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Revival - Part 1
Doc Greenway

Reverend Dr. A. L. "Doc" (NA - NA) Greenway was born in Glamorganshire, South Wales in 1904. He went to New Zealand in 1934, and was one of the pioneers of the Apostolic Movement. In a ministry spanning 60 years he served in pastoral and full-time inter-faith Bible College work in Japan, Wales, Australia, and New Zealand. Doc's rich expository ministry and his series, Revival, at the 1949 Easter convention in Wellington, New Zealand, were used to initiate a genuine move of revival within the church. From this activity of the Spirit was born the Bible Training Centre in Hamilton, New Zealand, of which Doc was principal and lecturer from 1955 to 1961. He held a Master of Arts degree in Religion, and Doctorates of Divinity and Theology, and in 1964 was accepted into the Presbyterian Church; to this day he is the only man ever to have been admitted into the Presbyterian ministry without first going through Knox College. His strength of faith, his knowledge of ancient texts and command of English, and his leaving no doubt as to the Person and Ministry of the Holy Spirit have led many others to an acceptance of Christ as personal Saviour.
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In this sermon, the speaker shares a personal experience from a convention in Wales. He was unsure which text to preach from, but felt led to choose a passage from the book of Psalms about myrrh and aloes. As he preached, the Spirit of God moved among the congregation, leading to spontaneous singing and a woman miraculously waving her paralyzed arm. The speaker emphasizes the importance of obedience to God's leading and the power of the Holy Spirit in bringing revival.
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I don't know whether you will be able, perhaps, to take this from me, but I'll venture out and tell you something of what happened some years ago when I was in Wales, my own little country. I was a speaker at a convention, and in this particular convention, I was just a young man at the time, very young indeed. And I didn't have very many sermons in those days, but I had some that I thought were of convention standard. And the trouble was, you know, that I was bothered because I had two texts, and I didn't know which one I was to take. That was a predicament. I was sitting up there on the platform, and these two texts were in my mind, conflicting with one another, it seemed to me. One was Galatians 2.20, and the other was in the book of Psalms, All thy garments smell of myrrh and aloes and cassia, out of the ivory palaces whereby they have made thee glad. And there I was. Well, the singing had come to an end, and the chairman looked to me, and he said, Well, it's time to stand up. And so I stood up, but I still didn't know, and I wasn't going to open my mouth until I was sure. And so, in desperation from the depth of my being, I quietly, of course, silently, the prayer went up to God, Oh God, please do something. Show me what you want me to do. And as I stood there, the chairman began to sing himself, being in Wales, of course, they're fond of singing. And the congregation took it up, and they were singing a little chorus, just over and over again, a simple thing. He was giving me time to get my bearings. I understood this. But I was becoming more and more confused. I didn't know what to do. And then from the other end of the platform, a servant of God rose up and came right to where I stood. Stood behind me, and he said, I don't know what it means, my brother, but the Lord has just told me to come over and tell you myrrh and aloes. I don't know what it means, he said, but I'm just giving obedience. And I gave up my text from the book of Psalms, all thy garments smell of myrrh and aloes and cassia. And I preached. Well, I had never finished that sermon. Before I'd got halfway through that sermon, the Spirit of God came upon that congregation of God's people. And as it was in the days of revival, spontaneous singing burst forth from them. And they were singing that wonderful song that we have heard, I suppose, sometimes, out of the ivory palaces into a world of woe. Only his great redeeming love made my Saviour go. And they sang this. And a woman stood up and she began to wave her arm. I thought, oh, I don't like this. That's fanaticism. That's going to extremes now. I didn't like it at all. And I turned to the chairman. I said, I don't like this very much. He said, man, that woman hasn't raised her arm for about thirty years. She's been unable to do it. That arm has been paralyzed. It's no wonder she's waving it around. God has healed her. And I saw, to my amazement, people breaking down and weeping and then coming out at the front and kneeling down. There was no appeal made. I had nothing to do with it. But the Spirit of God simply took over. And in that service, which went on for about four hours, there were lives transformed, there were people brought to Christ, there were backsliders restored, there were people healed spontaneously and dramatically by the hand of God without anybody touching them at all. And I tell you, it revolutionized that town. Now this is what I mean when I talk about the possibilities that lie within the compass of the Holy Spirit's ministry when He is given His rightful place in the Christian church. And this is why I think the Apostle Paul keeps on stressing the thing over and over again. There can only be similarity of thought, we can only think the same thing about the essentials of God's Word when the Holy Spirit takes control of us and when we allow Him to guide us into all truth. And then as it was in the early church, He will be of one mind and one heart. It's gloriously possible, but not on any human level. God Himself must take over before this can be done. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Not consulting each one his own interests, but also each one having regard for the interests and the well-being of others. So that self-interest is crucified and unity takes over. We are not concerned anymore with ourselves as individuals, but only concerned with the members of the body of Christ. And concerned most desperately that there shall be no dissension and no contention in the midst of Christ's body to cause schism and division. Where the Holy Spirit is allowed to preside, not simply ideally as one whose presence we acknowledge and to which we give a mental assent, but practically and personally and progressively residing and presiding in the church, this sort of unity will be brought about. But without it, it seems to be an impossibility. So may we pray from our hearts that God will by His Spirit create the sort of unity that pleases Him and which brings us together in a new dimension of life's experience as members of the body of Christ controlled by the Spirit of the Lord.
Revival - Part 1
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Reverend Dr. A. L. "Doc" (NA - NA) Greenway was born in Glamorganshire, South Wales in 1904. He went to New Zealand in 1934, and was one of the pioneers of the Apostolic Movement. In a ministry spanning 60 years he served in pastoral and full-time inter-faith Bible College work in Japan, Wales, Australia, and New Zealand. Doc's rich expository ministry and his series, Revival, at the 1949 Easter convention in Wellington, New Zealand, were used to initiate a genuine move of revival within the church. From this activity of the Spirit was born the Bible Training Centre in Hamilton, New Zealand, of which Doc was principal and lecturer from 1955 to 1961. He held a Master of Arts degree in Religion, and Doctorates of Divinity and Theology, and in 1964 was accepted into the Presbyterian Church; to this day he is the only man ever to have been admitted into the Presbyterian ministry without first going through Knox College. His strength of faith, his knowledge of ancient texts and command of English, and his leaving no doubt as to the Person and Ministry of the Holy Spirit have led many others to an acceptance of Christ as personal Saviour.