Our Father, we thank you for your wonderful grace. We thank you for Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, who for the joy that was set before him endured the shame and went to the cross knowing that was your perfect plan and will for him. And Lord, even as we come before you now, you accept our prayer and you accept our worship, not because we're good people, but because we're forgiven people. We come before you not in a righteousness that we have of our own, but the righteousness of Christ. And so help us to turn away from the kind of thought patterns that put ourselves before you. Help us to tear down those imaginations through the power of Christ and exalt you in our hearts and in our lives. as we just heard what it means to love our neighbor. Enlarge our hearts for our neighbor and enlarge our hearts for the lost world. Remind us Lord what you say to the book of Ephesians that we once were outside of the commonwealth and we once were alienated from your kingdom and yet by your grace you brought us close to you. Remind us that all we like sheep have gone astray, and there is none righteous, no, not one. We belong to you by grace, and I pray you'd grow our hearts in grace. Help us to learn what it means to be disciples and followers of Christ. Pray for all the churches represented here, all under the sound of my voice now, that you'd help us to be the kind of churches that bring you glory, that center on Jesus, So we think of the incarnation this morning as Peter talks about that Jesus is our example. Philippians 2 says he set aside his comfort, set aside his rights and his privileges, and broke into this world. May our churches do the same. Help us not to sit in our comfort zone. Help us not just to claim our rights and claim our privileges, but see ourselves as exiles and pilgrims in this world, to leave our comfort and break into this lost and dying world. Help us to know what it means in our various communities to follow the pattern of Jesus. Help us to be cross-centered churches, churches that center on Jesus and his forgiveness. Forgive us, Lord, for the over-realized eschatology that we sometimes preach and believe, that sometimes we think we're going to have all the benefits of the kingdom in this life. Remind us it is first cross, then resurrection. As you say in the book of Romans, chapter 8, we suffer with Jesus now, but we are glorified with him to come. And so help us to take up our cross daily. Again, remind us, Lord, that in this world there will be trials, there will be tribulations. But Lord, it's worth it, Romans 8 says, because the suffering we endure now is not to be compared with the glory to come. So help us to have our eyes on Christ. And may we live lives with resurrection power. Remind us that the resurrection changes everything. May we take these righteous, holy risks for you in our lives and in our ministries, knowing, Lord, that you have a plan in all things. When we think about resurrection, we're reminded that one day you will return and make all the wrongs of the world right. As we look out in and we see the brokenness of this world, We see brokenness in violence, racism, brokenness in our leadership, even brokenness in ourselves. As we see brokenness in the world, help us to push our hearts forward to the day that Jesus returns. And I pray that we would long for that. Here we are in Advent season. We're reminded what it means to long for the coming of the Messiah. Push our hearts forward to the glorious planet you have. I do pray for Dr. Pettit. You give him grace. You give him wisdom. We're thankful for his ministry and his life. Pray you'd work through him mightily this morning and in the days to come. We do pray, Lord, you'd give him great liberty as he speaks to make applications, to apply your text. As always, guard our hearts from license. And we pray now you'd move in a very special way through your spirit upon all under the sound of your word that we would grow in grace and a knowledge of Christ, becoming more Christ-centered as a result of our worship and hearing the preaching today. We give you all the glory in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, good morning. It is a wonderful blessing to be here in this most unusual meeting. I was trying to think of what image could I think of this gathering together, and the only one that came to my mind was the movie The Lord of the Rings and the fellowship of the ring. And you have all these unusual people that gather together. Here are some hobbits and Here are some dwarfs, and here are some elves, and here are some real human beings, and we all gather together for a stated purpose. And I think that purpose has come through very clearly, and that is the supremacy of preaching. and the supremacy of prayer in our ministries. And I think it has been exhibited so wonderfully by those who have come and have preached to us this morning. And so it's a delight and a blessing. I do want to publicly thank Stephen Lee and the staff of Sermon Audio. Maybe we should call this the fellowship of the internet together that we have, that we have all something in common. And I really, really admire the staff of Sermon Audio and their perseverance of even having this conference. You know, this is not like the largest conference of gathering of people in the United States, and yet there's just this unusualness about it. And so thank you for your faithfulness and your perseverance. And thank you for the emphasis that we have at this hour. I'd like to invite your attention this morning, please, to the book of Acts chapter 2, Acts chapter 2. And I would like us to consider the theme that we find in this wonderful passage of Scripture. If you're like me, I'm sure that you have read through the second chapter of the book of Acts and you've marveled at it. what took place on that glorious day of Pentecost. And I'd like us to consider that day and not so much the events of the day, but that key point that we discover here in the text. And I'd like us to read beginning in verse one, we'll make our way down through verse 21, and then we'll conclude by reading verse 33. The scripture says, and when the day of Pentecost was fully come, They were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together and were confounded, because that every man heard them speaking in his own language. And they were all amazed and marveled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galileans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue wherein we were born? Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and Judea, and Cappadocia, and Pontus, and Asia, and Phrygia, and Pamphylia in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews, and proselytes, Cretes, and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. and they were all amazed and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this? Others, mocking, said, These men are full of new wine. But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice and said unto them, Ye men of Judea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words. For these are not drunken, as you suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel. And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my spirit, and they shall prophesy. And I will show wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath, blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before that great and notable day of the Lord come. And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved." And note, if you will please, verse 33. being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this which you now see and hear. And may God add his blessing to the reading of his word. Jews from at least 14 different nations were in the city of Jerusalem in the year 30 AD for the annual festival of Pentecost, as we say in English, or if you were Jewish, you would say Shavuot. This was by tradition the day on which God gave Moses the law on Mount Sinai. This was also the time that preceded the summer wheat harvest that would soon occupy the minds of the people for the next four months. And this year's festival, however, was dramatically different from any other previous year, for a number of Jews from Galilee, followers of Jesus of Nazareth, were in the streets speaking of the wonderful works of God in foreign, recognizable languages that were not native to the speakers themselves. This was an obvious miracle to the Jews. And so they realized that this was a sign from above, therefore they asked the question, what does this mean? What is this all about? Are not these Galileans? Why, they sound like the folks from South Carolina, or perhaps Georgia, Tennessee, or Texas. They have such an odd accent, and yet they're speaking in this language that they've never studied. How is this happening? And someone says, these guys must be drunk. And then another one spoke and said, drunk? Gentlemen, listen to what I'm saying. It's 9 o'clock in the morning. The only thing that you drink at this hour is coffee, not alcohol. But what you are seeing and what the prophet of Joel is talking about is what the prophet of Joel was talking about when you are seeing the fulfillment of God's word when he says it shall come to pass in the last days, I will pour forth of my spirit on all flesh. This morning I'd like us to consider the theme, the outpouring of the spirit. really two simple thoughts this morning first of all what does this mean what is the meaning of the statement says that in these last days I will pour forth of my spirit on all flesh and then secondly Is this something that we should be hoping and praying and looking for in our own present day ministries that we are involved in? So let's consider those two thoughts. Number one, what is meant by this pouring out of the spirit? Well, in the Old Testament, we do see examples of this. where there were times where the Spirit was poured out in a variety of ways. For example, in Isaiah 44, in verse 3, it says that this pouring out is like water being poured out on someone who's thirsty. Or perhaps floods that are being poured out on a dry ground. So there's this crying need, and the need is satisfied by God. We also see that the word is used to describe the judgment of God being poured out on people or nations because of their sin. So either in mercy or in judgment, there is this great working of God that is going on. When we come to the New Testament, we know that it refers to something that is given abundantly out of an unlimited supply. It's like saying I'm thirsty and you take your glass and you stick it right into the Niagara River as the water goes over the falls. And if you've never seen it, you can't really imagine what it's like. Here you have an abundance of an unlimited supply. And in the New Testament, it points back to a time when God gave his spirit, the Old Testament, but not in the same way that he intends to give him now in a larger measure. So the concept of an outpouring, especially in the last days, which begins at Pentecost and it continues to this very hour that we are living in today, it is the pouring out of the presence and the power and the manifestation of the Spirit of God. And this pouring out has two primary purposes. Number one, it was intended to enable the disciples to be effective in gospel preaching. Luke 24, 49, And behold, I am sending forth the promise of my Father upon you, but you are to stay, you are to tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are clothed, until you are endued with power from on high. The disciples understood that they were to receive something for an enabling empowerment, endowment. And in Acts chapter 1 in verse 8, Luke again says, but you shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you and you shall be my witnesses. We would believe then that on the day of Pentecost, the disciples received a power that they had not formerly possessed. And Paul spoke of this power himself in his gospel preaching. In 1 Corinthians 2, 4, he says, And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but it was in the demonstration of the Spirit and of power. And Peter spoke of this power in 1 Peter 1, 12, that they have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven. So what is this pouring out? It is an enablement to be able to preach the gospel effectively. I'm sure all of you have certain writers that you are drawn to in the way they write, in the way they communicate, in the way you think, and there's a syncing of their thoughts and your thoughts together. Well, one of my favorite writers, and I'm sure that's the case for many of you, is actually the writings of Lloyd-Jones, D. Martin Lloyd-Jones, and especially Ian Murray writing about Lloyd-Jones. So if Ian Murray writes about it, I'm gonna read it. And he has a two-volume set on the life of Lloyd-Jones, and I'm thankful that he decided to condense it down to a one-volume set. And in that, he tells the fascinating story of Lloyd-Jones' conversion, his call to ministry, his first pastorate, his second pastorate, And Jones, by the way, Jones is a Welsh name, and he's a Welshman. And he wanted to take a church in a very difficult area to prove to himself the power of gospel preaching. So his first church was in a community in Wales called Aberavon. And the name of his church was called the Forward Movement Church. And it was a part of the historical movement of the Calvinistic Methodists. You didn't know they existed, did you? Because there were the John Wesley Arminian Methodists, primarily in England, and then in Wales there were the Calvinistic Methodists. And as he began his ministry, he was there for some nine years faithfully, consistently preaching the gospel every week. And God did marvelous things. And there were scores and scores of people that were being converted through the gospel ministry. And if you've read the story, his life story, you'll read that there was a witch who attended the services. And as she sat there in the services, she sensed a power in the atmosphere that was in somewhat likened to what she experienced as a witch, but a different spirit. And she was converted and saved by the power of the gospel. Dear brethren, is that not what we all hunger for? That as the gospel is preached, there is a miraculous working of God through that message. The purpose of this power was to enable us to be able to preach the gospel effectively. But then there's a second purpose. And that is to accomplish the work of salvation within the heart of sinners. For God pours out of His Spirit upon us in salvation. Titus 3 and verse 5. He saved us not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy. by the washing of regeneration and the renewing by the Holy Spirit whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior. The love of God has been shed abroad, poured forth within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. This work involves this effective call of God to salvation through the outward call of preaching and the inward call of the Spirit of God. So that through the preaching, God is accomplishing His work of salvation. The result of this outpouring, as we read in our text here, is that men will call upon the name of the Lord to be saved. Do you remember your conversion? Depends, I'm sure, of your age. If you grew up in a Christian home, I did not. The first time I heard the Gospel was my junior year of high school at 17 years old. It was a friend of mine who had been converted and we were talking to one another after football practice and he shared the Gospel with me. And as I listened to the Gospel, I knew it was true. I really knew it was true. but I didn't want it because I loved me more. I'm 17. Well, you know what that means? I have a life to live and life equals sin. I love sin, so I don't want God. But when I get old and my hair turns gray or turns loose, one of the two, I'll come to the Lord. I went off to college. I played on the intercollegiate soccer team, and there was only one other freshman on the varsity that year, and he was a born-again believer. He had been saved his senior year of high school. And he began to tell me, Pettit, you need to get saved. And I said, I know, I know. God began to work in my heart. But it was on Easter Sunday, 1975, listening to a radio preacher driving home from Myrtle Beach after spring break weekend. I was miserable. I was looking for purpose and meaning in life. I would have listened to the local rock station on that day coming home on Sunday morning, but as I drove by all the churches, the parking lots were filled. And I thought well I'll listen to a preacher on the radio if I can find one and I turned the radio on. I have no idea who the preacher was. I don't know anything about his church or all I know is I listened to them sing hymns and then he preached. And his message was simple. Every sin that I had committed in the last three days he preached on. And then suddenly he became like a painter and he took the canvas of my mind and he drew the portrait of the cross. And I felt like I was standing at the foot of the cross. And that voice that came across cried out, come to Jesus. And then he said, there's somebody driving down the highway right now and you're listening to my voice and you know you need to be saved. And on that day, I did exactly what the scripture says will happen. That men will call upon the name of the Lord. Now do you think that's something that I just did? No! Because I love me too much to turn from the old to embrace the new. How does that take place? But the working of the pouring out of the Spirit of God on the sinner's heart to draw them to saving faith. So what is this outpouring of power? It is this working of God, as Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 1 5, for our gospel came not unto you in word only. but also in power and in the Holy Ghost and in much assurance. So that leads me to the second question. And that is, can we believe or can we trust God that this is something that we should hope and pray for in our present day? And I wanna back up the idea of outpouring, that this outpouring is actually an unusual amount. because of what took place on that day of Pentecost. So let's back up and ask, let's drill a little deeper, ask a few more questions. What exactly happened on the day of Pentecost? Well, we, if we read on in the passage of scripture, we would see it that after Christ ascension into heaven and his inauguration as Lord, the giving of the spirit was the father gave the spirit to the son. And this giving of the spirit to the church marked a new age of grace in the beginning of the presence of the operation of the spirit in great power. John Owen said the outpouring and plentiful communications of the spirit have direct respect unto the times of the gospel. Although God gave his spirit in some measure before, yet he poured him not out until he, Christ, was first anointed with his fullness. So there was something happening on that day that had not happened prior to that time. W.G.T. Shedd said the work of the Spirit in Acts was not the same as in the four Gospels. After the ascension of Christ, a more powerful agency and influence began to be experienced in the church. The descent and the gift of the gracious operation and influence was directly connected with Christ's presence and intercession in heaven. It rested for its ground and reason of success upon the atoning work which he had performed on earth. So what happened on that day, it was this great outpouring of God's blessing that had not occurred previously. So that leads to a question I think that should be asked. Was the day of Pentecost an ordinary day or an extraordinary day? Is what happened then always happening now? Has the work of the Spirit of God been uniformly the same since the day of Pentecost? Is the salvation of 3,000 people in one day normative? Well, I wish it was. I'm sure you would love that, would you not? How many of you would like to go home and preach on Sunday and 3,000 people get saved? I mean, that did happen. This did happen. We all understand that this was not an ordinary day. It was an extraordinary day. So there's two things I see overlapping at Pentecost. Number one, the first is that the coming of the Spirit here establishes the manner in which the Spirit works. We understand here on this day how God works, because what did Jesus say in John? That when the Spirit comes, what will He do to the world? He will reprove the world. He will convince the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment. And that's what we see happening on that day. God works by His Spirit through His Word. That's the manner in which the Spirit works. And this is consistent in the work of conversion and the work of sanctification. This is the way God has chosen the work. This is the manner by which the Spirit works. However, there's something else that overlaps. And that is the measure or the degree in which the Spirit influences, can and does differ. And it's like the degrees of the wind. The wind is the wind is the wind is the wind. The nature of the wind is never going to change. But the degree of the wind can change regularly. It can be a breath, a breeze, a blast or a hurricane. The spirit was given abundantly and permanently at Pentecost. However, he was not permanently given in the same measure and degree as witnessed at Pentecost. So whether one is converted or 3,000 are converted, they're all converted the same way. The manner is the same, but the measure or the degree of that can be significantly different. One writer said his spirit is given to all, but his working is not in all persons, nor at all times in the same measure. Gospel work may differ in measure, it does not differ in manner. So was Pentecost an ordinary day in the life of the church? The answer is no, it was an extraordinary day. So question, can we hope for? should we pray for a larger measure in our day of the outpouring of the Spirit. Now we're seeing the Spirit poured out because people are being converted. And every conversion is as miraculous as the creation of the world. So a couple of thoughts that I think we should remind ourselves of how the disciples were thinking preceding Pentecost. First of all, the disciples were told to go to Jerusalem to get something, not to start something. They went there in order to receive power from on high, in order to be witnesses. That's what the Lord told them to do. This would have been foremost in their minds, and we must never forget that. Now, the Spirit came on that day and they received the power. Now did they ever expect that fullness to occur again? Would there ever be a further giving of what they already possessed? not the giving in the sense of the spirits in dwelling, but the manifestations of that power and that presence. Well, we do read in Acts 4.31, and when they had prayed, the place where they gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak the word of God with boldness. So it seems two chapters later, Acts 2, and then we come to Acts 4, and there was still this greater outworking of God. So the first thing is to take notice is that they went to Jerusalem not to start something but to receive something. Secondly, the day of Pentecost was a Jewish feast, the Feast of Shavuot. And all the feasts are prophetic pictures of the work of Christ. Christ is our Passover. He's the first fruits of those who will rise from the dead. What did Paul say? We are to keep the feast. of unleavened bread as a picture of sanctification and holiness of life. Pentecost was the offering of two loaves of bread, leavened bread, waved before the presence of the Lord in the temple 50 days after Passover. It was a symbol of the beginning of the wheat harvest. It was the belief that this was the beginning of the harvest that is to come. What happened on that day agriculturally would happen over the next four months from May till August. So this was the first fruits, the beginning of that which is to come. Prophetically, this picture is the birth of the church and the laborers entering into the harvest fields of the world. lifting up your eyes, looking on the fields. Why? For they are white already to harvest. God poured out of His Spirit on that day, assuring us of the harvest that is to come. Not just for that day, but for this age in which we're living in. If He poured it out to convert on that day, will He not do it again? Well, He obviously is, because you're here. That's the hope of Pentecost. In Acts 2.17, he says, I'll pour forth of my spirit. The particle refers to the separation of the part from the whole. From a whole, some part is taken. And this distinguishes what is measured to men in the inexhaustible fullness of the resource. The Spirit's inexhaustible and unlimited supply is poured out on His people. So, how do we view that in our day? Well, I read of Paul saying, praying that we would be strengthened with might by his spirit on the inner man that you will be filled with all the fullness of God. Do we not all sense our need of more power? Are you a preacher? Do you not enter into the pulpit with this sense of Lord? Without you, I can do nothing. God, if you do not move on this dead congregation, what hope do I have? Did not Paul look for the supply of the Spirit of Christ, Philippians 119? Are we not to pray for more of the Spirit? If you're evil and you know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall the Father give the Spirit to them that ask Him? What relevance does this have unless there's always more to be received? George Smeaton, in his book, The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit, says this, There's no more mischievous and misleading theory could be propounded nor any more dishonoring to the Holy Spirit than the principle that because the Spirit was poured out at Pentecost, the church has no need and no warrant to pray for effusions of the Spirit of God. Don't you like the word effusions? On the contrary, the more the church asks for the Holy Spirit and waits for His communications, the more she receives. Is there any evidence of the outpouring of the Spirit in church history? Is there? Not just the day of Pentecost. Historically, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit has always been viewed as a revival. Now I don't, I don't know what your history is on reading about revival. My first set of books that I read on revival were by Charles Finney. And every, don't get a heart attack. And I, I read everything that Finney wrote. Because that was what was available to me. And that's all that I knew. Actually, some of the things, especially as he dealt with subjects of sin, were actually quite good. But it seemed a little plastic to me. It was, do this and this is going to happen. Well, I did this and it didn't happen. And I never lost my heart for revival, but I definitely had ebbs and flows. And then I read another author on revival, Jonathan Edwards. It was a little different. And suddenly it led me down a path of reading I believe a proper viewpoint. And by the way proper doesn't mean that the blessing is there either. But understanding that, and then I think the best book, because as you all know, Edwards is wonderful as long as you can comprehend what he's writing. And if you've ever read his writings, it depends on if you're reading his exposition of scripture, that's a lot easier than reading his philosophical writings, because every paragraph you have to reread at least three times to try to comprehend it. But it led me to reading the book by Ian Murray on Pentecost today, question mark. Which in my estimation is the best treatise I've ever read in my life. Because he explains Edwards and he explains Finney. And you walk away from reading the book with a hunger and a passion for revival in our day. What is this greater outpouring? It's a revival. Edward said, though there be more constant influence of the spirit attending the ordinances, that's preaching, yet the way in which the greater things have been done have been by remarkable effusions at special seasons of mercy. John Knox said, God gave his spirit to simple men in great abundance. Iain Murray said a revival is the outpouring of the Spirit brought about by the intercession of Christ resulting in a new degree of life in the churches and a widespread movement of grace among the unconverted. It is an extraordinary communication of the Spirit of God, a superabundance of the Spirit's operations and enlargement of His manifest power. Charles Simeon said, there is in a work of grace transpiring during a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit, a deeper impression of the Spirit upon the heart, a clearer and more manifest sense of pardon and acceptance than in normal conversions of ordinary times. Nor is this difficult to account for. There is a greater and a richer manifestation of the Spirit. This is the grand secret. He gives more of himself. So here's a pastor in his ordinary preaching ministry, weekend and week out. And over the course of the year, let's say if you don't mind me using a number, 15 or 20 people are converted. Most pastors would say that was a great year. But let's say in a special season of three or four or five months, you preach the same sermons. You pray as you always pray. And yet suddenly there are 80 conversions. How do you explain that? Are you now the expert to go write a book on how to do it? Or do you fall on your face and say, God, it's your blessing. It's what you have accomplished for your glory. A revival differed only in degree or measure, not in kind. It was a larger giving. So, with that in mind then, what shall we then do? If God is willing to give of himself and he does that, what do we do? Where do we fit in? John Owen said, it is ridiculous for a man to say that he will do nothing because of the Spirit of God doth all. For where he doth nothing, the Spirit of God doth nothing unless it is by merely in the infusion of the first habit or principle of grace. Does divine sovereignty ever justify human inaction? Absolutely not. Those of us who believe that God has to work in the human heart for conversion, an effectual call to salvation, the impartation of special grace to believe, then obviously we believe in an outpouring. So what are we to do? Well, let me first of all say that we should rejoice over any and over everyone who's saved. We should never lose our joy over one sinner that repents. Because we are standing before a modern-day miracle. We should not despise the normal work of the Spirit, or even the day of small things. Because if we do, if we don't rejoice in that, then we are then fixing a recipe for discouragement. The norm for the church should be obedience, walking in the spirit, preaching the word, faithfulness. However, should we not long for and seek after an outpouring of the spirit? What shall then we do? Well, question, what did the disciples do in the upper room for 10 days when they waited on the spirit? What did they do? They prayed. What did they pray? Well, what is prayer? Prayer is asking God to do what he promises. Prayer is asking God to bring his promises to fulfillment within our day. They were praying for God to do what he said he would do. On December 16th, 1959, At the age of 59 years old, D. Martin Lloyd-Jones addressed the Puritan and Westminster Confession on the subject, excuse me, Westminster Conference on the subject revival, a historical and theological survey. I believe Banner of Truth here has the book called Knowing the Times. It is a fantastic book. Every pastor should read it. The conference, the reason he spoke on revival was a celebration in remembrance of the 1859 revival that took place in Ireland, in Wales, in the British Isles, which started, by the way, in 1857 in New York City on Fulton Street, right around the corner from where we're staying in the hotel in downtown Manhattan. And so he addresses revival from a historical and theological position. And in his appeal to pray for revival, he quotes George Smeaton. And he says these words. As to the peculiar mode of praying, we may say that in every season of general awakening, the Christian community waits just as they waited for the effusion of the Spirit. With one accord, prayer and supplication in the interval between the Ascension and Pentecost. No other course has been prescribed and the church of the present has all the warrant she has ever had to wait, expect, and pray. There shall be showers of blessing. This is the promise of God. There shall be seasons refreshing, sent from the Savior above. Showers of blessing. Showers of blessing we plead. Mercy drops round us are falling, but for the showers we plead. May the Lord be gracious in our day. I think we all would agree that the days are dark, but God's promises are as bright as they've ever been. And we should trust God for revival in our day. Heavenly Father, we humble our hearts, we acknowledge our impotency, our weakness, and our inability to accomplish anything apart from your favor upon your face, smiling. We, Lord, beg for you to revive us within our own hearts and then within our own congregations And we would ask, Lord, that you would send a revival in our day, a pouring out of your Spirit, and a working of grace through the preaching of your Word. We ask this for the glory of your excellent name, and that it would be done in a way that would draw people to yourself, We beg you to forgive us for our failures, our self-reliance, our negligence in prayer. Lord, be merciful to us in our day. We pray for your special favor here upon Manor Community Church. We thank you for Brother Bill and his ministry. We pray that you will draw sinners to yourself here. in a powerful way. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.