story behind this we don't know really what it means here, we can surmise but whatever it was God says it's strange fire which I have not commanded you and you know the result in the next verse they went out fire from the Lord and devoured them and they died before the Lord dear brethren, in revival one also sees fearful things things which make us tremble and fall before God and say God you are a holy God and you will be served only with your holy fire which you have ignited can you imagine the sons of Aaron this was within the family here, they had been anointed and called and chosen by God to serve Him and they make such what we would say is a simple mistake what was so serious about this, they went and took strange fire other fire, but Lord surely to destroy them and dear friends, it's a lesson till today you might say well that's the Old Testament and of course strange and extreme things happened in the Old Testament think of the first revival in the early church when God was working with His divine fire when children of God were inspired to come with all that they had and with their wealth and with their property to lay it at the feet of the apostles, because of the fire that burns, not because of any high pressure technique to get money out of them but because the fire of God was burning and then another fire, this strange fire was burning in the hearts of a married couple a man and a wife called Ananias and Sapphira during the revival and they had a secret agreement in the bedroom you know sometimes Christian couples agree on things and have secret discussions and maybe scandals about the pastor or about whoever it might be and it's just their secret which they confidentially keep and it's agreed between them this is just our secret and you bring it into the church and oh dear friends beware be careful for God's true fire is still burning and He will judge strange fire so Ananias comes and he makes an offering to the Lord just imagine he was giving to the Lord but it was a strange fire just like Nadab and Abihu they were giving service to the Lord but it wasn't from God it was from themselves what they had decided on, something more convenient some little compromise and Ananias and Sapphira they were under no compulsion to bring their money to Peter but they felt well, the others are doing it let's do it too that's one of the dangers of revival is imitation people begin to copy what others are doing and God's anger is upon it God is a consuming fire and you know the story how Peter said, you've not lied to me but you've lied to the Holy Spirit you've brought a strange fire and God's fire of anger came down upon Ananias at that very moment that's in the New Testament era that's the era in which you and I live dear brethren a few minutes later or was it a few hours later here his wife comes unknown to her her dear husband with whom she had made an agreement is six foot under and she doesn't know it and the lie is perpetuated because there was a false fire burning in her heart and again and again Peter in all honesty checks the story out and she lies again dear brethren have you got a forked tongue a lying tongue you give an impression to the pastor you give an impression to the leaders of your congregation maybe you're from another congregation but you're living a lie you've got the right smile you've got the right pious expression you've got the right attitude of worship but you're living a lie beware of God's fire and Ananias was six foot under and his wife soon to join and she made the same mistake dear woman if your husband sins and if he starts going astray don't be united with him in that yes the bible says woman be submissive but don't be submissive if your husband is going off the way and is asking you to follow him in error and in sin you have the fire of God and bring him back oh I thank God there are many women who have raised their husbands from the dead in Hebrews chapter 11 it says there are women who received their husbands back from the dead by faith and there are many dead husbands let me tell you dead in sin where a woman by God's grace still has the fire of God burning in her and sometimes she needs to persevere for years maybe you're a wife here and you are getting despondent about your husband he's still like this I've been praying for years I've asked the preacher to pray he's still like it hold on hold on to God persevere trust in him don't let go and at at any price please don't follow him in his error don't follow him he might give the impression that he that he despises your faith let me tell you he respects your faith because you are holding on and by God's grace that hard heart can still be broken God can still change that hard heart the next thing Sapphira repeats the lie God's fire comes down and she is consumed in God's wrath and she dies there are things that happen in revival and sometimes God's judgment the fire of God burns especially in revival time against any false fire and oh there are false fires that burn sometimes people will have a revelation that they think is from the Lord and it's from themselves it's from another source and it's a false fire right in the early years they used to have a Dodge Monaco car that belonged to the work and soon after revival began a certain brother who had heard about what God is doing came to them and said brethren the Lord has shown me that you must give me the Dodge Monaco because he wants to give you a much better car the brethren prayed about it and said well brother thank you very much we are very happy with the Dodge Monaco which the Lord has given us but we are going to pray that the Lord will give you the better car and that was the last time they heard of them some people will try and imitate revival fire by working it up themselves and will think that enthusiasm is fire, let me tell you when there is revival there is enthusiasm overwhelming enthusiasm but don't ever think that enthusiasm is revival because some people can get excited they can get all inspired and try and do something for the Lord but they touch God's anointed and they suffer because of it because they offer a strange fire remember the man who tried to put his hand to the cart which had the the ark of God as it was being rescued and he put it, he was helping God wasn't he but God's anger was upon it because he had said that only my anointed priests shall carry that and shall be appointed for that and he put himself into it and thought he could do God's work we need to have more trembling in the church today, not a terror that makes us run away from God but a terror that causes us to reverence and to fear the Lord oh I pray that this revival fire would burn in your hearts dear brethren it would burn the rubbish it would bring light and that it would bring divine authority divine power in your life thank you very much