In this sermon, the speaker shares a powerful story of two young girls who had a conviction and a vision from God. The speaker recounts how he knelt beside one of the girls as she poured out her heart in tears, believing that God would not disappoint them. Meanwhile, the speaker also shares another story of 14 young men who gathered to decide on the amount of whiskey to bring to a parish event. One of the men had a strange conviction that it would be the last time alcohol would come to the parish. The speaker then draws a parallel between these stories and the need for spiritual revival in the church today, emphasizing the importance of having the living water of God's presence and power. The sermon concludes with a call to make our hearts and lives like valleys full of ditches, ready to receive the outpouring of God's Spirit.

I should tell you of an incident when it was my privilege to witness the devil being bound. May I ask, do you believe that it's possible for us to bind the devil? I believe with all my heart that it is. I saw it happening. I saw it happening. I was asked to address a meeting in a farmhouse. It was during a time of glorious spiritual quickening. It was impossible for me to go just then, but between one and two o'clock in the morning I and several others made our way over the hill to this farm. We had to walk a little over seven miles. When we got there we found the farmhouse crowded, packed to capacity except for the scullery, or perhaps I should say the kitchen, you perhaps would understand that better. I began to preach and felt a measure of wonderful liberty. There was a sense of God in the meeting. It was easy to preach. It was easy to talk about Jesus. Then the kitchen door opened and several men came in. It was obvious to me that they were not there to worship God. Why? Their very faces expressed demon possession. Demon possession. And at that moment I found myself completely fettered and bound as a preacher. Absolutely bound. And I knew that the binding had to do with the men that came in. Oh, they were there to frustrate the purposes of God, letting loose satanic power in the midst of this meeting. Thus I already said I felt completely fettered. However, there was a young man standing in front of me. The place was so crowded that they couldn't sit, and he along with others was standing. Somehow I felt that that young man was in touch with God, and that he was conscious of the change that had come over the meeting. His bowed and his praying. I spoke to him right in the midst of my address, and said, the devils in this meeting, satanic power has been let loose, and I want you to deal with it. Because, my dear people, I knew that this young man was in touch with God, and in a place that I couldn't stand in. Oh, my dear people, we've got to be honest. I called upon him to pray, and he must have prayed for perhaps 20 minutes or half an hour, and then he stopped. And then looking up toward the heavens, he cried, God, will you excuse me for a minute? I want to address the devil. I want to address the devil. And in addressing the devil, he said this, devil, you're in this meeting, and you're here to frustrate the purposes of God. Devil, I now take upon myself on the basis of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus, to order you out of this meeting. And then he said this, devil, I put the blood of the Lamb between you and this meeting. Be gone, devil, be gone. At that moment, oh, my dear people, I would to God that you saw it, the power of God fell upon the meeting, and men were gloriously saved, including those that were in the kitchen. My dear people, that's God at work. That's God at work. And I believe through the word of our testimony and the blood of the Lamb, hell can be defeated. And the purposes of God let loose in glorious revival time. My dear people, I saw it happening. And the God that did it there could do it here. Oh, he could do it here. Oh, my dear people, help us to bind the devil in this meeting. Now turn with me for our reading to the second book of Kings, and to a very well-known portion of scripture, the third chapter, and we shall read from verse 10. And the king of Israel said, Alas, that the Lord hath called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Noah. But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the Lord, that we may inquire of the Lord by him? And one of the king of Israel's servants answered and said, Here is Elisha, the son of Shabbat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah. And Jehoshaphat said, The word of the Lord is with him. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Eden went down to it. And Elisha said unto the king of Israel, What have I to do with thee? Get thee to the prophets of thy father and to the prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said unto him, Nay, for the Lord hath called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Noah. And Elisha said, As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whom I stand surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee. But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass when the minstrel prayed, that the hand of the Lord came upon him. And he said, Thus saith the Lord, make the valley full of ditches. For thus saith the Lord, ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see rain. Yet that valley shall be filled with water, that ye may drink, both ye and your cattle and your beasts. And this is but a light thing in the sight of the Lord. He will deliver the Moabites also into your hand. And ye shall smite every fenced city, and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree, and stop all wells of water, and mar every good piece of land with stones. And it came to pass in the morning, that, behold, there, and it came to pass in the morning when the meat offering was offered, that, behold, there came water by the way of Eden, and the country was filled with water. Amen. And God will add his blessing. I am not accustomed to this sireness. I must put up with it. Now you turn with me to the portion of scripture which we read together, and to verses 16 and 20. In verse 16 we read, Make this valley full of ditches. Make this valley, this campground, full of ditches. Verse 20, And it came to pass in the morning when the meat offering was offered, that, behold, water came by the way of Eden. Make this valley full of ditches. And water came, oh bless God for that word, and water came by the way of Eden. Now those of you who are familiar with this part of Old Testament story will remember that three kings, the king of Judah, the king of Israel, and of Eden, joined forces in battle against Moab. That's the background of the text. Three armies fully equipped and ready for battle. I believe that they were well led. I believe that they had things wonderfully organized for the fight that was coming. But according to this passage, they were lacking in one thing, the lack of which would make victory impossible. There was no water. And of course without water they could not possibly face the enemy. Now that to me is a picture of, would I say, the situation that confronts us today. And perhaps it confronts us in this meeting and at this very hour. There is the sense in which it is true that we are rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing. I think that can be said of the Christian church in America. And yet in the truest sense of the word, there is a poverty that is appalling. But it would appear that blindness in part is happened to Israel. Poverty knows in material things. Poverty regarding things of the world, not by any means. But oh my dear people, in the midst of it all, a poverty spiritually that is appalling. I think I can say that without fear of contradiction. The stream of vital Christianity was never so low in this generation than at this present moment. That at any rate is my assessment of the situation. Many fail to see that nothing can be made a substitute for God. Oh my dear people, let's get that clear. We have tried this substitute and that substitute, this gimmick and that gimmick. But brother, oh let me say it again at the risk of repetition. You cannot substitute anything for the God of revival. Oh you cannot, you cannot. But unfortunately many fail to see that, that nothing can be made a substitute here. It may help you to understand the truth that I'm anxious to get across if I told you something about the testimony of H. I. Person. A great preacher of the world of a past generation. A most remarkable man. Now listen to what he says in his testimony. I preached with all the logic and eloquence at my command to a very large congregation. Logic and eloquence. No substitute for God. And then he said this, that I saw few if any genuine conversion. And then according to his testimony a young evangelist came to the city and was in a fortnight the city became ablaze with God. This young evangelist had no academic qualifications. He was never inside a college. Never inside a Bible school. And H. I. Person just couldn't understand it. Crowds, crowds filling his meetings. Thoughts being saved. Revival in the midst. But he was out of it. And then according to his testimony he put his pride in his pocket. Man it's good when you put your pride in your pocket brother. It's good to have that experience. I remember the day when I was forced to do it. Put your pride in your pocket. And I went to this young evangelist and I faced him with a question. Young man what is the secret of your remarkable ministry? And according to his testimony he waited a second or two for the reply. And this is the reply that he got. There's only one secret. It's the baptism of the Holy Ghost. And H. I. Person went home a broken man. Not a man that learned something. And on his face in his study he vowed to God that he wouldn't preach again until he discovered the secret. And this is what he said. Oh bless God. On the 15th of November I too found the secret in the baptism of the Holy Ghost that made God real to me. And then he went on to say this in his testimony. I was a preacher in that congregation for 17 years. But after this glorious experience I saw more souls saved in 17 hours than I saw during the 17 years of my ministry if I saw any at all. My dear people that to me oh let me say it again. That's the secret. And I would to God that we would discover it this afternoon. And in desperation and with a sense of frustration we threw ourselves on our faces before God in this meeting and cried God I can't let you go. Except thou bless me. So you see dear people that our supreme need is for God. Oh for God to come. My he came to my soul this morning. Came with that same conviction that came to me at prairie. Amen. America and Canada is going to experience revival. My dear people you cannot rid me of that conviction. It's almost a second nature to me. God is coming. I will pour water on him. So my dear people it's not wonderful. I'm flooded upon the dry ground. Oh it keeps coming back again and again. I said to my wife before I left you know dear why it is that I'm going agreeing to go to America again this year. Because I can't get away from the conviction that God is going to pour water on the earth. And floods upon the dry ground. Now this is a very interesting and suggestive text. And as God may lead me I want to direct your attention to several thoughts that come to me from it. First of all we have here the mere futility of human effort. The futility of my best endeavor. Oh here you have it. Here were armies fully equipped. Here were armies conscious of the enemy. Here as I already said armies well equipped for the engagement. But lacking in one thing. The lack of which would make victory impossible. But I would say that this must be said in their favor. They were prepared to face the situation. Now I believe there are men and women here who are facing the situation with honesty and with sincerity. And who in the face of God's crime. God nothing but yourself can meet the need. The desperate need of our congregations and our communities. Well they were prepared to face it. And I believe that with sincerity and honesty they were asking a way out. And I believe, I believe that there are pastors here and others here who with deep conviction are asking the way out. Because believing in God. Believing in the God that we believe in. We cannot believe that God is baffled. That God is frustrated. My dear people God has a way out. Oh that we might find it. Ask H.I. Pearson found it. I found the secret. On the 15th of November. Here we have illustrated the truth. That when man comes to an end of himself. Oh that's it. When he comes to an end of himself he has reached the beginning of God. Oh friend let's take that to heart. When I come to an end of myself. At an end of all human resources. Good and excellent as such resources may be. At an end of it all. I reach the beginning of God. I heard a preacher say recently that the tide must go out to the last inch before it turns. Before it turns. And it seems to me dear people that the tide, oh the tide has gone out. And can I believe that it's reaching the last inch. And there's going to be a turning. I believe that there's a turning already dear people. I believe that. I believe that there's a turning in this camp effort. I believe that. You may not but I do. I do my dear people. A short time ago standing here I felt an awareness of God that indicated to me that revival was about to break out. That is true. Oh that is true. God hovering over. But for reasons known to God and to someone in this meeting. God's hand has been held back. Oh friend let's examine ourselves. Am I hindering? Oh my God am I hindering. Now it is of interest to note how on this occasion God stepped in. You'll remember one of the kings of Israel's servants answered here is Elisha the son of Shaddai. Here you have a link in the chain of God's provision. A young man in touch with God. He was in touch with the prophet. He knew that the prophet was there. And with this message he went to the king. Kings don't you know that God is here? Don't you know that the prophet is here? And I believe they listened. Now that brings to my mind another story. I hope you're not tired of my stories on the revival. But they're wonderfully real to me. I was motoring through a glen one early morning. Very early it was between four and five o'clock. I was on my way to visit a minister whom I knew in college days in Edinburgh. And on my way to his man's, to his home, I saw a young woman by the roadside. Now that was quite a common sight in the parishes where God was moving in revival. But this was a parish that wasn't touched by any movement. Here was a girl weeping by the roadside. I felt it was my place to go over to her and have a talk with her. Now I was on a motor bicycle with a heavy coat on me. At that time I had to wear a clerical collar. Just because I was a Presbyterian minister and preaching in Presbyterian churches. To leave the collar off in their estimation was to lower the dignity of the pulpit. Oh God have mercy on us. The dignity of the pulpit. I'm thankful to God that I got rid of that. Now I spoke to her and I said to her, young woman you're a stranger to me and I'm a stranger to you but can I help you in any way? I naturally thought she was in distress of soul. And through her tears, I say through her tears, oh she was moved. She said no man can help me. And of course again I believe that she was in distress of soul. Only God could help her. So I put my hand in my pocket and took out my New Testament and began to read certain portions that I thought might be helpful. And then she says this, you mentioned Jesus. He's dearer to me than the sons of men. Like the apple tree among the trees of the forest so is my beloved. Quoting from the songs of Solomon. And I immediately recognized that I was in the presence of one of God's chosen ones in that parish. I then felt that I ought to divulge my identity and told who I was. And this is what she said, we had the assurance this morning that you were coming. Who was she referring to? She was referring to two young girls 15 years of age. Two young girls that were saved during the first wave of the revival in Louis. Visitors to this parish came to know the Lord and came home to tell the story. And the virgins because of the state of the parish went to this young woman whom they knew prayed and suggested that they should pray as the men of Barthas prayed before the revival broke out there. Two nights a week. Tuesdays and Fridays in a room praying that God would visit them. And they were praying for several months. But on this morning, on the morning that I met this young woman, they had the assurance that revival was coming. God has a wonderful way of revealing his secret to those who love him. The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him. Two young girls, oh young people take this to heart. Two young girls with a conviction and with a vision. I'm not ashamed to tell you that I suggested to that young woman that we kneel by the roadside. That's an unheard of thing, an unwise thing for a man to kneel beside a woman so early in the morning beside the road. But I did it because I felt that God was in it. And that young woman poured out her heart in prayer. Oh she kept saying, God I knew you would not disappoint us. I knew you would not disappoint us. We were for three hours by the roadside. By the roadside. But when I got to the man, my what a story I had to listen to. That morning 14 young men gathered in front of the parish hall to decide on the amount of whiskey that was to be brought to the parish on the Friday of that week for a concert and dance. 14 of them are there gathered. And one young man said, boys I feel that we ought to increase the amount because I have a strange conviction that this is the last time that drink will come to this parish. A conviction. And one of the other young men spoke out and said, Angus you're surely not suggesting that revival is coming to this godless parish. A godless man giving expression to his conviction. And this young man that spoke first spoke again and said this, I don't know what's going to happen but boys something has happened in my heart. And he fell on his knees on the ground to be followed by the 14 who was in and over all gloriously saved. My dear people let me say again God in the midst of revival. My dear people is that not something you want to see? I was back in that parish after 15 years. I hadn't been for 15 years and on the Saturday of the Stornoway convention the minister of the parish phoned me and asked if I would address his Sunday morning service. And of course being free to do so having other speakers I agreed to address the service. And what a joy that filled my heart when I saw that church crowded with people. And they weren't there because Duncan Campbell was going to preach because they didn't know that I was coming. Oh no they were there because the large majority of them were converted following that demonstration of God in front of the village hall. Revival broke out and swept the parish. And here are some of them in front of me in the vestry. The minister took me there after the service and this is what he said. You see all those men in front of you? I said yes. Do you know that all except one old Angus here who is over 80 years the rest of them were all saved that morning in front of the village hall? They're today my elders in this church. My dear people that's the move that I love to see. That's the move that I love to see. And then the minister said of course you know already that I too was converted during the second wave of the revival in the parish of Barber. So the minister and all except one here were saved during the movings of God. My dear people I felt that I ought to tell you that story because it bears oh it bears on this truth that the answer is prayer and God. Two young women oh thank God for women that pray. Two young women. Of course that to me is normal Christianity. I have very little faith in the Christian profession of any person that hasn't a burden to save souls, to lead souls to Christ a minute or two after he's conscious of the fact that God saved himself. Yes the man who professes salvation and who hasn't a burden to pray for souls or to question his own experience of the ever born again. Oh my dear people I say that. And I say it because I believe it's true. Well here you have it. Not a king, not a ruler, but a boy. A young soldier. But a young soldier in touch with God and in touch with God's secret. And I would love to believe that there's someone in this meeting tonight, this afternoon, to whom God is speaking and through whom revival is going to sweep through this camp meeting. I believe that God finds a man that he can trust. Oh my dear people it is that man here. You remember the story that is told about D.L. Moody? The world has yet to see what God can do through a man fully yielded to him. And Moody said, God I'll be that man. And you know that he became that man. And we saw what God did through him. Oh my God is that man here.