WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.960 We hope that you enjoy this teaching from Christ Church. 00:00:03.580 --> 00:00:13.140 This material is copyrighted and no unauthorized duplication, redistribution, or any other use of any part is permitted without prior consent from Christ Church. 00:00:13.519 --> 00:00:20.500 Please consider donating to this work in the San Francisco Bay Area online at ChristChurchEastBay.org. 00:00:20.500 --> 00:00:30.500 Good morning. I'm Maddie Duhan and I'm part of the Women Reading Women group. 00:00:31.200 --> 00:00:41.039 Today's scripture readings are from the book of Joshua, chapter 4, verses 20 to 24, and the book of Judges, chapter 2, verses 8 to 10, as printed in the liturgy. 00:00:42.000 --> 00:00:43.620 A reading from the book of Joshua. 00:00:44.299 --> 00:00:48.719 And those twelve stones which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal. 00:00:48.719 --> 00:00:51.079 And he said to the people of Israel, 00:00:51.960 --> 00:00:56.039 When your children ask their fathers in times to come, what do these stones mean? 00:00:56.579 --> 00:01:01.140 Then you shall let your children know, Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground. 00:01:02.060 --> 00:01:06.400 For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, 00:01:07.019 --> 00:01:11.379 as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we passed over, 00:01:11.960 --> 00:01:15.920 so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, 00:01:16.099 --> 00:01:18.400 that you may fear the Lord your God forever. 00:01:18.719 --> 00:01:21.959 A reading from the book of Judges. 00:01:21.959 --> 00:01:27.959 And Joshua, the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110 years. 00:01:28.699 --> 00:01:31.299 And they buried him within the boundaries of his inheritance, 00:01:31.839 --> 00:01:36.659 Abtinath-Hirehs, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain Gaash. 00:01:37.359 --> 00:01:40.479 And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. 00:01:41.599 --> 00:01:44.099 And there arose another generation after them, 00:01:44.280 --> 00:01:47.500 who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel. 00:01:47.500 --> 00:01:50.200 The grass withers and the flowers fall. 00:01:50.739 --> 00:01:57.280 If you are just tuning in, today's your first Sunday at Christ Church, we welcome you. 00:01:57.980 --> 00:02:05.700 And just as context, I've returned from a four-month sabbatical that was given to me by the church just recently. 00:02:05.700 --> 00:02:10.080 And during that time, God gave me this one word, revival. 00:02:11.000 --> 00:02:13.900 And the simple prayer, revive us. 00:02:14.360 --> 00:02:20.599 And I want to go back today to the definitions that I gave you my first Sunday back at the beginning of this month. 00:02:20.599 --> 00:02:26.239 This is from a pastor in London who died about 40 years ago. 00:02:26.299 --> 00:02:27.579 His name was Martin Lloyd-Jones. 00:02:28.579 --> 00:02:34.319 And he said that revival is a visitation from on high, a great religious awakening, 00:02:35.159 --> 00:02:39.439 the unusual outpouring and manifestation of the Spirit of God. 00:02:40.560 --> 00:02:44.219 A church historian named Edwin Orr gives this definition. 00:02:44.219 --> 00:02:55.319 He says, revival is a movement of the Holy Spirit bringing about a revival of New Testament Christianity in the church of Christ and its related community. 00:02:56.300 --> 00:03:00.319 And the result of this outpouring of the Holy Spirit, 00:03:00.479 --> 00:03:05.099 the result of this awakening to New Testament Christianity in the church, 00:03:05.120 --> 00:03:09.159 is that people find themselves saturated with God. 00:03:09.819 --> 00:03:13.740 Over and over, people describe themselves as saturated with God. 00:03:13.740 --> 00:03:18.700 Now, if you're here today and you say, I think I have enough of the Holy Spirit. 00:03:19.719 --> 00:03:23.060 I think I've got this New Testament Christianity thing down. 00:03:23.360 --> 00:03:25.820 And I am more than saturated with God. 00:03:26.420 --> 00:03:29.340 This sermon series is probably not for you. 00:03:30.200 --> 00:03:32.020 But for the rest of us. 00:03:32.560 --> 00:03:35.960 We're talking today about expecting revival. 00:03:36.320 --> 00:03:40.900 And I'd like to try to raise our expectations for revival. 00:03:40.900 --> 00:03:48.340 God commanded the children of Israel to take 12 stones out of the middle of the Jordan River 00:03:48.340 --> 00:03:52.920 and set them up at Gilgal so that they would never forget. 00:03:53.180 --> 00:03:58.620 And they would always remember this mighty act of salvation that happened there in that place. 00:03:58.620 --> 00:04:01.780 That they would always remember God's wonderful works. 00:04:01.780 --> 00:04:06.360 And in the same way, we need help to learn about revivals. 00:04:06.360 --> 00:04:14.280 We need help to not forget and to remember these great times that God has brought to his people, 00:04:14.520 --> 00:04:19.819 both in Scripture and in church history, where God has come down in a powerful way. 00:04:19.819 --> 00:04:28.399 We don't want to forget these things lest we end up like this generation described in Judges chapter 2 that we just read. 00:04:28.500 --> 00:04:35.759 There arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel. 00:04:36.319 --> 00:04:40.939 What a tragic crisis among the people of God. 00:04:40.939 --> 00:04:45.540 And is that not a description of the cultural moment we're in? 00:04:45.639 --> 00:04:47.920 There's so much we don't know about the Lord. 00:04:48.040 --> 00:04:51.639 There's so much we don't know about what he's done for his people. 00:04:51.779 --> 00:04:57.139 And so I want to point our attention to these events recounted in Joshua chapter 4 00:04:57.139 --> 00:05:01.240 that speak directly to this theme of revival. 00:05:01.240 --> 00:05:18.480 And what I want to say today is that we need reminding that the Lord's hand is mighty for those who cry out to him. 00:05:18.560 --> 00:05:20.400 And first of all, we need reminding. 00:05:21.460 --> 00:05:23.680 God did something exceptional. 00:05:23.680 --> 00:05:30.800 God did something unusual, something striking and sudden and extraordinary. 00:05:31.780 --> 00:05:37.420 First of all, just by delivering the children of Israel from her enemies, the Egyptians, 00:05:37.660 --> 00:05:42.759 who had enslaved them and forced them into harsh labor for 400 years. 00:05:43.280 --> 00:05:45.600 And God, boom, he delivered them. 00:05:45.720 --> 00:05:51.360 And then after that, the Lord divided the Red Sea and they went through on dry land. 00:05:51.360 --> 00:05:57.120 Of all the mighty acts of salvation in the Old Testament, this is the foremost event. 00:05:58.439 --> 00:06:01.900 And here they are now after the wilderness for 40 years. 00:06:02.259 --> 00:06:05.319 They're looking on the other side of the Jordan River. 00:06:05.439 --> 00:06:09.980 They can see the land that God promised to Abraham, this land that they've been longing for, 00:06:10.060 --> 00:06:12.660 this land flowing with milk and honey. 00:06:12.759 --> 00:06:16.240 And the problem is, how are they going to get to the other side? 00:06:16.240 --> 00:06:22.439 How are they going to cross through this river, especially when it's at flood stage? 00:06:22.500 --> 00:06:28.040 And you can go home and look up YouTube, Jordan River flood stage. 00:06:28.340 --> 00:06:33.340 And you'll see, and you can just imagine, this ancient river was much wider, much deeper, 00:06:33.500 --> 00:06:36.579 much stronger flowing whitewater rapids. 00:06:36.819 --> 00:06:38.740 This is an impossible situation. 00:06:38.740 --> 00:06:43.040 This river cannot be crossed. 00:06:44.920 --> 00:06:45.840 But God. 00:06:47.120 --> 00:06:50.460 But God came and he divided the waters. 00:06:51.620 --> 00:06:58.360 And they went through, not on wet ground, but on dry ground, just like they did at the Red Sea. 00:06:59.079 --> 00:07:00.680 And God commanded them after that. 00:07:00.680 --> 00:07:06.199 But he said, take 12 stones from the spot where those priests stood in the middle of the river 00:07:06.199 --> 00:07:09.939 with the ark of the Lord's covenant, the symbol of God's presence. 00:07:10.040 --> 00:07:14.980 And I want you to take those 12 stones and set them up on the other side at Gilgal. 00:07:15.079 --> 00:07:17.180 Why does God command them to do this? 00:07:18.439 --> 00:07:23.480 Verse 21, it says that your children are going to ask their fathers in times to come, 00:07:24.079 --> 00:07:26.019 what do these stones mean? 00:07:26.019 --> 00:07:34.699 And I think we're in a similar position today as we consider the wonderful works of God in revival 00:07:34.699 --> 00:07:41.939 and the ways that God has shown his mighty hand, the ways that he's come down and he's acted in power 00:07:41.939 --> 00:07:46.159 to awaken and enliven and quicken his church. 00:07:46.319 --> 00:07:50.279 And what I'm wanting to do through these sermons is cause us to ask the question, 00:07:50.620 --> 00:07:52.399 what do these stones mean? 00:07:53.620 --> 00:07:55.019 What is it all about? 00:07:56.019 --> 00:07:58.680 What in the world are you and Andrew talking about? 00:07:58.819 --> 00:08:02.180 What are these events that have happened in the past? 00:08:02.299 --> 00:08:04.039 Why do they matter to us? 00:08:05.799 --> 00:08:10.439 What in the world is this revival in the 16th century you call the Reformation? 00:08:11.779 --> 00:08:15.939 What is this revival that happened in the 18th century called the Great Awakening? 00:08:16.879 --> 00:08:24.299 What exactly happened in 1857 on Wall Street in New York that changed the face of the church in the United States? 00:08:24.300 --> 00:08:34.740 What happened in 1904 to 1907 in Wales and all the way to India and China and Korea that changed the 20th century church? 00:08:34.899 --> 00:08:36.899 We don't even know about these things. 00:08:36.899 --> 00:08:41.059 And the stones that we're trying to set up. 00:08:41.559 --> 00:08:47.220 They're meant for the children of Israel to ask the question, what does it all mean? 00:08:47.279 --> 00:08:48.259 What do these stones mean? 00:08:48.299 --> 00:08:49.480 We don't know what happened. 00:08:49.480 --> 00:08:56.539 And these sermons on revival are meant to be like stones that cause us to ask, what is this? 00:08:56.899 --> 00:08:59.340 And why is it relevant to us today? 00:08:59.340 --> 00:09:06.540 Now, you would think with an event like this in your history, there'd be no need to remind people. 00:09:06.620 --> 00:09:12.160 It's extraordinary that we even need these stones of remembrance and memory. 00:09:12.159 --> 00:09:18.620 And you would think that, you know, here's these two impossible events that God made possible. 00:09:18.899 --> 00:09:24.100 The dividing and the crossing of the Red Sea and the dividing and the crossing of the Jordan River. 00:09:24.339 --> 00:09:32.360 There's no way people are going to need to be reminded in some sort of visible, external, objective way that this happened among their people. 00:09:32.360 --> 00:09:36.080 But God knows us better than we know ourselves. 00:09:37.120 --> 00:09:37.259 Right? 00:09:37.320 --> 00:09:40.620 He knows that we're made of the dust. 00:09:40.940 --> 00:09:42.899 He knows that we're common human clay. 00:09:43.060 --> 00:09:50.360 He knows that our human nature is corrupted by sin. 00:09:51.560 --> 00:09:54.960 And therefore, we so easily forget the truth. 00:09:55.779 --> 00:09:58.759 That even an unforgettable event can be forgotten. 00:09:58.759 --> 00:10:08.439 That even this thing that happened could come to somehow not be imprinted on the minds and impressed upon the consciences of the next generation. 00:10:08.639 --> 00:10:17.299 And so God says, put up some stones and get the attention of the people and provoke them to ask the question, what does all this mean for us? 00:10:19.460 --> 00:10:20.059 You guys tracking? 00:10:20.819 --> 00:10:23.679 So the Bible is like a set of stones for us. 00:10:23.679 --> 00:10:31.299 The Bible is meant for us to come along and to open it and to read it and there to encounter the power of the living God. 00:10:31.379 --> 00:10:32.939 This God who's revealing himself. 00:10:33.179 --> 00:10:35.419 This God who's doing mighty acts. 00:10:35.539 --> 00:10:41.199 This God who's saving people and showing that his hand is mighty. 00:10:42.459 --> 00:10:45.859 And yet so many people in the church today are just walking by those stones. 00:10:46.479 --> 00:10:47.959 They don't know what they mean. 00:10:48.079 --> 00:10:49.519 And they're not even asking the questions. 00:10:49.519 --> 00:10:57.279 And if we would just allow these stones of scripture to stop us in our tracks. 00:10:57.600 --> 00:11:00.600 If we would take the time to say, what does it all mean? 00:11:00.799 --> 00:11:06.759 We too could experience the power of the living God who reveals himself through those stones. 00:11:08.340 --> 00:11:11.279 Our communion table is like a set of stones. 00:11:11.279 --> 00:11:17.699 The Lord knew that in our sin we might forget even the death of the Son of God for us. 00:11:18.620 --> 00:11:28.860 His agony and his shame and all that he endured on the cross as our substitute to atone for our sins and bear the judgment of God in our place. 00:11:29.179 --> 00:11:30.639 How could we forget this? 00:11:31.500 --> 00:11:37.839 How could we forget this mighty act of God that demonstrated his eternal love for us? 00:11:37.919 --> 00:11:39.919 But Jesus knows us better than we know ourselves. 00:11:39.919 --> 00:11:43.860 And so he commands us, break bread. 00:11:44.679 --> 00:11:45.639 Drink wine. 00:11:46.620 --> 00:11:49.319 Do this in remembrance of me. 00:11:49.539 --> 00:11:56.959 He's setting up a visible, external, objective memorial, a tangible reminder lest we forget. 00:11:58.120 --> 00:11:59.620 What does this Bible mean? 00:12:00.379 --> 00:12:02.259 What does this table mean? 00:12:02.379 --> 00:12:04.719 What do these stones mean? 00:12:04.720 --> 00:12:09.960 And I want us to set up some stones of revival in this season at Christ Church. 00:12:10.480 --> 00:12:19.080 Stones that could be signposts for us to the history of God's mighty hand coming down to awaken his church. 00:12:19.080 --> 00:12:31.460 And I pray that as we do that subsequent generations, our children and their children and their children's children would be going along casually one day. 00:12:31.460 --> 00:12:35.080 And they would suddenly come across all these stones. 00:12:35.080 --> 00:12:46.240 And they would have awakened within them a new interest, a new curiosity to say, Mom, Dad, what is the meaning of all this for us? 00:12:46.240 --> 00:13:01.580 And that we might have the great privilege of telling them these stones serve as a testimony that the presence of the living God came down among us and performed a great miracle for us. 00:13:01.580 --> 00:13:12.920 We get to remind them of the facts, of the central event that once happened, that Christ was crucified to save sinners like us. 00:13:13.580 --> 00:13:15.300 That's what the stones mean. 00:13:15.580 --> 00:13:17.160 That's what the Bible means. 00:13:17.259 --> 00:13:18.340 That's what this table means. 00:13:18.420 --> 00:13:22.379 That's what every revival in the history of the church means. 00:13:22.720 --> 00:13:24.680 And we need reminding. 00:13:25.620 --> 00:13:26.960 We need reminding. 00:13:26.960 --> 00:13:34.180 And we need reminding that the Lord's hand is mighty. 00:13:35.500 --> 00:13:38.740 We need reminding that the Lord's hand is mighty. 00:13:39.879 --> 00:13:41.019 Look at verse 21. 00:13:41.240 --> 00:13:41.460 It says, 00:13:41.600 --> 00:13:46.240 When your children ask their fathers in times to come, what do these stones mean? 00:13:46.379 --> 00:13:51.160 Then you shall let your children know that Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground. 00:13:51.480 --> 00:13:55.740 For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over. 00:13:55.740 --> 00:14:00.820 As the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we passed over. 00:14:01.460 --> 00:14:06.899 So that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty. 00:14:07.399 --> 00:14:10.180 That you may fear the Lord your God forever. 00:14:11.720 --> 00:14:17.700 You know, we too want to remember these times and these events where something amazing happened. 00:14:17.840 --> 00:14:21.100 Something wonderful happened to revive God's people. 00:14:21.100 --> 00:14:28.399 And it's not just something that happens, you know, only once in an utterly unique event. 00:14:28.480 --> 00:14:37.060 And you'll notice a series in our own text here that what God did at the Red Sea, he did again at the Jordan River. 00:14:38.320 --> 00:14:43.379 That God moved at the Jordan River exactly as he did before at the Red Sea. 00:14:43.460 --> 00:14:45.240 And the same thing happens in revival. 00:14:45.240 --> 00:14:47.000 It's not just something that happens once. 00:14:47.100 --> 00:14:51.799 It's something that happens serially and repeatedly down the centuries of the church. 00:14:51.860 --> 00:14:58.440 In the same way, with the same patterns, and the same characteristics, God does here what he did over there. 00:14:59.820 --> 00:15:03.480 And just as God worked in the same way at the sea as he did at the river, 00:15:03.779 --> 00:15:08.779 so the Holy Spirit has come down at different times in the life of the church. 00:15:08.779 --> 00:15:20.779 And he's shown his mighty hand here and here and here in the exact same ways that we too might know that the hand of the Lord is mighty. 00:15:22.220 --> 00:15:26.759 I want us to think for a moment about the past just 300 years of the church. 00:15:27.919 --> 00:15:32.019 And I want us to think about these revivals that have happened over the past few centuries 00:15:32.019 --> 00:15:36.120 that have caused us to see that the hand of the Lord is mighty. 00:15:36.120 --> 00:15:42.000 Think about the great awakening that happened in the 1730s and 40s. 00:15:42.659 --> 00:15:47.440 We know that before that time, the state of society was deplorable. 00:15:48.379 --> 00:15:51.200 And we also know that the state of the church was dead. 00:15:52.580 --> 00:15:56.519 And God decided to send the Holy Spirit down. 00:15:56.879 --> 00:16:03.659 And when the Holy Spirit came down, he converted and created some of the greatest preachers since the time of the apostles. 00:16:03.659 --> 00:16:08.000 And it was through the preaching, the renewed preaching of the gospel, 00:16:08.240 --> 00:16:15.939 that whole churches, whole cities, whole nations came alive to God in that time in a mighty way, 00:16:16.000 --> 00:16:19.059 in a way that showed that the Lord's hand is mighty. 00:16:20.919 --> 00:16:28.539 Historians tell us that, you know, this awakening had a huge part to play in the United Kingdom and her colonies, 00:16:28.539 --> 00:16:34.959 not descending into the kind of revolution that swept through France in 1789, 00:16:34.959 --> 00:16:39.259 that we were spared of that kind of violence and that kind of social chaos. 00:16:40.219 --> 00:16:44.939 And that rather what sprang up from that awakening was the trade unions movement. 00:16:45.799 --> 00:16:45.980 Right? 00:16:46.079 --> 00:16:49.279 That people, as the Holy Spirit came down, 00:16:49.279 --> 00:16:55.459 and people were given a new identity, a new nature, a new sort of dignity in Jesus Christ, 00:16:55.539 --> 00:17:00.519 they began to demand better education and better working conditions. 00:17:01.759 --> 00:17:07.000 And we know that also out of this revival, the abolition of slavery movement rose up. 00:17:08.000 --> 00:17:13.920 William Wilberforce and his whole cohort of abolitionists are a result of this revival. 00:17:13.920 --> 00:17:15.920 It would have never happened. 00:17:16.000 --> 00:17:22.019 This wide-scale liberation from bondage, liberation from oppression would have never happened 00:17:22.019 --> 00:17:26.660 had the Holy Spirit not come down in power at this time. 00:17:26.740 --> 00:17:28.759 What do these stones mean? 00:17:29.200 --> 00:17:33.980 They mean that the hand of the Lord is mighty, to do mighty things. 00:17:35.500 --> 00:17:41.420 If you fast forward to the revival in 1857 to 59 in the United States, 00:17:41.420 --> 00:17:44.140 the United Kingdom that spread throughout the world, 00:17:44.900 --> 00:17:51.740 that revival began in a lunch hour prayer meeting among business people on Wall Street, of all places. 00:17:52.940 --> 00:17:56.560 And that lunch hour prayer, it began with one person. 00:17:57.800 --> 00:18:01.400 One person who went and started to pray by themselves. 00:18:02.880 --> 00:18:05.920 And then eventually that one person became six people. 00:18:05.920 --> 00:18:15.160 And then eventually that six people became 10,000 people praying every day at lunch in the heart of Wall Street. 00:18:15.800 --> 00:18:20.180 And what happened was that revival started to move from city to city, 00:18:20.900 --> 00:18:23.019 from college campus to college campus. 00:18:23.120 --> 00:18:27.560 It came all the way here to the College of California that in just a few years' time 00:18:27.560 --> 00:18:31.580 would become named the University of California at Berkeley. 00:18:31.579 --> 00:18:39.059 And people, when they described that revival, they called it a year of the right hand of the Most High. 00:18:40.039 --> 00:18:42.439 Where God showed that His hand was mighty. 00:18:43.759 --> 00:18:48.939 And then if you fast forward to 1904 to 1907, 00:18:49.099 --> 00:18:53.599 the revival in Wales that swept to India and China and Korea, 00:18:53.599 --> 00:18:57.579 that revival began by people saying, 00:18:58.539 --> 00:19:00.839 Lord, bend us. 00:19:02.439 --> 00:19:05.279 Lord, bend us. 00:19:06.240 --> 00:19:10.000 Lord, send your Holy Spirit now for Jesus Christ's sake. 00:19:10.039 --> 00:19:14.579 And they prayed and prayed and prayed until the Holy Spirit came down. 00:19:14.679 --> 00:19:19.480 And it changed whole peoples and whole nations. 00:19:19.480 --> 00:19:26.599 You can ask Miriam Kim about her grandfather who suffered greatly for the gospel in Korea. 00:19:27.599 --> 00:19:33.940 And I believe it's coming straight out of her family having roots in this revival that changed that nation. 00:19:35.920 --> 00:19:39.900 Now, what I'm trying to say to you 00:19:39.900 --> 00:19:44.580 is that the hand of the Lord has been shown to be mighty 00:19:44.580 --> 00:19:48.400 at the Jordan River 00:19:48.400 --> 00:19:52.700 exactly as He showed it to be mighty at the Red Sea. 00:19:54.000 --> 00:19:55.900 And what I want us to see is that 00:19:55.900 --> 00:19:57.980 the Lord works in the same ways, 00:19:58.280 --> 00:19:59.259 in the same patterns, 00:19:59.380 --> 00:20:00.740 and with the same characteristics 00:20:00.740 --> 00:20:02.620 through all of these times of revival 00:20:02.620 --> 00:20:05.040 when He shows that His hand is mighty. 00:20:05.039 --> 00:20:08.200 And just to list a few of these characteristics 00:20:08.200 --> 00:20:11.079 that we see in each of these revivals, 00:20:11.220 --> 00:20:11.799 number one, 00:20:12.579 --> 00:20:16.480 every single one of them is a repetition of the day of Pentecost. 00:20:17.559 --> 00:20:19.399 That the Holy Spirit comes down 00:20:19.399 --> 00:20:21.839 on a whole number of people together 00:20:21.839 --> 00:20:23.579 and they become aware 00:20:23.579 --> 00:20:26.019 of a presence and a power 00:20:26.019 --> 00:20:28.180 that's above them and beyond them. 00:20:29.059 --> 00:20:30.799 They become aware of the majesty 00:20:30.799 --> 00:20:32.720 and the might of God. 00:20:32.720 --> 00:20:35.779 And they begin to sense that no human being 00:20:35.779 --> 00:20:37.700 is presiding over this meeting. 00:20:37.799 --> 00:20:38.220 That in fact, 00:20:38.279 --> 00:20:40.019 it's the Holy Spirit who's presiding, 00:20:40.200 --> 00:20:40.759 who's leading, 00:20:40.940 --> 00:20:41.500 who's directing, 00:20:42.019 --> 00:20:42.640 who's guiding. 00:20:43.100 --> 00:20:44.000 And because of that, 00:20:44.299 --> 00:20:45.940 people begin to become awake 00:20:45.940 --> 00:20:47.500 to spiritual things. 00:20:48.500 --> 00:20:49.740 Things that maybe they've heard 00:20:49.740 --> 00:20:51.480 a thousand times before, 00:20:52.319 --> 00:20:54.240 but were never really real to them. 00:20:54.500 --> 00:20:56.519 They begin to feel their power. 00:20:57.839 --> 00:20:59.220 And the second thing that happens, 00:20:59.299 --> 00:21:00.360 the second characteristic, 00:21:00.359 --> 00:21:03.599 when the Lord shows that His hand is mighty in revival, 00:21:03.759 --> 00:21:05.779 is not only does the Spirit come down, 00:21:06.219 --> 00:21:08.299 but people become awake to the glory 00:21:08.299 --> 00:21:10.139 and the holiness of God. 00:21:11.279 --> 00:21:13.259 And when they realize the holiness 00:21:13.259 --> 00:21:15.219 and the glory of God in their midst, 00:21:15.719 --> 00:21:18.279 people are filled with a sense of awe 00:21:18.279 --> 00:21:19.839 and reverence, 00:21:19.899 --> 00:21:22.759 a sense of holy fear before God. 00:21:22.759 --> 00:21:26.839 And the third characteristic of these times 00:21:26.839 --> 00:21:28.839 where God shows that His hand is mighty, 00:21:29.799 --> 00:21:33.680 is that people experience the utter purity of God. 00:21:34.259 --> 00:21:36.579 And that leads them inevitably 00:21:36.579 --> 00:21:38.579 to a deeper sense of their own sin. 00:21:39.319 --> 00:21:41.099 To see the ways in their life 00:21:41.099 --> 00:21:43.079 that they're actually fighting against God. 00:21:44.180 --> 00:21:46.640 And they begin to say with the prophet Isaiah, 00:21:46.759 --> 00:21:47.720 as they realize that, 00:21:47.720 --> 00:21:48.079 they say, 00:21:48.220 --> 00:21:49.079 woe is me, 00:21:50.019 --> 00:21:50.900 for I'm ruined, 00:21:51.539 --> 00:21:52.620 and I'm lost, 00:21:53.299 --> 00:21:54.299 and I'm unclean. 00:21:54.380 --> 00:21:56.380 People begin to cry out from their heart 00:21:56.380 --> 00:21:56.740 and say, 00:21:56.799 --> 00:21:58.000 my heart is vile, 00:21:58.660 --> 00:22:00.759 and I'm utterly unworthy. 00:22:01.759 --> 00:22:02.180 In fact, 00:22:02.240 --> 00:22:04.980 I don't believe I've ever done any good at all. 00:22:05.059 --> 00:22:06.299 We say with the Apostle Paul, 00:22:06.420 --> 00:22:08.019 any goodness I bring to God 00:22:08.019 --> 00:22:09.120 is nothing to me. 00:22:09.380 --> 00:22:10.100 It's just, 00:22:10.500 --> 00:22:11.380 it's trash, 00:22:11.480 --> 00:22:12.100 it's garbage, 00:22:12.299 --> 00:22:12.880 it's dung, 00:22:12.980 --> 00:22:14.720 it's filthy rags. 00:22:14.720 --> 00:22:17.120 One of the great hymns 00:22:17.120 --> 00:22:18.920 that came out of the Great Awakening 00:22:18.920 --> 00:22:21.039 was this great prayer that said, 00:22:22.180 --> 00:22:23.779 nothing in my hand I bring, 00:22:24.299 --> 00:22:26.299 simply to Thy cross I cling. 00:22:27.180 --> 00:22:27.640 Naked, 00:22:27.900 --> 00:22:29.460 come to Thee for dress. 00:22:29.600 --> 00:22:30.000 Helpless, 00:22:30.720 --> 00:22:32.299 look to Thee for grace. 00:22:33.180 --> 00:22:33.700 Foul, 00:22:34.279 --> 00:22:34.660 I, 00:22:34.819 --> 00:22:35.980 to the fountain fly, 00:22:36.220 --> 00:22:36.740 wash me, 00:22:36.880 --> 00:22:37.140 Savior, 00:22:37.799 --> 00:22:38.880 or I die. 00:22:42.140 --> 00:22:43.299 This great revival 00:22:43.299 --> 00:22:44.059 that broke out 00:22:44.059 --> 00:22:45.579 at the Bible conference meeting 00:22:45.579 --> 00:22:46.500 in Pyongyang 00:22:46.500 --> 00:22:48.559 in January 1907. 00:22:49.599 --> 00:22:51.839 One of the observers wrote this. 00:22:51.899 --> 00:22:52.179 He said, 00:22:52.259 --> 00:22:54.559 God came to us in Pyongyang 00:22:54.559 --> 00:22:55.119 that night 00:22:55.119 --> 00:22:56.179 with the sound of weeping. 00:22:57.480 --> 00:22:58.659 And as the prayer continued, 00:22:58.759 --> 00:22:59.460 a spirit of heaviness 00:23:00.139 --> 00:23:01.839 and sorrow for sin 00:23:01.839 --> 00:23:03.460 came down upon the audience. 00:23:04.359 --> 00:23:05.539 And over on one side, 00:23:05.679 --> 00:23:06.899 someone began to weep, 00:23:06.919 --> 00:23:07.519 and in a moment, 00:23:07.859 --> 00:23:09.259 the whole audience was weeping. 00:23:09.359 --> 00:23:11.119 And man after man would rise, 00:23:11.359 --> 00:23:12.839 confess his sins, 00:23:12.839 --> 00:23:14.720 break down and weep 00:23:14.720 --> 00:23:16.959 and throw himself to the floor 00:23:16.959 --> 00:23:17.859 and beat the floor 00:23:17.859 --> 00:23:18.579 with his fists 00:23:18.579 --> 00:23:20.899 in perfect agony of conviction. 00:23:22.240 --> 00:23:23.399 And it says that the Christians 00:23:23.399 --> 00:23:25.179 returned to their homes, 00:23:25.399 --> 00:23:27.439 taking the Pentecostal fire with them, 00:23:27.799 --> 00:23:29.119 and it spread to practically 00:23:29.119 --> 00:23:30.399 every church. 00:23:30.559 --> 00:23:31.099 Schools 00:23:31.099 --> 00:23:33.119 canceled classes for days 00:23:33.119 --> 00:23:33.879 while students 00:23:33.879 --> 00:23:35.819 wept out their wrongdoings together. 00:23:35.819 --> 00:23:38.179 We had our hearts torn 00:23:38.179 --> 00:23:39.460 again and again 00:23:39.460 --> 00:23:41.119 by the return of little articles 00:23:41.119 --> 00:23:41.759 and money 00:23:41.759 --> 00:23:43.000 that had been taken from us 00:23:43.000 --> 00:23:44.200 over the years. 00:23:44.319 --> 00:23:45.159 All through the city, 00:23:45.279 --> 00:23:45.960 people were going 00:23:45.960 --> 00:23:47.859 from house to house, 00:23:48.000 --> 00:23:49.319 confessing wrongs, 00:23:50.200 --> 00:23:51.579 returning stolen property, 00:23:51.659 --> 00:23:52.659 not only to Christians, 00:23:53.159 --> 00:23:54.299 but to non-believers. 00:23:55.259 --> 00:23:56.200 A Chinese merchant 00:23:56.200 --> 00:23:57.059 was astounded 00:23:57.059 --> 00:23:58.379 to have a Christian walk in 00:23:58.379 --> 00:23:58.839 and pay him 00:23:58.839 --> 00:24:00.039 a large sum of money 00:24:00.039 --> 00:24:01.679 he had obtained unjustly 00:24:01.679 --> 00:24:02.759 years before. 00:24:02.759 --> 00:24:03.839 The whole city 00:24:03.839 --> 00:24:04.920 was stirred. 00:24:05.420 --> 00:24:06.420 The cry went out 00:24:06.420 --> 00:24:08.359 over the city. 00:24:09.779 --> 00:24:10.039 You see, 00:24:10.079 --> 00:24:10.940 this is what happens 00:24:10.940 --> 00:24:11.819 over and over 00:24:11.819 --> 00:24:12.599 and over again 00:24:12.599 --> 00:24:14.480 when the Lord's mighty hand 00:24:14.480 --> 00:24:15.259 comes down 00:24:15.259 --> 00:24:16.200 in revival. 00:24:16.460 --> 00:24:17.819 We sense the Holy Spirit 00:24:17.819 --> 00:24:18.859 come among us. 00:24:19.839 --> 00:24:21.279 And we sense the holiness 00:24:21.279 --> 00:24:23.079 and utter glory 00:24:23.079 --> 00:24:24.140 and purity of God. 00:24:24.200 --> 00:24:24.779 And we sense 00:24:24.779 --> 00:24:25.839 within ourselves 00:24:25.839 --> 00:24:27.740 something deeply wrong. 00:24:28.740 --> 00:24:29.640 And we begin 00:24:29.640 --> 00:24:30.700 with a new honesty 00:24:30.700 --> 00:24:31.839 and a fresh expression 00:24:31.839 --> 00:24:33.699 to get that wrong 00:24:33.699 --> 00:24:34.799 out before God. 00:24:36.079 --> 00:24:37.179 And then what begins 00:24:37.179 --> 00:24:37.699 to happen 00:24:37.699 --> 00:24:38.679 as a result of that, 00:24:38.759 --> 00:24:39.579 another characteristic 00:24:39.579 --> 00:24:40.500 is that we get 00:24:40.500 --> 00:24:42.199 a clearer view 00:24:42.199 --> 00:24:43.439 of the mercy of God. 00:24:44.419 --> 00:24:46.240 We come to a clearer view 00:24:46.240 --> 00:24:47.959 of Christ crucified. 00:24:49.000 --> 00:24:50.139 Something that perhaps 00:24:50.139 --> 00:24:51.319 all of our lives 00:24:51.319 --> 00:24:51.939 we've known 00:24:51.939 --> 00:24:53.439 in a theoretical way, 00:24:54.519 --> 00:24:55.859 but we never really 00:24:55.859 --> 00:24:57.139 experienced his power. 00:24:57.259 --> 00:24:58.119 And all of a sudden, 00:24:58.480 --> 00:24:59.220 because of God's 00:24:59.220 --> 00:25:00.459 mighty hand upon us, 00:25:00.579 --> 00:25:01.699 we're melted by it. 00:25:02.399 --> 00:25:03.699 And we're broken 00:25:03.699 --> 00:25:04.859 by it. 00:25:05.579 --> 00:25:06.759 And we weep 00:25:06.759 --> 00:25:07.599 not only with a sense 00:25:07.599 --> 00:25:08.119 of sorrow, 00:25:08.259 --> 00:25:09.139 but with a sense 00:25:09.139 --> 00:25:09.740 of joy. 00:25:09.899 --> 00:25:11.059 And we say to ourselves, 00:25:11.919 --> 00:25:14.119 for God so loved 00:25:14.119 --> 00:25:14.679 the world 00:25:14.679 --> 00:25:16.419 that he gave 00:25:16.419 --> 00:25:17.379 his one and only son 00:25:17.379 --> 00:25:18.639 that whoever believes 00:25:18.639 --> 00:25:19.419 in him 00:25:19.419 --> 00:25:20.500 should not perish, 00:25:21.139 --> 00:25:21.699 but should have 00:25:21.699 --> 00:25:23.419 everlasting life. 00:25:24.179 --> 00:25:25.119 And that becomes 00:25:25.119 --> 00:25:26.419 suddenly real 00:25:26.419 --> 00:25:27.199 to people. 00:25:27.879 --> 00:25:29.279 It becomes applied 00:25:29.279 --> 00:25:30.359 to their lives 00:25:30.359 --> 00:25:30.859 and they begin 00:25:30.859 --> 00:25:31.539 to sing 00:25:31.539 --> 00:25:33.119 like Charles Wesley, 00:25:33.179 --> 00:25:33.779 another great 00:25:33.779 --> 00:25:34.959 revival hymn. 00:25:35.719 --> 00:25:36.039 He said, 00:25:36.279 --> 00:25:37.159 and can it be 00:25:37.159 --> 00:25:39.219 that I should gain 00:25:39.219 --> 00:25:40.759 an interest 00:25:40.759 --> 00:25:42.359 in the Savior's blood? 00:25:42.519 --> 00:25:43.759 Died he for me 00:25:43.759 --> 00:25:46.039 who caused his pain, 00:25:46.139 --> 00:25:46.819 for me 00:25:46.819 --> 00:25:48.500 who him to death 00:25:48.500 --> 00:25:49.019 pursued? 00:25:49.359 --> 00:25:50.639 Amazing love. 00:25:51.359 --> 00:25:52.419 How can it be 00:25:52.419 --> 00:25:53.279 that thou, 00:25:53.399 --> 00:25:54.079 my God, 00:25:54.139 --> 00:25:54.839 should die 00:25:54.839 --> 00:25:56.079 for me? 00:26:01.079 --> 00:26:01.879 People become 00:26:01.879 --> 00:26:03.039 lost in praise 00:26:03.039 --> 00:26:03.720 to the Father, 00:26:03.879 --> 00:26:04.039 Son, 00:26:04.079 --> 00:26:04.839 and Holy Spirit 00:26:04.839 --> 00:26:06.699 when the mighty hand 00:26:06.699 --> 00:26:07.439 of the Lord 00:26:07.439 --> 00:26:08.519 comes down. 00:26:09.959 --> 00:26:10.659 And I would say 00:26:10.659 --> 00:26:11.559 a last characteristic 00:26:11.559 --> 00:26:12.259 of these 00:26:12.259 --> 00:26:13.459 great times 00:26:13.459 --> 00:26:13.980 of revival 00:26:13.980 --> 00:26:15.279 is that one thing 00:26:15.279 --> 00:26:16.599 begins to absorb 00:26:16.599 --> 00:26:17.220 the church. 00:26:18.220 --> 00:26:19.399 And the church 00:26:19.399 --> 00:26:20.299 desires to 00:26:20.299 --> 00:26:21.279 be together 00:26:21.279 --> 00:26:22.039 more and more 00:26:22.039 --> 00:26:22.980 around that one thing. 00:26:23.039 --> 00:26:23.959 If you could believe it, 00:26:23.960 --> 00:26:25.319 people begin 00:26:25.319 --> 00:26:26.039 to want more 00:26:26.039 --> 00:26:26.779 church meetings. 00:26:27.819 --> 00:26:28.920 They want to get 00:26:28.920 --> 00:26:29.779 together so they can 00:26:29.779 --> 00:26:30.880 praise God more 00:26:30.880 --> 00:26:31.600 for these things 00:26:31.600 --> 00:26:32.340 and they can talk 00:26:32.340 --> 00:26:33.259 more with each other 00:26:33.259 --> 00:26:33.980 about these things 00:26:33.980 --> 00:26:34.680 and they can pray 00:26:34.680 --> 00:26:35.420 more for God 00:26:35.420 --> 00:26:36.319 to do more 00:26:36.319 --> 00:26:37.140 of these things. 00:26:37.779 --> 00:26:38.559 And the church's 00:26:38.559 --> 00:26:39.299 whole experience 00:26:39.299 --> 00:26:40.039 of time 00:26:40.039 --> 00:26:42.340 completely transforms. 00:26:43.700 --> 00:26:44.600 Whereas before, 00:26:44.759 --> 00:26:45.940 people had no time 00:26:45.940 --> 00:26:46.480 to give. 00:26:47.880 --> 00:26:48.819 Now time 00:26:48.819 --> 00:26:49.420 is forgotten. 00:26:49.660 --> 00:26:51.039 Time gets absorbed 00:26:51.039 --> 00:26:52.519 into eternity. 00:26:52.519 --> 00:26:52.599 prosperity. 00:26:53.799 --> 00:26:54.200 And people 00:26:54.200 --> 00:26:54.819 want to meet 00:26:54.819 --> 00:26:55.680 like the New Testament 00:26:55.680 --> 00:26:56.420 church met 00:26:56.420 --> 00:26:57.180 daily 00:26:57.180 --> 00:26:58.639 in the temple 00:26:58.639 --> 00:26:59.000 courts. 00:26:59.099 --> 00:26:59.680 They met until 00:26:59.680 --> 00:27:00.139 midnight. 00:27:00.339 --> 00:27:01.119 Sometimes they met 00:27:01.119 --> 00:27:02.019 until daybreak 00:27:02.019 --> 00:27:02.940 because they couldn't 00:27:02.940 --> 00:27:03.619 get enough 00:27:03.619 --> 00:27:04.579 of God. 00:27:05.720 --> 00:27:06.859 The Holy Spirit 00:27:06.859 --> 00:27:07.839 reorganizes 00:27:07.839 --> 00:27:08.900 our sense of time 00:27:08.900 --> 00:27:09.980 and causes us 00:27:09.980 --> 00:27:11.519 in these seasons 00:27:11.519 --> 00:27:12.160 of revival 00:27:12.160 --> 00:27:13.279 to experience 00:27:13.279 --> 00:27:14.400 days of heaven 00:27:14.400 --> 00:27:15.720 upon the earth 00:27:15.720 --> 00:27:16.379 and we don't 00:27:16.379 --> 00:27:17.200 want to leave. 00:27:17.200 --> 00:27:17.259 life. 00:27:19.480 --> 00:27:20.360 So what do 00:27:20.360 --> 00:27:21.120 these stones 00:27:21.120 --> 00:27:22.100 mean? 00:27:23.440 --> 00:27:24.319 They mean that 00:27:24.319 --> 00:27:25.440 God did again 00:27:25.440 --> 00:27:26.680 at the Jordan 00:27:26.680 --> 00:27:27.620 River exactly 00:27:27.620 --> 00:27:28.860 what he did 00:27:28.860 --> 00:27:29.980 at the Red Sea 00:27:29.980 --> 00:27:30.700 and why did he 00:27:30.700 --> 00:27:31.100 do that? 00:27:31.220 --> 00:27:31.980 To show us 00:27:31.980 --> 00:27:32.799 that the hand 00:27:32.799 --> 00:27:33.340 of the Lord 00:27:33.340 --> 00:27:33.940 is mighty 00:27:33.940 --> 00:27:34.519 and that the 00:27:34.519 --> 00:27:35.160 living God 00:27:35.160 --> 00:27:36.360 can come down 00:27:36.360 --> 00:27:37.200 in power 00:27:37.200 --> 00:27:38.080 among his people. 00:27:39.360 --> 00:27:40.200 And what do 00:27:40.200 --> 00:27:41.340 these stones 00:27:41.340 --> 00:27:41.960 of revival 00:27:41.960 --> 00:27:42.259 mean? 00:27:42.420 --> 00:27:43.100 They mean that 00:27:43.100 --> 00:27:44.059 God has continued 00:27:44.059 --> 00:27:45.400 to awaken his church 00:27:45.400 --> 00:27:46.460 again and again 00:27:46.460 --> 00:27:47.000 and again 00:27:47.000 --> 00:27:48.000 in the exact 00:27:48.000 --> 00:27:48.940 same way 00:27:48.940 --> 00:27:49.420 according to 00:27:49.420 --> 00:27:49.820 the same 00:27:49.820 --> 00:27:50.640 characteristics 00:27:50.640 --> 00:27:51.660 and the same 00:27:51.660 --> 00:27:52.160 patterns. 00:27:52.600 --> 00:27:53.160 Why did he do 00:27:53.160 --> 00:27:53.360 that? 00:27:53.420 --> 00:27:53.880 So that you 00:27:53.880 --> 00:27:54.560 might know 00:27:54.560 --> 00:27:55.620 that the hand 00:27:55.620 --> 00:27:56.100 of the Lord 00:27:56.100 --> 00:27:56.700 is mighty 00:27:56.700 --> 00:27:57.560 and that the 00:27:57.560 --> 00:27:58.259 living God 00:27:58.259 --> 00:27:59.220 has come down 00:27:59.220 --> 00:27:59.920 among us 00:27:59.920 --> 00:28:01.040 before and he 00:28:01.040 --> 00:28:01.720 can do it 00:28:01.720 --> 00:28:02.340 again. 00:28:03.780 --> 00:28:04.780 And so that 00:28:04.780 --> 00:28:05.360 is our simple 00:28:05.360 --> 00:28:05.820 prayer. 00:28:07.360 --> 00:28:07.920 Do it 00:28:07.920 --> 00:28:08.680 again. 00:28:10.540 --> 00:28:11.120 Lord, 00:28:11.440 --> 00:28:12.460 do it again 00:28:12.460 --> 00:28:13.720 here 00:28:13.720 --> 00:28:14.640 and now. 00:28:15.400 --> 00:28:16.580 Do it again 00:28:16.580 --> 00:28:17.320 among us 00:28:17.320 --> 00:28:17.780 and in our 00:28:17.780 --> 00:28:18.180 time. 00:28:18.300 --> 00:28:18.460 Lord, 00:28:18.600 --> 00:28:19.060 show us 00:28:19.060 --> 00:28:20.460 and show 00:28:20.460 --> 00:28:21.140 the East Bay 00:28:21.140 --> 00:28:21.940 that your 00:28:21.940 --> 00:28:22.900 hand is indeed 00:28:22.900 --> 00:28:23.680 mighty. 00:28:25.860 --> 00:28:26.620 Don't you 00:28:26.620 --> 00:28:27.220 want this? 00:28:29.360 --> 00:28:30.240 If this 00:28:30.240 --> 00:28:30.660 happened, 00:28:30.759 --> 00:28:31.440 would it not 00:28:31.440 --> 00:28:33.259 address almost 00:28:33.259 --> 00:28:34.080 all of our 00:28:34.080 --> 00:28:34.940 spiritual and 00:28:34.940 --> 00:28:35.740 moral issues? 00:28:36.940 --> 00:28:37.860 Would it not 00:28:37.860 --> 00:28:38.900 address pretty 00:28:38.900 --> 00:28:39.580 much all of our 00:28:39.580 --> 00:28:40.460 cultural and 00:28:40.460 --> 00:28:41.540 social problems? 00:28:41.539 --> 00:28:41.700 realms? 00:28:42.879 --> 00:28:43.940 If the mighty 00:28:43.940 --> 00:28:44.539 hand of the 00:28:44.539 --> 00:28:44.940 Lord was 00:28:44.940 --> 00:28:45.740 coming down 00:28:45.740 --> 00:28:46.659 from on high 00:28:46.659 --> 00:28:47.980 and the Holy 00:28:47.980 --> 00:28:48.579 Spirit was 00:28:48.579 --> 00:28:49.639 filling up and 00:28:49.639 --> 00:28:50.659 presiding over 00:28:50.659 --> 00:28:51.980 his church and 00:28:51.980 --> 00:28:52.779 life abundant 00:28:52.779 --> 00:28:53.579 was being given 00:28:53.579 --> 00:28:54.559 to God's people 00:28:54.559 --> 00:28:56.000 without measure 00:28:56.000 --> 00:28:57.799 and we were 00:28:57.799 --> 00:28:58.500 living out of a 00:28:58.500 --> 00:28:59.119 new sense of 00:28:59.119 --> 00:28:59.879 power and a 00:28:59.879 --> 00:29:00.460 new sense of 00:29:00.460 --> 00:29:01.220 awe and a new 00:29:01.220 --> 00:29:02.139 sense of humility 00:29:02.139 --> 00:29:03.720 and unity and 00:29:03.720 --> 00:29:05.119 desire to go and 00:29:05.119 --> 00:29:05.879 serve people and 00:29:05.879 --> 00:29:07.359 even suffer for the 00:29:07.359 --> 00:29:08.279 sake of other 00:29:08.279 --> 00:29:09.220 people, don't you 00:29:09.220 --> 00:29:09.940 want this? 00:29:13.380 --> 00:29:14.360 It's what God 00:29:14.360 --> 00:29:16.920 wants and we 00:29:16.920 --> 00:29:17.620 need reminding 00:29:17.620 --> 00:29:18.420 that he wants 00:29:18.420 --> 00:29:18.600 it. 00:29:18.740 --> 00:29:19.600 We need reminding 00:29:19.600 --> 00:29:22.140 that the hand of 00:29:22.140 --> 00:29:22.839 the Lord is 00:29:22.839 --> 00:29:25.559 mighty and we 00:29:25.559 --> 00:29:26.180 need reminding 00:29:26.180 --> 00:29:26.880 that the hand of 00:29:26.880 --> 00:29:27.420 the Lord is 00:29:27.420 --> 00:29:29.319 mighty when we 00:29:29.319 --> 00:29:30.579 cry out to 00:29:30.579 --> 00:29:30.799 him. 00:29:30.860 --> 00:29:31.660 I want to close 00:29:31.660 --> 00:29:33.079 just with a 00:29:33.079 --> 00:29:33.579 thought about 00:29:33.579 --> 00:29:36.000 this that says 00:29:36.000 --> 00:29:36.700 in verse 24, 00:29:36.880 --> 00:29:37.299 so all the 00:29:37.299 --> 00:29:37.940 peoples of the 00:29:37.940 --> 00:29:38.539 earth may know 00:29:38.539 --> 00:29:39.160 that the hand 00:29:39.160 --> 00:29:39.740 of the Lord is 00:29:39.740 --> 00:29:40.279 mighty and that 00:29:40.279 --> 00:29:40.940 you might fear 00:29:40.940 --> 00:29:41.519 the Lord your 00:29:41.519 --> 00:29:42.820 God forever. 00:29:42.920 --> 00:29:43.460 The Lord comes 00:29:43.460 --> 00:29:43.940 down and he 00:29:43.940 --> 00:29:44.880 shows his hand 00:29:44.880 --> 00:29:45.800 to be mighty 00:29:45.800 --> 00:29:47.320 for two reasons. 00:29:47.460 --> 00:29:48.019 Number one, 00:29:48.120 --> 00:29:48.860 that God's people 00:29:48.860 --> 00:29:49.580 would fear him 00:29:49.580 --> 00:29:50.360 all their days, 00:29:50.580 --> 00:29:51.180 that we would 00:29:51.180 --> 00:29:52.259 recognize him 00:29:52.259 --> 00:29:53.120 in his glory 00:29:53.120 --> 00:29:54.440 and his majesty 00:29:54.440 --> 00:29:54.980 and we would 00:29:54.980 --> 00:29:55.680 give to him the 00:29:55.680 --> 00:29:56.460 worship that he 00:29:56.460 --> 00:29:57.779 alone deserves. 00:29:58.740 --> 00:29:59.440 But the second 00:29:59.440 --> 00:30:00.380 reason he shows 00:30:00.380 --> 00:30:01.160 that his hand is 00:30:01.160 --> 00:30:01.920 mighty is that 00:30:01.920 --> 00:30:03.120 all peoples of 00:30:03.120 --> 00:30:03.700 the earth would 00:30:03.700 --> 00:30:04.680 know his power 00:30:04.680 --> 00:30:05.840 and his greatness. 00:30:07.420 --> 00:30:08.200 The Lord wants 00:30:08.200 --> 00:30:09.220 every person in 00:30:09.220 --> 00:30:10.059 your life to 00:30:10.059 --> 00:30:10.539 know him. 00:30:11.380 --> 00:30:12.100 Every person 00:30:12.100 --> 00:30:13.180 that you live 00:30:13.180 --> 00:30:13.860 among, every 00:30:13.860 --> 00:30:14.440 person that you 00:30:14.440 --> 00:30:15.340 work with, every 00:30:15.340 --> 00:30:15.960 person that you 00:30:15.960 --> 00:30:16.539 play with, he 00:30:16.539 --> 00:30:17.940 wants every person 00:30:17.940 --> 00:30:18.960 connected with this 00:30:18.960 --> 00:30:20.140 church to know 00:30:20.140 --> 00:30:20.420 him. 00:30:20.460 --> 00:30:20.900 He wants every 00:30:20.900 --> 00:30:21.640 person here in the 00:30:21.640 --> 00:30:22.940 Bay Area to know 00:30:22.940 --> 00:30:23.220 him. 00:30:24.480 --> 00:30:25.580 And we might say, 00:30:26.279 --> 00:30:26.980 you know, how can 00:30:26.980 --> 00:30:27.940 God possibly do 00:30:27.940 --> 00:30:28.240 that? 00:30:29.279 --> 00:30:29.980 How could he 00:30:29.980 --> 00:30:30.840 possibly bring 00:30:30.840 --> 00:30:31.580 revival to 00:30:31.580 --> 00:30:33.140 Berkeley and to 00:30:33.140 --> 00:30:34.080 Oakland and to 00:30:34.080 --> 00:30:35.539 the Bay Area? 00:30:35.539 --> 00:30:36.460 How could God 00:30:36.460 --> 00:30:36.940 make the 00:30:36.940 --> 00:30:38.319 impossible possible? 00:30:39.279 --> 00:30:39.759 And what I'm 00:30:39.759 --> 00:30:40.460 trying to do is 00:30:40.460 --> 00:30:41.279 show you that 00:30:41.279 --> 00:30:41.779 he's done it 00:30:41.779 --> 00:30:42.220 before. 00:30:43.079 --> 00:30:43.839 He's done it in 00:30:43.839 --> 00:30:44.659 other places and 00:30:44.659 --> 00:30:45.960 other times that 00:30:45.960 --> 00:30:46.579 maybe even were 00:30:46.579 --> 00:30:47.379 much more difficult 00:30:47.379 --> 00:30:47.980 than now. 00:30:49.899 --> 00:30:50.859 And I want you to 00:30:50.859 --> 00:30:51.740 notice two final 00:30:51.740 --> 00:30:52.700 details about this 00:30:52.700 --> 00:30:54.159 text in terms of 00:30:54.159 --> 00:30:54.799 his timing. 00:30:56.079 --> 00:30:56.980 When does the 00:30:56.980 --> 00:30:57.720 Lord show that 00:30:57.720 --> 00:30:58.759 his hand is 00:30:58.759 --> 00:30:59.079 mighty? 00:31:00.339 --> 00:31:01.039 Well, he shows 00:31:01.039 --> 00:31:01.659 that his hand is 00:31:01.659 --> 00:31:02.759 mighty after periods 00:31:02.759 --> 00:31:04.799 of great trial and 00:31:04.799 --> 00:31:05.500 discouragement. 00:31:07.740 --> 00:31:09.180 That in the same 00:31:09.180 --> 00:31:10.099 way, he's always 00:31:10.099 --> 00:31:10.799 brought mighty 00:31:10.799 --> 00:31:11.639 revivals to the 00:31:11.639 --> 00:31:12.759 church after seasons 00:31:12.759 --> 00:31:13.940 of great decline 00:31:13.940 --> 00:31:14.619 and decay. 00:31:16.059 --> 00:31:16.839 And think about it. 00:31:16.899 --> 00:31:17.619 God's people had 00:31:17.619 --> 00:31:18.500 been in Egypt for 00:31:18.500 --> 00:31:20.980 400 years in 00:31:20.980 --> 00:31:21.839 bondage, in 00:31:21.839 --> 00:31:22.859 captivity, under 00:31:22.859 --> 00:31:24.159 cruelty and task 00:31:24.159 --> 00:31:25.299 masters and whips 00:31:25.299 --> 00:31:26.639 and bricks without 00:31:26.639 --> 00:31:27.099 straw. 00:31:27.279 --> 00:31:27.980 And then the mighty 00:31:27.980 --> 00:31:28.940 hand of the Lord 00:31:28.940 --> 00:31:30.899 came down and parted 00:31:30.899 --> 00:31:31.659 the waters of the 00:31:31.659 --> 00:31:32.220 Red Sea. 00:31:32.740 --> 00:31:34.599 After Egypt, God 00:31:34.599 --> 00:31:35.439 does the impossible. 00:31:37.299 --> 00:31:38.139 And he does it 00:31:38.139 --> 00:31:38.759 after the wilderness. 00:31:38.939 --> 00:31:39.619 God's people had 00:31:39.619 --> 00:31:40.039 been in this 00:31:40.039 --> 00:31:41.679 howling, barren, 00:31:42.099 --> 00:31:43.459 lifeless wasteland. 00:31:43.559 --> 00:31:43.819 They'd been 00:31:43.819 --> 00:31:45.000 experiencing hunger 00:31:45.000 --> 00:31:45.959 and thirst, been 00:31:45.959 --> 00:31:47.099 experiencing trials 00:31:47.099 --> 00:31:48.639 and temptations. 00:31:48.959 --> 00:31:49.439 They'd just 00:31:49.439 --> 00:31:50.179 experienced the 00:31:50.179 --> 00:31:50.980 death of Moses, 00:31:51.159 --> 00:31:51.899 their great leader. 00:31:52.219 --> 00:31:52.899 They're grieving. 00:31:53.419 --> 00:31:54.219 They're discouraged. 00:31:54.939 --> 00:31:56.219 And then the mighty 00:31:56.219 --> 00:31:57.179 hand of the Lord 00:31:57.179 --> 00:31:58.399 comes down and he 00:31:58.399 --> 00:31:59.819 parts the waters of 00:31:59.819 --> 00:32:00.599 the Jordan River. 00:32:00.599 --> 00:32:02.299 after the wilderness. 00:32:03.079 --> 00:32:04.399 He does the 00:32:04.399 --> 00:32:04.939 impossible. 00:32:06.379 --> 00:32:07.199 And similarly, after 00:32:07.199 --> 00:32:08.099 the church has been 00:32:08.099 --> 00:32:10.059 in Egypt and been 00:32:10.059 --> 00:32:10.779 in the wilderness, 00:32:10.939 --> 00:32:11.759 after the church has 00:32:11.759 --> 00:32:12.259 gone through these 00:32:12.259 --> 00:32:13.919 hard periods, these 00:32:13.919 --> 00:32:15.639 barren periods in the 00:32:15.639 --> 00:32:16.519 history of the church 00:32:16.519 --> 00:32:17.719 where even the people 00:32:17.719 --> 00:32:18.779 of God have lost 00:32:18.779 --> 00:32:20.059 their faith in the 00:32:20.059 --> 00:32:21.459 living God, that is 00:32:21.459 --> 00:32:23.159 when God sends his 00:32:23.159 --> 00:32:23.619 revivals. 00:32:23.740 --> 00:32:24.799 That is when his 00:32:24.799 --> 00:32:26.519 mighty hand comes 00:32:26.519 --> 00:32:28.379 down to awaken and 00:32:28.380 --> 00:32:29.880 quicken and enliven 00:32:29.880 --> 00:32:31.540 his church, to build 00:32:31.540 --> 00:32:32.460 it up and to 00:32:32.460 --> 00:32:34.020 transform society. 00:32:35.100 --> 00:32:36.520 He always does this 00:32:36.520 --> 00:32:37.180 after periods of 00:32:37.180 --> 00:32:39.040 great trial and 00:32:39.040 --> 00:32:39.560 discouragement. 00:32:39.640 --> 00:32:40.420 Anybody had any 00:32:40.420 --> 00:32:41.680 reason to feel 00:32:41.680 --> 00:32:43.200 discouraged over the 00:32:43.200 --> 00:32:44.020 past few years? 00:32:45.300 --> 00:32:46.420 That's when he likes 00:32:46.420 --> 00:32:47.380 to do this stuff. 00:32:48.980 --> 00:32:50.100 And notice that the 00:32:50.100 --> 00:32:51.120 Lord typically waits 00:32:51.120 --> 00:32:52.180 until the moment of 00:32:52.180 --> 00:32:52.760 crisis. 00:32:53.860 --> 00:32:55.240 When our back is up 00:32:55.240 --> 00:32:56.280 against the Red Sea. 00:32:56.279 --> 00:32:58.639 When we come to the 00:32:58.639 --> 00:32:59.599 borderland of the 00:32:59.599 --> 00:33:00.859 Jordan River and we 00:33:00.859 --> 00:33:01.899 have nowhere else to 00:33:01.899 --> 00:33:02.220 go. 00:33:03.119 --> 00:33:04.299 When the people of God 00:33:04.299 --> 00:33:05.819 feel hopeless and 00:33:05.819 --> 00:33:07.220 helpless, then the 00:33:07.220 --> 00:33:08.000 mighty hand of the 00:33:08.000 --> 00:33:08.859 Lord comes down. 00:33:10.680 --> 00:33:11.940 At the Red Sea, we 00:33:11.940 --> 00:33:12.799 had the mountain on 00:33:12.799 --> 00:33:13.539 one side. 00:33:14.660 --> 00:33:14.899 Right? 00:33:14.960 --> 00:33:15.879 We had a mountain on 00:33:15.879 --> 00:33:16.639 the other side. 00:33:17.440 --> 00:33:18.899 We had Pharaoh and 00:33:18.899 --> 00:33:20.139 his chariots and the 00:33:20.139 --> 00:33:21.440 army of Egypt coming 00:33:21.440 --> 00:33:22.519 from behind us and we 00:33:22.519 --> 00:33:24.460 had an uncrossable body 00:33:24.460 --> 00:33:25.920 of water in front of 00:33:25.920 --> 00:33:26.039 us. 00:33:26.100 --> 00:33:27.740 We were defenseless and 00:33:27.740 --> 00:33:28.140 doomed. 00:33:28.320 --> 00:33:29.259 The people of God were 00:33:29.259 --> 00:33:31.220 desperate and despairing. 00:33:31.300 --> 00:33:32.840 A mountain here, a 00:33:32.840 --> 00:33:34.240 mountain there, an 00:33:34.240 --> 00:33:35.400 enemy behind us, an 00:33:35.400 --> 00:33:36.920 impossible barrier before 00:33:37.640 --> 00:33:40.440 us, utterly helpless and 00:33:40.440 --> 00:33:40.779 hopeless. 00:33:43.060 --> 00:33:46.400 Shut in, shut down. 00:33:47.259 --> 00:33:49.019 The people of God crying 00:33:49.019 --> 00:33:51.660 out to him for salvation. 00:33:51.660 --> 00:33:54.519 And it's always in that 00:33:54.519 --> 00:33:57.120 moment that God acts. 00:33:58.380 --> 00:33:59.779 The mighty hand of the 00:33:59.779 --> 00:34:02.320 Lord comes down and all 00:34:02.320 --> 00:34:03.220 of a sudden the presence 00:34:03.220 --> 00:34:04.340 and power of the living 00:34:04.340 --> 00:34:06.040 God is in the midst of his 00:34:06.040 --> 00:34:06.420 people. 00:34:07.340 --> 00:34:09.300 And he's manifesting the 00:34:09.300 --> 00:34:10.920 glory and the goodness of 00:34:10.920 --> 00:34:12.139 God to all the nations. 00:34:13.840 --> 00:34:16.820 And Christ Church, I want to 00:34:16.820 --> 00:34:19.280 invite us to raise our 00:34:19.280 --> 00:34:20.580 expectations of God. 00:34:21.840 --> 00:34:23.360 I want to invite us to get 00:34:23.360 --> 00:34:24.720 down on our knees before 00:34:24.720 --> 00:34:26.920 God and to cry out to him 00:34:26.920 --> 00:34:28.340 to send revival, to do it 00:34:28.340 --> 00:34:31.100 again so that all the 00:34:31.100 --> 00:34:32.039 peoples of the earth may 00:34:32.039 --> 00:34:34.460 know that the hand of the 00:34:34.460 --> 00:34:37.519 Lord is mighty and that we 00:34:37.519 --> 00:34:38.940 might fear the Lord our God 00:34:38.940 --> 00:34:39.980 forever. 00:34:39.980 --> 00:34:40.019 forever. 00:34:41.940 --> 00:34:42.860 In the name of the Father, 00:34:43.000 --> 00:34:43.800 Son, and Holy Spirit. 00:34:44.460 --> 00:34:44.740 Amen.