Hear The Sound Of The Trumpet： The Warning Call

I know I've come to a praying church and I know I've come to a people who are expecting to meet with God, and that makes that create such a liberty to bring the word of God. I can't tell you what a joy it is to be here, what a joy it is to know and getting to know more and more your pastor. I thank God for him. God has raised up a man who is, I believe, a voice of truth. What I mean by that is a man who's not afraid to preach the truth and stand against the culture. And you're very blessed. I hope you pray for him and his family every day of your life. Thank God for him. Such a joy to be able to minister alongside with Brother Al. I tell you, he's a he's a firebrand. I hope if I'm still here when I'm 70 years old, I'm as much of a firebrand. He's a walking Bible, but it's not just coming from his head. It's burning in his heart. And so I I look up to these brothers and I'm not flattering. I hate flattery. I'm just giving honor where honor is due and telling you how privileged and honored I am to be here. I don't deserve to be here, but I praise God for his grace and the opportunity. I hope you have the word of God. This is the most precious, most valuable thing we own. Amen. The word of the living God. We're going to turn there tonight. Heaven and Earth will pass away. But Jesus said my words will never pass away. Grass withers, a flower fades, but the word of God shall stand forever. He's the one we want to hear from tonight. Amen. We're going to turn tonight to Jeremiah, please. Jeremiah, chapter six. Jeremiah, chapter six. And we're going to begin reading in verse 16. Thus saith the Lord. We can stop right there. What we're reading, thus saith the Lord. This is the word of the living God. Thus saith the Lord. Stand ye in the ways and see and ask for the old paths where is the good way and walk therein and you shall find rest for your souls. But they said we will not walk therein. Also, I set watchmen over you saying hearken to the sound of the trumpet that is listen, listen to the sound of the trumpet. But they said we will not hearken. Therefore, hear you nations and know, O congregation, what is among them here, O earth. Behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words nor to my law, but rejected it. Let's pray together. Father, God. We look to you alone, O Lord. And we look to you alone to speak to us tonight. And we pray, Lord God, that you would give us ears to hear what your spirit is saying to us. You know the condition of every one of our hearts. You know us each, Lord, by name, you know where we are. And I'm asking you, Father. That in my absolute weakness. Your strength would be made perfect. Your word would go forth with great power and authority, piercing our hearts and changing us through and through, Lord, by your grace. Would you come? I know you're here. Manifest your presence, demonstrate your awesome power. So that we, Lord God, would hear you, trust you, obey you, respond to you and be changed, Lord, forever in Jesus name. Amen. Verse 17, God says, I set watchmen over you, watchmen saying, hearken, that is, listen or pay attention to hear the sound of the trumpet. Throughout the pages of scripture, we find that very often God, when God wants to awaken his people to give them a wake up call, he would call his servants, the prophets or his watchmen to blow the trumpet, to take the shofar. It's called it was a long ram's horn and to blow that trumpet, to awaken his people, to sound the alarm. And when it was blown, it gave off an unmistakable ringing sound to alert the people that something very significant was about to happen. It's to get our attention. Sometimes the blowing of the trumpet was a war call. It was a call to go to battle. Listen to Numbers chapter 10, verse nine. He says, when you go into battle in your own land against an enemy who is oppressing you, sound a blast on the trumpet, then you will be remembered by the Lord, your God, and rescued from your enemies. Then there is Nehemiah chapter four, verse 20, whenever you hear the sound of the trumpet, join us there, our God will fight for us. Hallelujah. The sound of the blowing of the trumpet was sometimes a war call, a battle cry. Also, sometimes the sound of the trumpet was a worship call. It was a call to worship. Let us gather at the mountain, let us assemble together and worship our God at Mount Sinai. The sound of the trumpet was the signal that Israel could approach the awesome sight where God came down to meet with his people. Also, long blasts of the trumpet were used when Moses would call the people together to the tent of meeting to worship the Lord God. And the hundred and fiftieth Psalm, verse three, says, praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre. So sometimes the sound of the trumpet, the blowing of the trumpet was a call to war. Sometimes it was a call to worship. Other times and oftentimes it was a call to warn. It was a warning call, a wake up call. Did you know you can be physically awake but spiritually asleep? Falling into a spiritual slumber. Forgetting God, falling into this pit of lukewarmness, and we need this trumpet blast, this trumpet sound to awaken us. The watchman would blow the trumpet as a warning call, a warning of coming judgment. Maybe it was a coming disaster, an invasion of enemies or above all, it was to announce the coming of that great day of the Lord, a day of judgment and gloom. Listen to Joel chapter two, verse one. He says, blow the trumpet in Zion, sound the alarm on my holy hill, let all who live in the land tremble. For the day of the Lord is coming, it is close at hand. And brothers and sisters, any time God warned of coming judgment, he nearly always, always used that that warning as a basis to show his people that if they would turn back to him and repent, he would relent from bringing judgment and he would show mercy instead. The Bible tells us that our God is a God who is slow to anger, but who abounds in mercy. He would much, much, much rather show us mercy and grace than he would coming judgment. But if the sound of the trumpet is not heard. If we do not listen, if the warning is ignored and not heeded, and God's grace and mercy is despised and his goodness, which is supposed to lead us to repentance, if that is rejected, then you can be absolutely certain of it. Judgment will come. It is certain and sure to come just as God is God. God does not make light of despising his grace. God does not make light of someone who rejects his kindness and goodness and mercy, and God will not tolerate a nation who continues in sin and wickedness. Judgment is coming. Sometimes it's a war call. And Lord willing, we're going to talk about that on Sunday morning, a war call, namely a call to pray and to do battle in prayer. Sometimes it's a worship call. And Lord willing, I'll be preaching on that tomorrow night, a call to worship, which is namely a call to absolute surrender. But sometimes the blowing of the trumpet is a warning call. And brothers and sisters, that's what God has burned on my heart to tell you tonight, a call of coming judgment, a warning, a warning call that judgment is coming. Judgment is coming. I wrestled with this message because I thought, Lord, I've heard about this church. They seem to already be awake. They're praying at four o'clock in the morning and six o'clock in the morning. But you know what the Lord impressed upon me, there are still those here tonight who need a wake up call, but he also put something else on my heart very strongly, and that is you church, you West Side Christian Fellowship have a very specific assignment from the living God in these days. You are a city set on a hill. You are like a lighthouse, you're going to be reflecting and already are the light and glory and truth of God, not only in this community, but throughout the state of California. And I believe across this entire nation, God will open up doors before you that no man can shut. And we must take that very seriously, but we must take his warning very seriously. And the high calling of God that he's placed upon you, pastors and brothers and sisters. A warning call on Sunday evening, May 22nd, 2011. My family and I had just stepped out of the house to gotten in the car and we were headed to church for the evening worship service. But all of us notice back to the east, the northeast, there was what we call a thunderhead, this huge, massive cloud, magnificent cloud. It was silver lined. It was breathtakingly beautiful. Everybody noticed it in the car. The kids, dad, look at that. How awesome we all saw it. I'll never forget, I can see it like I saw it yesterday, and this was May 22nd, 2011. What we didn't know was that on the other side of that cloud. We have in Oklahoma what they call tornado sirens. And on the other side of that cloud in a city called Joplin, Missouri, tornado sirens were sounding, blaring throughout the city. It was a warning for everybody to take immediate cover because this massive EF tornado was coming. And we learned later the deadliest U.S. tornado recorded in history was moving rapidly toward Joplin, Missouri. The tornado sirens were blaring. The alarm went out. The tornado hit. It was about a mile wide. It was mowing down everything in its path. Miles and miles of homes were shattered to splinters, big trees that had grown up for generations were snapped into, pulled up by the roots like a little tiny plant and thrown to the side. Cars and big trucks thrown straight up into the air and wedged inside of the roof of a building. Massive destruction. News articles later stated that tornado warnings had been issued and sirens sounded. But not all residents took immediate shelter. And tragically and sadly, many, many people died. When some were interviewed after it, one resident, for example, said when they interviewed him, we just didn't take it seriously because we've become desensitized to the tornado sirens. We'd heard the warning before and nothing happened. And some of them said, we just didn't believe it would really happen here. Another man said that as he was running down the street, he dashed into a popular shop there on Main Street and there was a group of youth having a big party, a celebration, a graduation party. And he said, even with the tornado sirens blaring and and trash cans flying down the street, he said nobody would stop partying. I ran out the building, ran into another place and found shelter. He said it was so weird. The young people just continued to party at the sound of the sirens. And then all of a sudden the tornado destruction came. One man, Greg Miller of Oak Grove, Missouri, said he heard the tornado siren, but chose to ignore them because he really didn't think anything would happen to him. And then suddenly his windows exploded. And two by four started flying through the house, a big plank off of a park bench went through a refrigerator. Greg was slammed to the floor on top of his little dog. And when he woke God up after the storm passed, God spared his life. But he says, I looked out to see where my neighbor's house was. I just broke into bawling because there was nothing left but the foundation. And he said, I have a word as he's talking to these news reporters, I want to tell everybody, if you ever hear the tornado siren, you better pay attention because I ignored it and it just about cost me my life. When the alarm sounds, it's to wake us up. It's to alert us, and when God's trumpet is blown, folks, it's to warn us, and I want to tell you tonight there is a storm coming to this nation that is far more serious, far more devastating than any EF-5 tornado could ever be. It's called the holy, righteous judgment of God, a judgment unlike this nation has ever seen or known. And the trumpet is sounding and God is warning and he's saying, take heed, listen, judgment is coming. Jeremiah chapter four, if you turn there, please. Jeremiah, the prophet, is warning the same in his day, he says in Jeremiah four, verse three. For thus saith the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, break up your fallow ground and sow not among thorns, circumcise yourselves to the Lord and take away the foreskins of your heart. Ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, lest my fury come forth like fire and burn that none can quench it. Because of the evil of your doings, declare ye in Judah and publish in Jerusalem and say, blow ye the trumpet in the land, cry. Blow ye the trumpet in the land, judgment is coming and you say, and God is angry, says very clearly that he's angry. Did you know that that's something that won't be preached today? Our God, who is a God of love, does he really get angry? Those who tell you God does not get angry are not telling you the truth. Those who say our God never gets angry, don't know their Bibles, God here is clearly angry and his fury is burning and we ask why? And he tells us why in verse four, because of the evil of your doings, blow the trumpet. God saying your wickedness is stirring a fury, an anger that is about to be unleashed in judgment. Wake up, people of God. Sound the alarm. That's what he's saying. Verse eight, for this gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl for the fierce anger of the Lord is not turned back from us. Does God get angry? Psalm seven, verse 11 says God is angry with the wicked every day. Could God be angry with America, isn't this the greatest nation in the world? Don't we have some kind of special favor with God, isn't the USA an exception to God's rule? Hasn't he shed his grace upon us? Yes, he has. And that makes us even more accountable, folks, because to whom much is given, much shall be required. And we are judged according to the light that we have. America will judge a very strict judgment. Could God be angry with her? The wicked shall be turned into hell in all the nations that forget God. Psalm nine, verse 17, and though I love this country, I love this country and consider it absolute privilege and blessing to be born and to live here. But I cannot say that she is a Christian nation. We have turned our backs on God. We have shaken our little proud fist before God. We are doing things before the almighty God that is stirring and anger and a fury in the most high, all the nations that forget God. Shall be turned into hell, be not deceived, the scripture says, whatsoever man sows that shall he also reap, and this nation is no exception. Could God be angry? Why would his anger be building? Listen to me. When proud politicians and the people who follow them. Can pass laws and legislation. To allow little babies to be ripped apart in their mother's womb, limb by limb. And have their body parts sold for money and stand and laugh and applaud about it, you better believe the anger and the fury of God is stirring. And building. Every precious baby that has been aborted. In this nation, all the innocent blood cries out, you better believe God's anger is building toward a nation who is saying that's OK, it's not OK. Every time this abomination of Sodom and Gomorrah, gay rights and gay marriage and the most unspeakable kind of perversion and sexual immorality is flaunted in this country and pushed as an agenda, you better believe the wrath of God is building toward such a nation. And I don't hate the homosexual, you're looking at a man who has had his arms around them on the streets, pleading and praying for them to turn to God, but to say it's OK, never, never, never will I. It's like we're more afraid of offending the culture in the world than we are offending almighty God. And God is offended and God is angry with such wickedness. And I make no apology of saying that. Also, God sees every single child who is abused, sex trafficked, exploited and is furious, building like a great volcano that will one day erupt. And be poured out on a wicked nation. Hear the sound of the trumpet. Hear the warning call. But that's the nation. And he says in our text, not only is he talking to the nations in verse 18, therefore hear ye nations and know, but also, oh, congregation. What about the people of God? Oh, and I'm very careful. Talking about the bride of Christ, whom he loves, shed his blood for, loves so much. But could God have a controversy with his people who are called by his name? Yes, sir. Yes, ma'am, he does. To one church like Ephesus, he would have to say, you, I see all that you're doing, but you have left your first love. You have left your first love and the warning call is it's time to get right with God. It's time to return. You see, you've left your first love. If on Sunday that day when we set apart to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ and worship him together in the house of God and so many who profess his name had decided instead to go play football or basketball or hunt or fish and we put everything else before him, he is deeply grieved. And I see here not just anger, but to the people of God, I see anguish in the heart of God. Did you know you could grieve the Holy Spirit? Jeremiah chapter four, verse 19. Listen to the heart of God. I read from the NIV here. Oh, he says my anguish, my anguish. I writhe in pain. Oh, the agony of my heart, my heart pounds within me. I cannot keep silent for I've heard the sound of the trumpet. I've heard the battle cry. Disaster follows disaster. The whole land lies in ruins. In an instant, my tents are destroyed, my shelter in a moment. How long must I see the battle standard and hear the sound of the trumpet? God has a controversy with some of his people to you who have left your first love to another like Sardis. He says you have a name that you're alive, but you're dead. You're going through the motions of playing church, you're religious, but lost. You have a form of godliness, but you're denying the power thereof. And many will gather in the name of Christ, even in our country, and supposedly worship God and yet deny the Holy Spirit of God. God has a controversy. To another like the church of Thyatira, he says, yes, I commend you for all these things, but I have this against you, you tolerate that woman, Jezebel, who teaches my servants to commit fornication. And how much sexual secret sexual sin is going on among the people of God? God is not pleased. And judgment must begin in the house of God. And it's tonight that it's time to get right with God and repent of secret sin, sexual sin, pornography. In the house of God, the church of Pergamos allowed a mixture of doctrines, doctrines that God said I hate, and we have doctrines of demons today like false grace, hyper grace that says, oh, we're all under grace, brother, don't worry about it. You live like you want to live. And God is grieved. Or to Laodicea, whom he says, I wish that you were hot or cold, but because you're lukewarm, I'm about to spew you out of my mouth. God has a controversy with his people. Brothers and sisters, if any of us are here tonight in a backslidden state, I plead with you to return to hear the sound of the trumpet, hear the warning call and return those who perhaps have unforgiveness in your heart, a grudge, some bitterness, those who are being dishonest in business deals, those husbands who are treating their wife harshly and cruelly or children, it's time to repent those wives who are dishonoring and disrespecting their husbands. It's time to take it serious and get right with God. All anything that God convicts us of tonight, it's time now is the time to get right with God because the trumpet is sounding here, the sound of the trumpet and hear this also beloved. God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. That is his heart. That's why he warns. That's why he warns the nation. He doesn't want to pour out his fury. Listen to Ezekiel chapter 33, verse 11, as I live, saith the Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn ye, turn ye, for why will you die, O house of Israel? That's the heart of our God. He's pleading with his people. He says here in Jeremiah chapter three, look at verse 12. Go and proclaim these words toward the north and say, return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the Lord, and I will not cause my anger to fall upon you, for I am merciful, saith the Lord, and I will not keep anger forever. Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou has transgressed against the Lord thy God and has scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree. And you have not obeyed my voice, saith the Lord. Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord, for I am married to you. I will take you one of a city and two of a family and I will bring you to Zion. Do you hear the heart of God there pleading with his people? Come back to me. Come back, turn, turn before it's too late. And I thought here just recently, what if? What if they in Jeremiah's day, what if Judah would have would have heard the trumpet? He said, I've sent watchmen over you to say, listen to the trumpet, but they said we will not listen. What if they would have listened? Do you realize what we would be reading at the end of Jeremiah? Do you realize we wouldn't have a book called Lamentations? Where Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, is weeping over the devastation and destruction of his people. And I thought, Lord, what would it be? What would have been written had they only repented? Had they only turned back to you? Maybe we would have had the inspired book, not Lamentations, but the book of rejoicing. Or maybe it would be called the book of revival. Oh, what a book that would be. Judah said Judah heard the trumpet, turned back to God, said, oh, God, have mercy upon us. And they repented and God's blessing came down and the whole nation was revived. How beautiful that would be. That's the heart of God. But they would not hear, so God had to judge. But here's something much more important, and this is where we're going tonight. That was how their story was written. That's the book written about them. And what will the book be written about our lives, say, oh, America, what will be your destiny? This little narrow window of mercy and opportunity. What will be your destiny? When God's alarm is sounding and the trumpet is blowing, will you hear? Will God send another awakening? Will he send another revival among his people? And what about your life? What will be written across your life when did you hear the sound of the trumpet? Did you turn back to God with all of your heart? Did you cry out to him in prayer? Oh, what a beautiful book that will be. Will we hear the sound of the trumpet? Will we repent and return? Will it be revival, as one brother said, will it be revival or will it be ruin? Utter ruin. Now, Pastor Shane reminded me that we need practical application to apply, and I agree wholeheartedly. So now I want to give you something intensely practical that God is calling us to do. All of us can do. All of us must do. When we hear the sound of the trumpet, but to see it, we've got to go to the New Testament. OK, Luke chapter 18. Turn to Luke chapter 18. And I want to I want to let a blind man preach to us for a minute and then we'll find some practical application. And what he did, we must also do. Luke chapter 18 in verse 35. And it came to pass that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, that is, he's talking about Jesus. When Jesus came nigh near unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the wayside begging. And hearing the multitude pass by, he asked what it meant. So we learn from Mark chapter 10. This blind man's name was Bartimaeus. Blind Bartimaeus spent his whole life on the side of the road begging for just a few coins to survive. Think of that life, blind, never seeing the light of the sun, never seen the light of day, begging every day just to receive a few coins to survive. But on this day, something unusual was happening. This blind man hears some some commotion in the crowd, something different. And he asked those who are next to him, what's going on, what is it? Tell me what's what's happening. And they told him. What I long to tell you tonight. Verse 37, they said they told him that Jesus of Nazareth is passing by. Jesus of Nazareth is passing by. I don't know what those words do for you, but I know what it did for a blind man. Jesus of Nazareth is passing by those words. Brought hope, tremendous hope, because he knows wherever Jesus go, wherever Jesus passes by, he always brings hope to the hopeless. When Jesus passes by, he brings good news to those who are poor in spirit. When Jesus passes by, he sets captives free. He delivers the demon possessed, he heals broken hearts, he causes the blind to see, the deaf to hear, the dumb to talk, the lame to walk. When Jesus passes by, what was Bartimaeus's response when he heard that Jesus of Nazareth is passing by? He says, and it says in verse 38, and he cried saying, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. And they which went before him rebuked him that he should hold his peace. But he cried so much, the more thou son of David, have mercy on me. When Jesus of Nazareth is passing by, it demands a response, an urgent response. And you know why it was so critical and vital for Bartimaeus to cry out like he did? I learned this not too long ago studying this. This was Bartimaeus's last opportunity. Jesus was passing through Jericho, that's where he was. This was the last time that Jesus went through Jericho before he went to the cross. You know what that means? This was Bartimaeus's last opportunity. His final call, as it is, his last opportunity. Suppose he would have said, oh, that's wonderful. I'll call upon him another day. I don't want to bother him today. He'll come back again. What if he would have made light of that news that Jesus of Nazareth is passing by? He would have never had his eyes opened. He would have never been awakened. He would have never met the Lord Jesus and been delivered. Why is that so important, brothers and sisters? Listen, every time that you read in the Bible this reference of God passing by, he's always doing so in mercy. Every time. It's when you read scriptures such as in Amos, where he says, the end has come upon my people and I will no longer pass by them. That's when it's over. That's when there's no more mercy call. And twice in Amos, he says, I will no longer pass by you. That's why we have this tiny window of opportunity, I believe, in this nation for the people of God to cry out like you have never cried out to God before. To repent and get right with God and to take it more serious than you ever have before, because this could be our last call. The trumpet is sounding. Hear the alarm. God says that his spirit would not always strive with man. And there was coming a day when God said, Noah, get in the ark, take your family. He shut the door and everything outside and everyone outside perished in the flood. And there will come a day when God says, last call. Patience is out. That should stir within us this sense of this urgent need, this desperate need to cry out to God. He cried out, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. The religious Pharisee. You know why? The proud will never do that. The devil hates it. The proud will never do it. The religious try to stop it. So undignified. It's so uncivilized. Do you have to do that, Brian? Do you have to cry out? Ask a blind man who knows that's my only hope. He's my only hope. Shane asked me to share some of my testimony about my son. I might do that on Sunday, but I'm just going to share this with you. When you receive the news that your son has cancer, you don't offer up this little passive halfhearted prayer. Oh, Lord, bless my son. You know what happens, brothers and sisters, you shut yourself in a car and you roll the windows up and you go out on a country road and you cry from your gut. Oh, God, oh, God, oh, God, hear my prayer with all that is within you. That's how I picture blind Bartimaeus crying out. He had to have because they told him just be quiet, be quiet. And he cried out all the more with all of his might. He cried out to God with all of his soul, with all of his heart. That's another kind of praying. There's different kinds of praying, and it's good to pray quietly before Lord. It's good to get in your closet. There's all types of praying, but here's a type maybe we know nothing about. Crying out in desperation. God, have mercy upon this nation, awaken her, oh, Lord. I know there are times in my life there was strongholds in my own life that I never experienced victory, I never experienced the breakthrough until I cried out to God in desperation. There's something about God. He resists the proud, but he gives grace to the humble. And if we're too concerned about our little reputation and offending someone here or there, we'll miss him. We'll miss him. It's a whole nother place of prayer when you're crying out out of desperation, crying out from the depths of your soul. My God, you're our only hope. You know what happens, brothers and sisters? Jesus is passing by. Bartimaeus cries with all his might. And verse 40 says, and Jesus stood. Oh. He stopped and he commanded, come here, Jesus of Nazareth is passing by, God is passing by this country, the church and this nation. And he awaits to hear a humble cry. If he doesn't hear it, he'll go on. And the time will come when the judgment comes. But what happens when he hears that humble cry? He stops. The Gospel of Mark said he stood still. Amazing. One man's cry caused the son of God to stop. And incline his ear. And deliverance came to that house. That's. That's revival. That spiritual awake, here's a physical awakening, you know what a spiritual awakening is. When God is passing by and suddenly he hears the cries of his people and he stops and he comes down. And suddenly sinners are suddenly awakened to this awesome, holy presence of almighty God, who we have offended. And we suddenly are made aware of the enormity and the magnitude of our sin and our desperate need for the Savior, Jesus Christ. And that's when salvation comes. One of the highlights of my life and ministry. Was some early days that we had in Boyce City when I was pastoring there and we had Mary Peckham and her husband Colin in our home. Now, Mary Peckham, they're both in heaven today. They've gone home to be with the Lord. But Mary Peckham was a teenage girl who was converted during the Hebrides revival under the preaching of Duncan Campbell. My favorite thing to do is sit on the floor at their feet and just say, tell me about the revival. Tell me about when God moved and my heart would be so stirred with faith and expectation that the God, God is the same yesterday, today and forever. If he did it, then he could do it now. Can I tell you just a couple of quick stories and we come to a close? Duncan Campbell. In 1949, was invited to come to the Hebrides Islands north of Scotland. He was invited to come and preach, I think, for maybe two weeks, he ended up staying for more than two years. Something happened. The day that he arrived, he steps off the boat and he's greeted by some ministers from local churches. And one of them says, Mr. Campbell, we know you must be very tired and we know you must be longing for your supper. And we'll get you your supper, but on the way, I wonder if you'd mind just stopping at this this local church here. He said, there's probably a congregation of maybe 200 people just stopping and having a meeting and preaching and that the people get to know you. And then we'll go on and get your supper. Duncan Campbell agreed, but he said, I have, you know, I never got my supper. In fact, he said he didn't even get to his room till almost 530 the next morning. Now, what happened? There were two sisters up there. Oh, Christine and Peggy Smith. One of them was blind. The other one was bent almost in half due to arthritis. But these two sisters laid hold of God and his promise. I will pour water upon him that is thirsty and floods upon the dry ground. Well, they were praying. Duncan Campbell said he preached that night and it was a good meeting and there was a real sense of God's presence, but nothing really happened. So he gave the closing prayer and he gave the benediction and everybody was dismissed and everybody walked out of the building except for one young man. And that young man was standing next to his pew, Duncan Campbell went to walk out and the young man stopped him and said, Mr. Campbell. Nothing has broken out tonight, but God is hoovering over over us right now and he's going to break through any moment. Duncan Campbell said, to be honest with you, I didn't feel that at all. But here was a young man who was closer to God than I am. And I feel that often, brothers and sisters, even tonight. There's somebody out here much closer to God than I am, the one preaching to you. This man was a man of prayer. And after he said that, he lifted up his hands and he cried out to God and he said, God, you have promised to pour water upon him that is thirsty and floods upon the dry ground and you're not doing it. Bold praying, reverent, yes, but bold. And Duncan Campbell said he prayed and he prayed until suddenly he fell on his face as if in a trance. And he said, I still didn't feel anything. All of a sudden, the doors in the back flew open and somebody came running in, Mr. Campbell, Mr. Campbell, something wonderful has happened tonight. Revival, revival, come see. He walked out and gathered around the church where six to seven hundred people who had gathered around that church. Totally awakened and made aware of their need for forgiveness. They didn't know what to do, they decided, let's sing a psalm, they do that a lot in Scotland. So they turned to Psalm 102 and they began to sing this psalm as they were singing, people were crying out, is there mercy for me? Is there mercy for me? One man cried out, hell is too good for me. Hell is too good for me. All of a sudden, a bunch of teenagers, youth came running to the church, where did they come from? They were there was a dance going on in town that night, they were having a big party dancing. And about the same time, they figure that young man lifted his hands and cried out to God, the power of God was let loose in that dance hall and the presence of God filled that place and conviction of the Holy Ghost came and they ran out of that dance like they were running from a plague and the only place they knew to find help was the church, so they all gathered around, they opened the doors back up, crowded into the church and he preached all night, like I said, he got home at 530 the next morning. What happened? God was passing by, he heard a humble cry, he stopped and he came down and he opened blind eyes, he awakened. All the island, Mary told me this, she said, I was a rebellious teenager and I wanted nothing to do with God. Nothing to do with him, I thought he would mess up my whole life and all my plans. And she said, but Brian, when God came down with her Scottish accent, it was as if God were everywhere. I was walking down the road, she said, and suddenly I was made aware I'm not worthy to walk on God's earth. I took off my shoes, because she knew the scripture, take off your shoes, you're walking on holy ground, and then she said, but oh God, I'm not even worthy to walk on your earth, so she thought I'll jump in the ocean, then she thought, this is your ocean, I'm not even worthy to jump in your ocean. And the day came when she was so miserable in her sin and she runs to the church one night and Duncan Campbell was preaching, but he had been preaching so much that he lost his voice. And so she's sitting in the back, Mary Morrison was her name at the time, sitting back there and Duncan Campbell steps up into the pulpit and with his voice gone, whispers. My text tonight will come from John chapter 11, verse 28, this is a story of Mary and Martha, the sisters, and their brother Lazarus, who died, but who Jesus raised from the dead, and Duncan Campbell said, my text is from John 11, 28, Mary, the master has come and he's calling for you. That was it, her name is Mary, my name is in the Bible, Jesus is calling me, hallelujah, how much more clear, but that's what God does when God's people pray, he reaches and he draws a sinner and he'll even call them by name. And she said, that was it, threw up my hands, oh God, forgive me, she was born again of the spirit of God, my dear brothers and sisters, have you heard the trumpet sound, do you know, do you understand, judgment is coming, but God is a merciful God, he's given us a window of opportunity, and he's saying, if my people will. Then I will. If my people will humble themselves and pray, I thank God for a church and a pastor who still believes that, who still believes second Chronicles 714 is really the word of God is really a promise from God, because it is. If my people will, then I will, how do we know, because he promised, he promised us. I'm wondering tonight, and I know you're going to hear much more, and I thank God for that, and you're going to have an opportunity to respond, but I wonder how many will really, really take the sound of the trumpet seriously. And say, I'm willing, I'm willing. If there's anything, anything at all in your life, you know, and the Holy Spirit knows what it is. If there's anything in your life that's grieving the spirit of God, and God is saying tonight is the time to get right. Tonight is the time to repent and return. I wonder if anybody would join me in that, and I wonder if anybody tonight will join me in crying out to God like you've never cried out before. In desperation, because brothers and sisters. Look at for the sake of our children. Our grandchildren, for the sake of a nation who will end up in an eternal hell multitudes, multitudes, multitudes in an eternal hell. But most of all, for the sake of God's honor and name and glory. Who will join and say, oh God, pass me not, oh gentle Savior, hear my humble cry, while on others you are calling, do not pass me by, Savior, Savior, hear my humble cry, while on others you are calling, do not pass me by. God have mercy upon this nation. We, oh God, have sinned against you. We have sinned against you, Lord. We have angered you by the shedding of innocent blood. By promoting sexual immorality and filth and pumping it all over the world. We used to send the gospel across the world. Now we send filth. God have mercy on us. Have mercy on us, oh God. For flaunting immorality, for flaunting pride and arrogance. God have mercy. Have mercy again, oh Lord. Please stop. Please stop, oh God. Come down and visit us again. Awaken this nation, Lord. Bring us to our knees. Cause us to see our need for you, oh God. Cause your people to return. Cause your house, Lord. Judgment must begin in the house of God. We pray, oh Lord. We pray you would remove blinders from our eyes. We pray you would break the hardness of our heart. We pray you would strip us of pride and arrogance and self-sufficiency. We humble ourselves before you, almighty God. Almighty God, we humble ourselves before you. We plead with you to have mercy upon us, oh Lord. Please, oh God, get a hold of our children. Get a hold of our grandchildren. Bring them home, Lord. Bring the prodigals back home. That there may be rejoicing in the house, Lord. Please make them miserable in their sin, Lord. Turn them, turn them back to you, oh God. Oh Father, make us a praying people. Cause us to see what you see. Cause us to hear what you hear. Cause us to be done with lesser things, Lord. That are nothing but a waste of time. We don't have time. Help us, Lord, to redeem the time. Because the days are evil. To make the most of every opportunity. Father, bless this church, Lord. Your precious bride and your body. Bless them, oh God. Take them to new levels of prayer. Of crying out to you. Of faith that doesn't waver. I pray, Father, for miracles to happen for your namesake. In answer to prayer, we pray you would stop, Lord. And you would break through. And you would descend upon us once again. And you would send a great awakening, oh God. That surpasses anything that has ever happened in the past. For your glory. For your honor. And for your namesake. We ask it in Jesus name.