Revival Reflections: Embracing Showers of Blessings

Powers of blessings.

Have you ever had it rain?

And it was raining in the front yard and sunny in the backyard.

Yeah, I've seen that, too.

And here's something to really date me.

My granddad, when it would come a hard rain, he'd say, man,

that's a frog strangler.

You ever heard the frog strangler?

That's kind of a funny one, isn't it?

Frogs running for their life.

But it says, mercy drops around us are falling.

We had a few drops today, but most of us have been hoping and praying

for real, real good rain.

And God's in control of that.

But for revival, we're using that kind of that illustration.

And so, Lord, don't just give us a few mercy drops, but showers,

showers of blessings.

And so I hope that you've already been praying about that.

Take your Bible and turn to the Book of Psalm, chapter 126.

Psalms 126 · chapter mention

The book of Psalm, chapter 126.

Psalms 126 · chapter mention

And most of you will recognize the last two verses, but we're going

to read the whole chapter.

But a lot of people use those two verses to promote soul winning,

and there's nothing wrong with that.

The Bible has lots of different applications, and it applies,

I think, very well with soul winning.

But as we're gonna see in this chapter, really, the context of this

verse is revival.

That's really what it's talking about.

I'll show you in just a moment.

Okay, so when we read this, I want you to think about revival.

Okay?

Psalm 126, verse 1.

Psalms 126:1

When the Lord turned again, the captivity of Zion.

If you remember much about the history of Israel, boy, they were

in and out of captivity, weren't they?

And most of the time, it was God chasing them.

God was spanking them.

He'd let them become captive until they learned to trust God and

do the right thing.

And there was all kinds of problems.

You think you got problems?

God has more problems than all of us, and I'm talking about his

feelings.

There's no problem that God can't solve.

And God never panics and God never gets tired.

But there's captivity after captivity.

They'd start crying, oh, God, we're in a mess.

Help us.

And God would help them, and they would praise the Lord.

And it wasn't very long.

They'd start pouting again and murmuring and complaining.

And pretty soon then they would start becoming worldly.

They started to want the things that the Unchristians had,

and they wanted to be like them and dress like them and live

like them and so they went through that and.

And then they went to idolatry.

Then they started worshiping their gods.

And pretty soon God would warn them.

He'd send the prophets and warn them, you better turn.

You better get back, or you're gonna be sorry.

And their hearts got hard.

And finally God had to do.

The only thing they understood was problems.

Not all of our problems come because we're doing wrong.

Sometimes we have problems when we're doing right.

Amen.

Paul said, when I would do good, evil is present with me.

And so we can't say, like Job's friends did, that boy, Job,

reason you're in trouble.

Cause you must have really sinned really bad.

Well, he hadn't sinned really bad, but he was being tested.

But most of the problems, though, that the children of Israel

had was the result of God chastening them.

And whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth.

He loved them still.

But it hurt.

It hurt God's heart to see them not believe him.

They didn't want to trust him.

They was living on their feeling rather than by faith.

It's hard sometimes to let your feelings go, isn't it?

Our feelings are strong, and sometimes we feel certain ways.

And it may not be God's ways.

And I have to pray that.

I'm sure you do, too.

Lord, help me to.

Whether I feel like it's right or not, Lord, help me to go with

the book and trust you and do what's right.

And the young people used to sing the song, I've decided to follow

Jesus.

Though no one joined me, Still I will follow.

And God's people who really followed God and really followed

Christ has always been a minority.

It's never been a majority.

So don't feel like you're all alone, because that's just a fact

of life.

And the Bible tells us that.

Did you know the Bible?

Jesus said this in the last days.

Jesus said this.

He said, when the Son of Man cometh, will he find faith on the

earth?

What he was saying is, will he?

He was saying, it's gonna be scarce to find people that have kept

the faith because the tribulation and all the problems

and the things we're seeing in the world today.

And a lot of Christians aren't gonna be able to handle it because

they've never been grounded.

They don't know what they believe or why they believe it.

And so they live in fear instead of living by faith.

Faith cometh by hearing, hearing by the word of God.

And we don't really have to Pray for more faith.

Just get more of the Bible in your heart and in your head and in

your life, and your faith will grow.

Well, I'm getting way off the subject.

Turn again.

Our captivity, the captivity of Zion.

When the Lord turned.

They're talking about the past.

When the Lord turned again.

The captivity.

We were like them.

That dream.

You get the picture here?

Not nightmare, dream.

It was like a dream come true.

It was like living the dream.

When you're right with God and none of us are perfect till we get

to heaven.

But if you can say, I'm not hiding sin in my life, Lord, I want

to do right and think right and be right.

When we do that, we can live the dream even when everybody else

is living the nightmare.

We can still prosper.

When the world's going down, we can go up.

And God said, I'm gonna take care of you, and I love you, and

I bought you with the blood of my own son, and you're my pride and

joy.

That's what God says.

God thought you were to die for.

Amen.

Whether anybody else thinks how they think about you, God says,

I got my eye on you because I've invested in you.

That's what it means to be saved.

It means to become one of the children of God.

Okay?

A lot of people say, well, isn't everybody the children of God?

No.

Jesus said to the Pharisees, ye are of your father the devil.

Ye there.

The saints or the ain't, that's the only two there is.

Amen.

And so he says, we were like.

This is past tense.

When the Lord turned past tense.

When we were past tense, then past tense, was our mouth filled

with laughter.

Did you know the word laughter is only found seven times in the

Bible?

But, you know, there's a lot of crying in the Bible, a lot of

sorrow in the Bible.

God laughs and we can laugh.

And one day our laughter is gonna be the laughter of joy and

praise forever and ever.

We like to laugh, don't we?

I mean, that feels good to laugh.

It does.

But he said, the way it was before, you see, if you can't remember

how it was when you were.

When you felt like, what a joy, what a thrill, what a peace,

what a contentment, what a life.

If you don't have that now, if you were happier somewhere back then,

then that's a sign that you need revival.

Okay?

I've never heard anybody stand up and say, preacher, I don't need

revival.

I think we all probably would like to have more revival in our

life.

But when's the last time you just laughed?

Not at a joke, but just laughed out loud at the goodness

of God?

Some of you may have never done that.

Just go outside by yourself so that it won't think you're crazy

and just laugh and say, oh, God, hallelujah.

I got problems, but there's a lot of things that I don't have.

And I have God, and I have the future, and I have heaven, and I

have all these things.

The devil hates it when Christians have that kind of laughter.

Then was our mouth filled with laughter and our tongues with singing.

Then said, they, among the heathen, the unsaved, the Lord hath

done great things for them.

The world was looking at the Christians saying, man, I wish I

could be that happy.

A lot of people look at Christians and say, I don't want

to be one of them.

They look so unhappy.

They look so sad.

They always get upset, and they're always this and that, complaining

and murmuring.

Our testimony, we represent Jesus Christ.

We want to convince other people they need what we have.

They need Jesus.

But if sometimes Christians look more miserable than unchristians,

I mean, let's be honest.

But he said, when God turned the captivity, they were set free.

They were laughing and they were singing, and the unsaved people

would go, wow, God has done great things for them.

Why don't you make that part of your prayer, that this revival

that comes, that the people who hear about it will go, man, I

wonder what happened over there.

Those people are different now after what all they've been through,

and they're still rejoicing and laughing and counting their blessings

and going to church.

It'd be a good prayer, Lord, let other people see a difference

in our life.

The Lord hath done great things for them.

And then verse three, they said, and the Lord hath done great

things for us, whereof we are glad.

Now we get to verse four, because they're in captivity when

this is written.

So now they're saying, turn again, do it again, Lord.

Send a revival like we had back then.

And maybe you can remember a time when, of all the.

You've been to lots of revival meetings.

That doesn't always mean we have revival.

I mean, we can have good meetings and enjoy good preaching

and singing and fellowshipping and all that.

But revival means change.

It means we go into revival and we come out different.

Mm.

Anything you'd like God to change in your life, or do you want

to just stay the same?

Lord, turn again our captivity as the streams in the south Refreshing

rain.

Let it rain.

And then verse five, they that sow in tears, a broken and contrite

heart, O Lord, thou will not despise they that sow in tears.

When's the last time you shed tears about something that really

mattered in eternity?

When's the last time you shed tear over.

Oh, God, we need revival so much, and you start crying.

I need revival so much.

When's the last time you wept over somebody that was lost and dying

quickly and they weren't saved and they might be going into hell?

When's the last time that upset you enough that you cried?

I don't cry easy.

And you could cry on the inside.

I know it's not all about comparing your tears with somebody

else's tears.

God knows your heart.

I'm just asking you to think about it.

When's the last time it says, they that sow in tears plant, live

their life, sow in tears, shall reap in joy.

He that goeth forth and weepeth.

There it is.

Twice the Bible tells us in Psalm 56 that God even keeps a book

of our tears.

Did you know that's in Psalm chapter 56?

Psalms 56 · chapter mention

It says, Are they not in thy book?

That's a very interesting chapter to me.

A very interesting verse that this infinite God who knows every

leaf that falls, every bird that falls the hairs of our head,

it's so amazing to me.

Put thou my tears in a bottle, he said, are they not written in

thy book?

Wow.

Our little pea brains cannot understand the infinity of God.

Infinity of God.

Nothing happens that he doesn't see.

If I think about that very long gives me a headache, but also

a heartache.

Makes me glad to know that nothing's hidden from God.

He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, that's

the word of God, shall doubtless, without a doubt, come

again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.

You see, in Bible days, for bread, they had wheat and they would

go out.

I mean, they just couldn't go buy bottled water.

They had to dig wells, and they couldn't go to Walmart and buy

a loaf of bread.

And so the sheaves, the wheat was very important, and it depended

on the rain and depended on God blessing them.

And revival's a lot like that.

We can't work up revival.

God has to come down and stir us up.

But it says we'll have the sheaves.

Can you picture that?

Wouldn't that be a pretty painting of God's?

People in a church just had revival and they're all holding sheaves

in their.

In their arms with a big joy on their face and unity and singing

and praising God.

And nobody's mad and nobody's upset.

Nobody's ready to fight.

There's just the joy of the Lord.

Nehemiah says, joy of the Lord is our strength.

He said, oh, if it could just be that way.

Well, pray about it.

If my people remember that last Sunday night, God already made

a commitment, he said, you don't have to pray if I'll do it.

He said, I will.

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves

and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked way, then

will I hear from heaven.

Could I get that clock on that screen back there, please?

Cause I don't even know what time it is.

So, Psalm 126.

These captives, they remembered how it was.

I've been in two revivals in my life that stick out that I'll

never forget.

One was in Georgia, a little town called Forts in Georgia.

And people were crawling on their knees to the altar.

They didn't even want to stand up.

They afraid God would kill them.

We had a bunch of young people saved and.

And several of them came up in a group and said, brother Weatherby,

could you keep the invitation going and have the pianists or sing

some songs?

Cause we want to go home and get our parents and bring them back

tonight.

We don't want to wait till next week.

And they did that.

The church grew, and a lot of people joined the church because

of what they had heard and seen and the change in their lives

of their sons and daughters.

They.

The teenagers, they didn't have to make them go, man.

They wanted to get up early and get ready and they wanted to

stay late.

And it was a marvelous revival.

And then I was in one in Arlington.

New York Avenue Baptist Church.

You ever hear of that, brother?

You probably wasn't around here back then, but it was one of

the largest churches in the area.

It was in Arlington.

Arlington, Texas.

And I was in that meeting.

Wow, it was scary in the right way.

I mean, God was moving in ways I'd never seen before.

And people who hardly ever said a word.

I mean, they were just very quiet, subdued, shy with standing

up with both hands and praising God and giving God glory

and giving testimony and hallelujah, what a savior.

Tears running down their eyes and.

And the church was packed, and there wasn't enough room at all the

altars.

Some would go back and others, another wave would go to the altar.

I'll never forget it.

Now, I preached in lots and lots of revivals over 50 years, but

only two.

Those two that I can remember because it made such an impression.

Why don't you add that to your prayer list, too?

Lord, do a.

Give us a revival that will make an impression on my family that

maybe are not in church or not saved my family or my friends, my

neighbors, maybe the people that I work with.

Lord, do something in my life that people will go, I don't understand

that.

Can you explain it?

Go, no, not really.

God just came down.

So this was a memory and they were asking God to do it again.

You know, sometimes it's hard to face reality as Christians.

Sometimes we kind of live in denial.

You know what that means?

You just don't want to face up to the truth.

We just live in denial.

I'm fine.

I'm okay.

I'm happy.

I'm doing all right.

And we just.

Cause we don't want to be.

We just.

You know, everybody wants the truth, but nobody wants to be honest.

To just say, lord, search me and try me and know me and see me.

Help me to wake up to reality.

Our church needs revival.

I need revival.

Our marriage needs revival.

Our kids, young people need revival.

Lord, we need a moving of God in our midst.

And you know, God doesn't have to have a majority vote for that.

In fact, most of the time, some of God's greatest blessings

started with just a handful of people.

Wasn't very many that may be here tonight, I don't know.

But who knows?

We live in denial because just as they were in.

Are you listening?

They were living in captivity and they were praying, lord, turn

it again.

Turn it around and set us free.

But you know something?

We're in captivity, too.

Live in a free country.

But some people are captive to sin, a sinful habit they've been

fighting for their whole life.

They just can't get victory over it.

It's just.

It's a shackle.

They're in captivity.

Some people are captive to bitterness.

They just can't get over they've been hurt and they've gotten

bitter now.

And everything looks shady and everything looks sour and everything.

You're suspicious and you're bitter.

You're sour in your spirit.

You're captive to it.

You're a captive.

Some people are captive to fear.

They're scared of everything.

They're always thinking the worst is going to happen, and they

live in fear.

And the most repeated commandment in all the Bible is fear

not.

But a lot of people don't get Involved.

They don't volunteer, they don't do.

A lot of people don't give because they're afraid.

They live in fear I won't be able to pay my bills if I honor God

with my.

And they live in fear.

They always think, well, what if this happens?

Well, what if that happens?

Some people are captive to anger.

They have a bad temper.

A lot of people say, I'm sorry, that's just the way I am.

It's like they're accepting it.

No, no, we don't have to live in captive to anger.

A lot of people, they hide it well, but they're angry.

Somebody mistreated them or their job or their church or their

friends or whatever and they.

They're angry.

Some people are captive to discouragement.

They're living discouraged.

They just can't get over it.

It's like a depression and they just accept it and they just

pretty much live that way.

Some people are captive to hopelessness.

They don't see any future.

Some are captive to pride.

They think they're a little bit better than so many other people.

Some people are stubborn.

They're captive, just stubborn.

They won't give up their ways, my way or the highway.

Self righteousness.

Some people are just captive.

They're living in denial.

They don't even know it, but they think they're right.

Everybody else is wrong.

I'm right.

But you know, you can put all those in one big bundle.

We're captive to the devil.

That's his job.

That's what he wants to do, is to control Christian people.

Cause he can't have them.

We can't get unsaved.

We belong to God.

So the devil says, well, I can make them miserable.

I can get them to turn on each other.

I can get them to get their eyes off Jesus.

I can get them to close the Bible for two or three weeks at a

time.

I can do that.

And so they'll live in captivity.

Jesus said, the spirit of the Lord is upon me because he hath anointed

me to preach deliverance to the captives.

Jesus said that to set at liberty them that are bruised.

Captivity.

Pray that this revival would set the captive free.

Make this your prayer, Lord.

Turn again our captivity.

We don't want to be living like slaves to the world and the

flesh and the devil.

Let me give you three words and we'll be through.

These are just three hindrances of the revival, but I

want you to write them down.

Number one is ignorance.

Number two is iniquity.

And number three is indifference.

Number one, ignorance.

A lot of people wouldn't know.

They don't know what to pray about revival because they don't

know where revival is.

Ignorance does not mean stupid.

It means they're uninformed.

It means they haven't been taught.

It means they haven't been in the Bible.

They haven't had enough victory in their life to know what

revival is.

How are you gonna pray for revival if you don't know what it

is?

What would convince you?

When Brother McCracken comes for a Sunday through Wednesday and

you get up Thursday morning, what would make you say, wow, we

had a revival?

What would convince you of that?

Think about that for a moment.

What would make you call your friends and say, I want to tell you

about this revival?

I've never been in a revival like that.

Do you believe that's possible?

Well, your brain says yes, but what about down here in your heart?

Is revivals over there not gonna be any more revivals?

I don't particularly think our nation will ever see a great revival.

Because they don't even want God, much less think about they don't.

They've already rejected God, the country.

I'm talking about the government.

I'm talking about the liberals.

I'm talking about the Antichrist.

Jesus said, in the last days there will be many Antichrists setting

things up for the Antichrist.

What is revival number two is iniquity.

Now, iniquity is just a big word.

We don't use it very much, but it's a big word for sin.

You say, well, we can't stop sinning.

Hey, listen, it's not that sin holds back revival.

It's the lack of confession of sin when we start hiding it and comparing

it and minimizing it.

That's what holds back revival, not sin.

If we confess our sin, he is faithful and just to forgive us our

sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

I mean, technically, we don't even have to ask forgiveness.

Jesus said, I already told you, I'll forgive you.

All you need to do is confess.

Confess means to agree with God.

That's pretty simple, isn't it?

Well, God didn't want to make revival complicated.

He wants revival more than we do.

That's his nature.

He loves to bless his people and to see them joyful and excited

and bold.

But iniquity, unconfessed sin.

We like to confess other people's sins, but we're not too

good at confessing our own sin.

Think about that.

You know, the Bible says he that covereth a transgression.

Seeketh love.

Talking about other people's sins, we cover for them.

We don't go around telling everybody all the bad stuff that

they're doing.

Are you still here?

Are you listening?

That's what the Bible says.

He that covereth.

Now, for the Christian, it says, he that covereth his sins shall

not prosper.

We want to cover our sins and uncover other people's sins.

The Bible says just the opposite.

Expose your sin, confess your sin, and God will take care of the

other people.

The last one is indifference.

And in my opinion, ignorance and iniquity, that's a hindrance

to revival.

But the biggest one that I've dealt with for over 50 years is indifference.

People aren't against it.

Yeah, I'll be there.

But they're not a whole lot for it.

I heard a definition not too long ago of why we don't see many

revivals anymore.

It said, because we're willing to live without it.

We get used to it.

We got things to do and hobbies and places to go.

And, well, we're not against it, but we're kind of in a flow.

We're kind of in a routine.

And if we have it, wonderful.

If we don't, life goes on.

It's hard to convince people that kind of have that attitude of

indifference.

Hmm.

We just sang that song.

Let him have his way with thee, the way of revival.

I wish sometimes we could stop the clock and just pray and pray

and pray.

Well, I would like us to do something a little similar, but different.

I'd like to ask for five volunteers.

Maybe one over there, maybe one over here, maybe two or three

in here.

Five.

I got five cards.

They're all different.

It's 25 things to pray about concerning revival.

And I'd like to give some of you men, if you wouldn't mind doing

it, just take a card and get with three or four or five or anybody

that's around you.

It doesn't have to be long, and you don't have to call each one

out.

I'll read it to you.

But you could pray and just one person pray.

Or you could have just silent prayer.

There are five things on each card.

Spiritual ears for us to hear God's voice, the healing of our church.

Love expressed doesn't do anybody any good if it's not expressed.

Pray for our youth department to have revival.

Pray.

Pray for inreach toward hurting members.

We talk a lot about outreach, and we need as soon as we can to

get more outreach, but also there's inreach reaching within the

church family and helping and encouraging and praying and lifting

up other people.

That's one card.

Pray for Brother McCracken, of course.

Pray for a good attendance.

Pray for a good offering.

Brother McCracken, as far as I know, doesn't get a paycheck from

a church he's not pastoring, as far as I know.

Pray for Satan to be defeated.

Greater is he that's in you than he that is in the world.

And pray for more men to stand in the gap.

Women, you can do it too.

But God says he's not minimizing women.

But in that.

Is it in Ezekiel, Brother Cox, where that is found?

I think so.

God sought for a man to stand in the gap to make up the hedge before

me.

And it says he found none.

There was none.

There's not a lot of men that's that interested today.

But maybe we could pray for that.

Maybe God would touch some men during the revival that would say,

you know, it's time for me to get serious and stand in the gap.

Third card, Word of God to have free course.

Paul prayed that prayer and he asked the churches, pray for me and.

And pray that the Word of God would have free course.

Altars filled again.

I tell you this all the time.

We don't judge somebody whether they go to the altar or not.

But we still have an old fashioned altar call.

A lot of churches quit that years ago, but we still have one.

I hope you always will have one.

And some people can't kneel at the altar because of physical conditions.

But pray that we can see a lot of people at the altar.

It makes the devil mad and it makes God glad.

Okay.

It's not magic.

You're not closer to God if you go there than you are back there.

Okay, that's not what I'm saying.

But there's something about getting up publicly and unashamedly

and kneel and pray for the revival.

Pray for church members to reconcile those that are kind of

out with each other.

Pray for humility.

Pray for bitterness to be sweetened by the Holy Spirit.

Messages.

Pray that God will give the preacher the messages.

Exactly.

That we need to hear.

Pray for unity.

Pray for good singing.

Spirit led singing.

That's always a good sign when God's people are singing loud and

happy.

Pray for people to turn from secret sins.

We're proud of all the big things we don't do.

But God looketh down here.

Pray for burden, for souls to increase.

That's a good sign of revival.

People Start weeping and praying and witnessing more.

Have you lost your burden for souls?

Last of all, pray for Brother McCracken to be filled with the Holy

Spirit.

Pray for unfaithful members to come.

We have a lot of people still on the membership, haven't been here

since I've been here.

Pray for them to come to the revival.

Maybe you could convince them.

Pray for forgiveness to prevail.

A lot of people still having a hard time forgiving people that sinned

or failed or let them down.

Excuse me.

Pray for the youth to witness a real revival.

We pray for them to have it, but.

But I'd like our young people to see something that they can talk

to their kids one day about.

Maybe even their grandkids say, yeah, I was there in that revival.

A little town called Haslett.

It was back in 20, way back yonder in 20, 26.

Wouldn't that be great?

And then pray for joy to be restored.

We need the joy of the Lord.

A lot of people are down, and I know.

I know why.

We've been in this together.

And a lot of people are just so upset and hurting and sad how

things.

What all things have happened.

Well, let's just pray about it.

And maybe the revival would be the answer to that, to make us joyful

again.

Amen.

You can keep the cards.

So if you volunteer, you get a free card.

Anybody over here.

You got 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

Anybody lead this.

Take this card and just get together.

Brother Cox has got one.

I could hear him volunteer from way over here.

He was chomping it to bits.

So in just a moment, if y' all back there could just kind of move

to the middle or over there where Mrs. Cox is.

And you don't have to pray long.

Okay, again, just read it over.

And if you don't want to pray, that's fine.

Here's your one for you.

And just rope some people together and get them.

Thank you.

So y' all go where the crowds are.

You gonna take one?

You got one.

Okay.

Find you four or five people, and after you're through, you can

leave.

We're not gonna have a closing prayer or music.

Just read that out, say a prayer, and have a good evening.

God bless you.

Pray for the VBS too.