Again, you have already been greeted, but I would like to say personally how much I appreciate the effort, even the expense, to be here. We have prayed much and will continue to pray that God's presence will be evident and that you will go away refreshed. Maybe not physically, family conferences don't necessarily provide physical refreshment, but we pray you'll go away spiritually renewed. I would like to begin this evening with an excerpt from a sermon that was preached in 1757 by Samuel Davies. Samuel Davies was called by Martin Lloyd-Jones, the greatest theological mind ever produced in America. Of course, those kinds of statements are debatable, but Samuel Davies was a spiritual giant. Well, this is the excerpt from that sermon. About 16 years ago, that would have been 1741, in the northern colonies, when all religious concern was much out of fashion, and the generality of the populace lay in a dead sleep in sin, having at best but the form of godliness. but nothing of the power. When the country was in peace and prosperity, free from the calamities of war and epidemical sickness. When in short, there were no extraordinary calls to repentance. Suddenly, a deep general concern about eternal things spread through the country. Sinners startled out of their slumber, broke off from their vices, began to cry out, what shall we do to be saved? And made it the great business of their life to prepare for the world to come. Then the gospel seemed almighty and carried all before it. It pierced the very hearts of men with an irresistible power. I have seen thousands at once melted down under the gospel, all eager to hear as for life itself and hardly a dry eye to be seen among them. Many have since backslidden and all their religion has come to nothing or dwindled away into mere formality. But blessed be God, listen, blessed be God, thousands still remain shining monuments of the power of divine grace in that glorious day. That's what we call revival. Samuel Davies was writing about the great awakening. The title given to this conference is Revive. I'm sure you know revive is a verb. It's an action word which means to activate or to restore. In using the verb as the theme of this conference, we do not intend to reflect that you can revive yourself. that we can bring revival to each other or that we can cause revival to happen in our churches. That's not the point. The fact is that we can do none of those things. But the idea is that we desperately need to be revived. We need revival. Revival may be the only hope we have. And revival, we believe, is possible. This conference is a call for all of us to contemplate revival afresh. It is an attempt to stir up new thoughts. about revival, even a vision for revival in our churches. The prayer is that we will all be moved to ask with deepest sincerity, is there anything that we can or ought to do toward the experience of revival? Though we cannot cause it and we cannot bring it, is there anything that God would have us to do toward revival? Well, let's begin with a definition or perhaps a description of revival. What we refer to as revival is the ordinary work of God's grace performed with such extraordinary power, swiftness, and expansiveness that both the church and the world are spiritually awakened, which is to say that both church and world become keenly aware of God's glory, His majesty, and His special presence. Another great awakening would cause the halls of Congress to know that there is a God in heaven. Hollywood, the NBA, Major League Baseball, every aspect of our American society would be aware that there is a God who is all-glorious and He is near. Revival is an ordinary work of God done with extraordinary power. Now what do I mean by the ordinary work of God? I mean two things, the conversion of the lost and the sanctification of the redeemed. That's what God is doing all of the time. He is calling out his elect for whom Christ died, calling them unto himself through Christ. He is also about the work of improving the lives of believers, sanctifying us. But ordinarily, at least in my experience, conversions come in ones and all too infrequently. And ordinarily sanctification comes painfully slow. Sometimes we are hot, sometimes we are very cold, most of the time we are lukewarm. But during seasons of revival, Dozens, perhaps scores, even hundreds of perishing humans are drawn to Christ almost at the same time, in periods of time very close to each other. And while scores are being brought out of darkness into light, the entire Church of Christ, in particular locales, are brought to deeper experiences of Christ's love. They are made more aware of what it means to have a Savior who loves them. And through this greater awareness of the love of Christ come deeper experiences of His nearness, longings for His presence, stronger convictions about sin, a greater passion for holiness, a deeper desire for the conversion of the lost, a greater delight in the assembly of the saints to worship and fellowship. If I could read another statement, not from the same sermon, but another statement from Samuel Davies about the love that ought to be experienced by God's people all of the time, but is most keenly experienced in revival. Because the Christian loves Christ, he longs for the full enjoyment of Christ, Because Christ is precious to him, his interests are precious too. He longs to see Christ's kingdom flourish and all men fired with his love. Because he loves Christ, he loves his ordinances. Loves to hear because it is the word of Jesus. Loves to pray because it is maintaining intercourse with Jesus. Loves to sit at his table because it is a memorial of Jesus. And loves his people because they love Jesus. Now let's be honest, when was the last time you went to church with that kind of motivation? Full of love at the expectation of meeting with Christ and with His people whom you love dearly because they love your Savior. Revival is a wonderful idea. It's a wonderful concept. It provides a glimmer of hope in the presence of escalating darkness and deepening depravity. Do you believe that it is possible for totally depraved men to become more depraved? The doctrine of total depravity, I would remind you, simply teaches that all mankind is dominated by sin in every faculty of the soul, so that in every part, every man, every woman, every child is a sinner. But total depravity does not deny the possibility that totally depraved people may become more depraved. they may actually become worse, more adamant in their rejection of God's authority, more debauched in the practice of evil. And that is what we're seeing. We are seeing a deepening, worsening depravity. in our American culture. We are witnessing the virtual collapse of a once great nation. But the doctrine of revival provides hope. There could be a reversal. I don't see any other hope except revival. And the present presidential campaign proves that. But is the doctrine of revival scriptural? Some dispute whether or not it is a doctrine in the Word of God. That's a very important question. Can we preach about revival? Can we pray for revival with the conviction that this really is a true work of God? Well, the remainder of our time this evening will be an effort to provide some answer to that question. And the first part of the answer I would give you is this, the Holy Spirit is real. The Holy Spirit is real. It has been reported that Mr. Spurgeon, as he walked into the pulpit each week, repeated these words to himself, I believe in the Holy Spirit. I believe in the Holy Spirit. I believe in the Holy Spirit." What was he saying? He was saying, I don't have any hope. What I am doing is destined to be done in utter futility unless the Spirit comes. But I'm going to preach because I believe in the Holy Spirit. Revival is purportedly the work of the Holy Spirit. Is the Holy Spirit real? Do you believe, do you really believe in the Spirit of God? The reality, the reality of the Holy Spirit is seen throughout the Bible. But much like the doctrine of the Trinity, The reality of the Spirit becomes clearer the deeper you go into Revelation, particularly as you move from the Old Testament to the New Testament. B.B. Warfield's observation concerning the Trinity as a whole is certainly applicable to the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. Warfield wrote this. The Old Testament may be likened to a chamber richly furnished but dimly lighted. Okay? Get in view. A room, big room, full of beautiful furniture and paintings and all kinds of beautiful things, but there's very little light in the room. And so you can't really see all that's there, just a little of what is there. The introduction of light brings into the room nothing that was not in it before. but it brings out into clear view much of what was in it, but only dimly or not at all perceived before. The mystery of the Trinity, and I would say the mystery of the Holy Spirit is not revealed in the mystery of the Trinity, is not revealed in the Old Testament, but the mystery of the Trinity underscores the Old Testament revelation. And here and there, almost comes into view. And thus, the Holy Spirit revelation of God is not corrected by the fuller revelation which follows it, but is only perfected, extended, and enlarged. The Holy Spirit is in the Old Testament. David was aware of his need for the Spirit's work in his soul, and thus, after his terrible fall and his sin, he pleaded with the Lord in Psalm 51 not to remove his spirit from him. So the Spirit was there, but he was only faintly known. It is only as we move into the new covenant with the coming of Christ that the Holy Spirit becomes fully known to us. He comes to us through Christ and based upon the accomplishments of Christ. The Old Testament prophecies concerning our Lord Jesus taught that He would be distinguished From all the prophets who have come before him, all the men of God before him, he would be distinguished by the mysterious presence and power of the Spirit of the Lord. Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 11, there shall come forth a rod from the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. Now listen. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. You see, that's who Jesus is. He is the Anointed One. He is the Christ. Anointed with what? The Spirit of God. When John the Baptist first identified Christ. He identified him in terms of his giving of the Holy Spirit. John said, I baptize you with water unto repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I'm not worthy to carry. He, he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. You see, Christ not only came to redeem us, He came to make us utterly new. And He does that by the work of the Spirit. In giving the Spirit, Jesus fulfilled the prophecies of the new covenant. like the one given to Ezekiel in Ezekiel 36. God said, I will sprinkle clean water on you and you should be clean. I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And this is what I'll do. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them." If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you have an unrelenting love for God. You have an unrelenting desire to obey God. Now it ebbs and flows, and there are times it may seem that it's about to disappear, but it will never disappear. It is put there by the Spirit of God, who is put there by Christ, your Redeemer. And the Spirit of God that dwells in you will keep you striving after God, pursuing God, loving God, loving, at least making the effort to please Him. You see, the gift of the Holy Spirit is at once a concrete consequence of our Savior's redemptive work on the cross. And at the same time, an evidence, a proof of His coronation in heaven as the Lord of all lords and the King of all kings. Remember how the Apostle Peter explained the phenomena of the Spirit's work at Pentecost. What a surprise that must have been. Those 120 trembling disciples waiting for something, but not sure what it would be, what it would look like, feel like, and the Spirit of God comes upon them, and all of a sudden, electricity courses through them, and they're full of boldness, and they rush out into the streets, preaching to the very people who crucified Jesus. How amazed they must have been, what was happening? How amazed must the citizens of Jerusalem have been to see these people so animated, so full of passion, so bold. Well, Peter explains what was happening in Acts chapter 2 verse 32. He said, this Jesus, the one you crucified, God has raised up of which we are all witnesses. Therefore, being exalted, this Jesus being exalted to the right hand of God and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear. The wonders of Pentecost. They were proof that the Spirit of God is real. They were proof that Christ was successful in what He came to do. It was proof that He is Lord and King. So I assure you, the Holy Spirit is real. He's as real as Jesus, as real as a cross. And the Lord Jesus has sent us to go into all the world and to preach the gospel and to make disciples of all the nations, and as we do so, to baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, by which He is telling us that the Holy Spirit is not an afterthought. He is not simply an expression of divinity, He is Himself God. Co-eternal, co-equal, member of the Godhead. One of the most thrilling aspects of what Christ has done for us is that each and every Christ follower, no exceptions, Each and every one is a partaker of the Spirit's presence and grace. For by one Spirit, we were all baptized into one body, whether Jew or Greek, whether slaves or free, and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. The Holy Spirit, beloved, is in you. The Holy Spirit is with you, He is in you. And the Holy Spirit is in your churches. Do you know that? Do you believe that? The Holy Spirit is in your church. The Holy Spirit is real. Now when did He come? Well He came at Pentecost. When we talk about revival, are we talking about Another Pentecost. No, Pentecost was unique, just like the incarnation, just like the cross. Unique once and for all. But there are aspects about what the Spirit does in revival that we can learn from studying Pentecost. And that brings me to my second point. The Holy Spirit is powerful. The Holy Spirit is real. The Holy Spirit is powerful. As we think about a new awakening in America, we think about the halls of Congress becoming aware of the presence of God, the White House becoming aware of the glory of God, streets in America, electric with the worship of God. When I even mention that, are you thinking that simply can't happen? That simply can't happen. Well, it can't unless the spirit of God is real and unless he is omnipotent. Revival requires enormous power. But one of the things that the Bible teaches most plainly about the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit is enormously powerful. The Spirit's power was manifested in the very creation of the world, bringing order and beauty out of chaos, according to Genesis chapter one and verse two. And the word spirit there doesn't refer to a mighty wind. refers to the third person of the Godhead. The Spirit's power was evident with some of the judges and some of the prophets, men like Samson and Moses and Elijah. The Spirit of God came upon them and made them totally unique in their generation. However, it was at Pentecost that the Spirit's power as the paraclete the gift of Christ to indwell His church. It was at Pentecost that the power of the Spirit as Pericle was made apparent. Just before our Lord ascended back into heaven, 120 were met together, confused. I mean, what had just happened? They thought Jesus would be crowned and the whole world would fall down at his feet and he's crucified. And they think the whole thing's over, but he's raised. But now he's talking about going away. And their heads are spinning. What's gonna become of us? Remember what Christ said to them. He said to them, my friends, you're gonna receive power. you're going to receive power. And by reason of that power, you will be witnesses unto me. You will be. And that's exactly what happened. Now, when you read the accounts of Pentecost, then you can turn to Acts chapter 2. And my addresses will be going to Acts 2 and 3 a lot. When you read Acts 2, perhaps the first thing that impresses you are certain phenomena which happen in the physical and material realm. Verse 1, Acts 2. When the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly, suddenly, and that's a key thought in revival. It often comes suddenly. And suddenly there came a sound, a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind. and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other languages as the Spirit gave them utterance." Here we see power displayed in the physical material realm. and seasons of revival, a lot of mysterious things happen. For one thing, gospel ministers are often enabled to labor in ways that would ordinarily be impossible to them just as men. George Whitefield only lived to be 56, between 55 and 56 years old. And by all accounts, Whitfield was not a robust man physically. And yet, we were told that he preached 18,000 sermons. And he preached to over 10 million hearers, not on television. not on radio, not live streaming, 10 million living human beings. He made 13 transatlantic voyages. Those voyages didn't happen in a week, six months. When Whitfield came to the States and traveled through the colonies, he did so on horseback. How do you explain the mere upholding of His humanity through the rigors of the Great Awakening, not only here but in Great Britain? I submit to you it was the Spirit of God upholding His very physical, material humanity. And it may well have been that that voice that could be heard by thousands without amplification, it may well be that that voice was also something of a miracle of the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit was first given to the church, it was the sound of a mighty rushing wind. There were tons of fire. God's people were emboldened to preach God's truth in languages they had never learned. The gospel was carried forth in a context of signs and wonders, all of which were demonstrations of the Spirit's power. Some of you are getting nervous. What am I saying? Am I saying that we should look for those kinds of physical displays of God's power? No, I'm not saying that. But I am saying, I am saying this is who the Spirit of the Lord is. I am saying that the Holy Spirit is powerful enough to do whatever needs to be done, even in the physical material realm, to bring about a revival if it is His pleasure to do so. I'm saying that even today, the Spirit of God can bring people in your community, to your churches, to hear you preach, and you don't know how they got there. Whatever is necessary in the physical, material realm, the Holy Spirit is able to do. We would be really wise not to set limits on what the Holy Spirit can do, but the best, the most needful, the most predictable Demonstrations of the Spirit's power occur in the spiritual realm. They occur within the realm of the human soul, the heart, the mind, the will, the emotions. The Spirit of God can change people. That birth from above, without which no one can see, much less enter the kingdom of God, that's the work of the Holy Spirit. That drawing of the Father that is absolutely necessary for any soul to come to Jesus, that drawing is the work of the Holy Spirit. I know, I know it's late. I know that some of you are tired. I know you can't wait to the aftermath. I know that. I know that what I'm talking about is, it's abstract. It's meaningless. The idea of loving a God you've never seen, passionately yearning for a Jesus you've never seen, that is so foreign to you. But I tell you, it wouldn't be foreign to you. If the Spirit of God came to you, He could open your mind, your eyes, your heart, so that this invisible God would become more precious to you than all the silver and gold that this world contains. That is the mystery and the power of the Holy Spirit of God. And that doesn't just happen in revival. That's how we came to be here. That's why we want to spend time in a conference listening to the word of God. It's because Christ has made us new. And how? By the Holy Spirit. I love the way Paul put it in Titus 3, how he brought together the positional and the experimental. He said, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ, so that having been justified by His grace, we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Every believing, every repenting soul in the whole history of the world is a monument to the power of the Holy Spirit. I hope that all of our churches still feel the pressure of the Great Commission And though perhaps it is harder now than it's ever been in our lifetime, I hope that we're still seeking innovative ways to reach the world with the gospel. I hope we haven't given up. Have we given up on our generation? Oh, I hope we haven't. It's hard, but I hope we're seeking through sanctified imagination to find ways to reach people with the gospel. But I also hope that we understand that all the imagination, all the innovation in the world will not work without the power of the Holy Spirit. Now, let me tell you what should really excite us. It's a fact that the Holy Spirit has displayed not simply the power, not simply the ability, but he has displayed the willingness to draw large numbers of spiritually dead rebellious sinners to Christ in a very short period of time. That's what happened at Pentecost that should so encourage us about the prospects for revival. In Acts chapter 2 and verse 36, Luke records these words spoken by Peter. Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now, when they heard this, when they heard this, they were cut to the heart. They were cut to the heart. Do you remember reading at any point when Jesus was preaching to vast multitudes that they were cut to the heart? But that's what happened. That's what the Holy Spirit did. He opened these people up. He laid their consciences bare before God. And when they heard those words, you crucified God's Christ, they were cut to the heart. Same people, same people two months before were screaming, crucify him, crucify him. Now they are crying out, men and brethren, what should we do? Now we see what we've done, what could we do? What a happy question to have asked. Peter said, repent, repent. and be baptized in the name of the one you crucified. You identify your life with his. Be baptized in his name for the remission of sins. And verse 41 says, then those who gladly received his word were baptized. And that day about 3,000 souls were added to them. I know you've read that before, but you think about a church. It's 120. And before the sun sets, It's 3,120. That's the power of the Holy Spirit. My last comment, it's the most important one. Do we have a warrant? to think that the Holy Spirit might do such a work today? Do we have warrant to expect that the Spirit of God might do such a thing today? Well, you know what I'm gonna say or I wouldn't be standing up here, right? Yeah, I think we do. I think we could go to Old Testament prophecies pertaining to the restoration of Israel. Now, that would be debated, but I think we could. I think we can go to Romans chapter 11, verses 11 and 12, and I think there is a revival prophesied in Romans 11. That would be controversial too. I suppose any answer I give will be controversial. I'm going to take you to one statement made in the context of Pentecost, soon after Pentecost, recorded in Acts chapter 3, and I ask you to turn to Acts chapter 3. This was after the lame beggar had been miraculously healed. caused quite a uproar and people were crowding around Peter and John. And Peter said this, verse 17, yet now brethren, I know that you did it. You crucified Jesus in ignorance as did also your rulers. But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all his prophets, that the Christ would suffer, God has fulfilled. Repent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so the times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. Look at verse 19. Repent therefore and be converted that your sins may be blotted out so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. And then verse 20 talks about the second coming of Christ. Dr. Sinclair Ferguson comments The order of the clauses here, forgiveness, refreshing, return of Christ, suggest that seasons of renewal and revival are in view. In those words, that times of refreshing may come. It seems that Peter was saying that between the two comings of Christ, There will not just be a protracted period of time. There will be times of relief, and that's what the word refreshing means. There will be seasons of relief. There will be times of refreshing when God does the extraordinary and brings relief to his troubled people and brings spiritual awakening to a perishing world. My brethren, I don't think that we ought to think that our Lord's promise in Luke 11, 13 was fulfilled exclusively at Pentecost. What did Christ say? What was the promise? I'll be referring to this text. God giving me breath several more times, but in Luke 11, 13, Christ said, if you then being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him? And I believe that Christ is saying, when you recognize that you need fresh effusions of the Spirit's power, your Father is willing to give them. But you must ask and keep on asking. And you must knock and keep on knocking. And you must seek and keep on seeking. Beloved, have you figured out another remedy for the mess we're in? The church is declining. There is an escalating depravity. Iniquity abounds on every hand and thus all of a many is growing cold. And many of us don't really have much energy behind the idea that it can become much better. What we need, the Spirit of God has. This world is in a bad way, but it hasn't gone too far for the Spirit of God. But we must ask, we must see. I suppose that we would accuse Jonathan Edwards of being a bit extravagant in the statement I'm about to read. Certainly, we wouldn't say anything like this, but are we prepared to say that Jonathan Edwards didn't know what he was talking about at all? You say, what are you talking about? I'm talking about this statement by Edwards. He said, it may be observed that from the fall of man to our day, the work of redemption in its effect, the application of redemption has mainly been carried on by remarkable communications of the Spirit of God. Though there may, though there be and is a more constant influence of God's Spirit always in some degree attending His ordinances, yet the way in which the greatest things have been done towards carrying on the work has always been by remarkable effusions of special seasons of mercy. You understand what Edwards was saying? The application of redemption, which is going on all of the time, all over the world, has known its most prolific days in those special seasons when God has poured out His Spirit. I want to believe that Edwards knew what he was talking about. I want to believe the times of refreshing can still come. I want Jesus to come. That's what I really want more than anything else. I want Jesus to come, but if he doesn't come, I want the spirit of God to come in fresh power. May he give us all that vision, not burdened, afresh. Let's pray. Father, in so many ways, it's incriminating, embarrassing to preach this. For me, because so often I have despaired of anything more than the ordinary and perhaps have been simply content with infrequent conversions and a more routine lukewarmness. Father, if indeed it would please you, oh, we long to see what the Spirit of God can do in a world like ours. We want to believe, help our poor hearts. We want to believe that he could convert tens of thousands. in these United States, and he could do it quickly, and he could make our churches to become full of life and love and power and hope. Forgive our narrow-mindedness, our shriveled faith, and help us, oh God, to believe and to pray bigger prayers for the glory of your son. Amen.