Revival Conference 2007 - Ralph Sutera - Part 6

God was on the scene. Things were happening. It is known that out of that one crusade alone, there are at least 30 people in full-time Christian service. People say, how does a revival affect the world of evangelism? I'm telling you right now. There was a mission station where, in Africa, four couples were on the same mission station, did not know each other, only to find that all four of them were the direct result of meeting God in the Canadian revival. A pastor wrote me. He said, you'll be interested to know that today in my church, I had a guest speaker in the morning and then a guest speaker at night. Two different speakers. And they not knowing each other, the morning speaker said, I am here to say to you that I was saved as a result of the revival that took place in Saskatoon, and now here I am in the ministry. The night comes to a nighttime meeting, and the man gets up and says, I was saved as a result of revival, and here I am now in the ministry. How does revival affect the world? A youth pastor. Well, I could say a man who was in a youth group in the city of Regina. He's now a pastor in Egypt. Said to me that out of the 35 young people in his youth group, 75% of that youth group is now in full-time Christian service as a direct result of revival. I can tell you that the Bible colleges reported a vast increase in enrollment of students wanting to come to study. And the registrars would tell me that on the applications they would find this kind of statement. I'm coming as a result of the change that has taken place in my parents' lives, and now our family has been changed, and now I want to study for God as well. I can tell you that the tract societies reported such a tremendous, tremendous increase in the giving for printing of gospel tracts. I can tell you that Bible colleges not only increased by way of numbers, but the dynamics that began to flow out of that have affected the entire world. In fact, in the Canadian Revival Fellowship, which was born out of the Revival, we have several people who were Bible college students at that time, who are now involved in full-time revival ministry. It's wonderful to see what happens when God excites people about the things of God. Oh, that men would praise the Lord for His wondrous work among the children of men. This is a moment, this is an hour of remembering that in our lifetime, in our day, God can do it. How many of you have ever heard of the name of Dr. Sherwood Wirt, former editor of Decision Magazine? Just keep that in mind for a moment, and I want to say something about it. Here's the definition of revival. When God's people come out of their bondages to be able to fulfill the Great Commission. That's it. Out of our bondages, to be able to fulfill the Great Commission. It is said of Jonathan Goforth, comments of the heathen, where he worked, the heathen would say, when the revival broke out in Jonathan Goforth's life, the heathen would say, Their God has come! Their God has come! They would say, Well, we've heard about their God, but now their God has come! Their God has come! Their God has come! What to God that America would start talking like that. Their God has come! A pastor in Iowa, during the Easter season, we happened to be there for meetings at the time, he wrote something in his church bulletin that to me is very profound. Listen. Revival is resurrection power at work in us. Resurrection power at work in us. Transforming the deadness of our sinful selves into the beauty of the resurrected Christ. When people see him living in us, then they will be able to respond to our testimony, He is risen! He is risen! And with a bold affirmation, we can say, He's risen indeed! He's risen indeed! In our lives, He's risen! Well, Leonard Ravenhill. We've heard that name mentioned, have we not? Well, I can tell you that during these days, Leonard Ravenhill wrote us a letter. And in the midst of his letter, he said, thank God for what he had heard, what was happening, but listen to what he said. The answer, oh, here's what, amidst the tragedy of this hour, and he talks about Watergate, the oil crisis, unfinished war in Vietnam, many things, trickery, political schemes, and so on, so on. But he said, amidst this all, all this satanic deception, there is one supreme tragedy. What is it, Leonard? And in big, bold print, a sick church in a dying world. And he goes on. The answer is a revival of holiness amongst the people of God. I know that some snicker at the deeper life teaching, but there is a deeper life. This is Leonard Ravenhill. There is a deeper life. It is as deep as Gethsemane and as costly as Calvary. That's it. That's not playing games with God. And then he ends his letter to us with a statement that is on his tombstone in Louisiana. Epitaph on his tombstone. It is, Think you that the thing most Christians are living for are worth Christ dying for? Repeat. Think you that the thing most Christians live for are worth Christ dying for? And then he signed it, Yours for revival, God's way. Leonard Ravenhill. Well, let me just tie this together. My problem is to try to tie such a happening together in a short hour. What have I learned? There's nothing more important than times of refreshing and hours of God's visitation. Our agendas must be set aside when God wants to visit us in a special way. And some of us are not ready to set our agendas aside and that could be one of the biggest hindrances to revival. I've learned that we cannot put God into our mold or into a box. He will break out in some unexpected way and place. It is His work, not ours. I've learned that the Spirit of God needs very little help in convicting people of sin in times of revival. You see, that verse says, In the hour of God's power, His people are willing. And what we strive to see happen with conviction, when God goes to work and we pay the price for a holy ghost revival, then what's the willingness? One pastor said to me, I never thought I would live long enough to see the day where the people in the church are saying, Pastor, I can hardly wait for God to show me something else that needs to be made right. I'm having such a good time making things right with others. I can hardly wait for God to show me something else. He said those are the same people that before revival would do everything to try to hide and cover their sin. You see, in the hour of God's power, the Holy Spirit doesn't need much help in bringing conviction. I've learned that God cannot do His work and live His life through us until He skips us of all our reliance on human resources. As long as we can depend on our human resources, we have the know-how, the ability. God has to skip us of that if He's going to do His work. God does not call the equipped, but He equips those He calls. So don't try to make ourselves anything other than what God has made us to be. And you know what that is? 1 Corinthians chapter 1. God loves to use the weak things. Aren't you glad? That's what gives my brother a chance. And that's what gives his brother a chance. And everybody said? You didn't have to say it so loud. Why did I say that? Because when one newspaper reporter, a Christian periodical reported, what was happening? Four or five pages worth.