Musings 58

November 13, 2014

Amos 8:11 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord GOD, “When I will send a famine on the land, Not a famine for bread or a thirst for water, But rather for hearing the words of the LORD.

We know from the text that one form of judgment that the Lord sends on a nation is a famine of hearing the Word. I would argue that this is perhaps His most severe judgment that He brings. When He withholds the hearing of the Word, people can still have a desire (selfish, but still a desire) to hear something and yet He withholds the Word and they have no access to Truth. We also know from the New Testament that Jesus spoke in parables in order to harden people rather than to give them understanding. While this does not sound like the loving and kind Jesus that is spoken about in the modern world, it is the biblical Jesus of the Bible.

Matthew 13:10 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” 11 Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. 12 “For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. 13 “Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 “In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND; YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE; 15 FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL, WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES, OTHERWISE THEY WOULD SEE WITH THEIR EYES, HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN, AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.’ 16 “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.

Understanding the Scriptures and the God who shines forth in Christ is not a right and is not solely the product of hard study. Unless the Spirit of the living God opens the mind and shines His light in the mind and on the spiritual understanding of Scripture, it is a closed book even though scholars can spend their entire lives in a close study of the background and of the letter of the text. Apart from work of Christ and His Spirit there is no understanding of the truth (Christ) of the Scriptures.

The greatest blessings are spiritual blessings, so when there is a judgment the spiritual blessings cannot be obtained. People who are wounded in spirit have no access to ways to relieve their burdens. Misery piles upon misery and the hearts of men may search and search but there is no way to feast the soul upon God when He holds back the blessings, treasures, and wealth of understanding. If Christ Himself is the greatest grace and blessing that there is, then when God withholds understanding of it then it is a severe judgment.

While it is readily apparent that the US (perhaps the world) is under a great judgment because of a famine of hearing the words of God, we cannot overcome the judgment of God in any way. We can only seek Him for grace. It is by grace that God gives understanding to a soul. It is only by grace that a soul will have any spiritual understanding at all. It is by grace that a soul can have a taste of the wonder of Christ. If it is all by grace, then God is under no obligation to anyone to give the grace of light and understanding. We must learn to seek God for the grace of drops and crumbs to feed our souls. We must learn to seek the living God for life which only comes by grace. We must learn to seek God as fallen human beings who are totally dependent on Him rather than commentaries for understanding. Commentaries are helpful as far as they go, but only the Spirit can shine in the soul and the text and give a spiritual understanding of it. When God sends a famine, only God can reverse it. We must seek Him by grace and for His glory.

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Musings 57

November 11, 2014

It is true that there is a huge difference between a professing church that is God-centered and one that is man-centered, it is also the case that fallen humanity can preach and teach in a way that is externally God-centered and do that for the sake of numbers and offerings in the desire to appear God-centered. That is to be God-centered in a man-centered way. It is also possible to be very confessional and Reformed and so on and yet be man-centered in it all. For example, regardless of a person’s creed one can speak of grace as centered upon God and His glory or one can speak of grace as all about man. The difference is huge and the difference is the Gospel as well.

Man tends to start with himself and think of God as being all about man. Quite the opposite is true, in actuality, because God is God-centered and it is only God is truly God-centered does man have hope. It is only a God-centered God who has all of His motives and loves within Himself that can save man by grace alone. It is only a God-centered God who is totally self-sufficient and has no need of man or anything from man. This God-centered God saves man for His own glory and not because of anything found in man or anything that man can do. This wonderful and glorious grace of the Gospel is all about God and is done despite of who man is. It is only this God-centered God that man can look to for salvation by grace alone.

The fallen heart of man is depraved and has fallen into the love of self as his chief and only real love. In doing this man is trying to be like God who exists in perfect love within Himself, but of course God is triune and man is not. When man loves himself and is focused on himself he does all things for himself and this does not allow man to truly be concerned about others. But when God (as triune) is focused on Himself in His eternal and infinite love within Himself, it is only then that God will do anything that takes man into consideration. If man is the chief love of God, then God is an idolater. Since God is not an idolater and loves Himself with all of His own Being, God must be a God-centered God and do all for Himself and His own glory.

While this may sound weird to some, this is the heart of Christianity. A god of a different kind could not have created all things and could not have saved sinners to the praise of the glory of His grace. Man must cry out for grace to turn him from himself and the idol of self that by grace alone he may share in the love of the triune God that is within Himself, for Himself, but He brings men to share in His eternal love. This is a God worthy of all praise and adoration.

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Revival Accounts 4

November 10, 2014

From A History of the 1859 Ulster Revival

Now the movement in Ulster—preceded, as has been shown, by an increasing circulation of the Scriptures—gave a mighty impulse—

To the preaching of the Word—It was indeed a times of sowing beside all waters; of setting before men death and life, the blessing and the curse; and as the language of strong feelings is usually brief and pointed, such was very much the style of address induced by the movement.

To the hearing of the Word—As the Gospel was fully, faithfully, and earnestly preached, so it was gladly waited upon. The Word was precious in those days. Day after day, and night after night, multitudes both of men and women—many of them infirm and delicate, and most of them dependent for subsistence upon the labour of their hands—were willing to forego amusement, to forsake their callings and employments, to lack sleep, to deny themselves of their necessary food, and to pass whole nights under the open canopy of heaven, if they might only hear of Jesus! And just in proportion to the fullness with which Christ and Him crucified was set forth—just in proportion to the faithfulness of the heard of the Cross in proclaiming—Ruin by the fall, Redemption by Christ, and regeneration by the Holy Ghost, did they open their mouths wide and pant earnestly for the preaching of the Word.

Now the revival wave carried the conversation of professing Christians—for the time being, at least—far above the ordinary level. And not only did it accomplish this, but it changed for the time, even amongst those who made no profession of religion, the subjects of conversation. The language of Psalm 126 affords an illustration of the results produced in regard to both classes. The ungodly had their mouths opened to speak of the Lord’s doings, in wonder and astonishment—“They said among the heathen, The Lord hath done great things for them.” The godly had their mouths opened to speak of the doings of the Lord also, not, however, in wonder and astonishment at something heard or seen merely, but in gratitude and thankfulness, moreover, for what they had themselves experienced.

RS Notes:

1. The Gospel must be proclaimed, but not what is widely thought of as the gospel in the modern day. The Gospel of Christ and Him crucified has some necessary teachings that go with it. “And just in proportion to the fullness with which Christ and Him crucified was set forth—just in proportion to the faithfulness of the heard of the Cross in proclaiming—Ruin by the fall, Redemption by Christ, and regeneration by the Holy Ghost, did they open their mouths wide and pant earnestly for the preaching of the Word.”

2. The Gospel cannot truly be proclaimed apart from teaching these things:
That men are ruined by the fall.
That redemption is accomplished by Christ and Christ alone, but how He did that.
That regeneration is by the Holy Spirit and how He does that.

3. It is when the Gospel is preached (in its fullness and its corresponding teachings) that men begin to listen
to preaching and it comes to them in power.

4. It is when the Gospel is preached that hearts are changed and people turn from the vain things of the world but also things that are necessary in this world in order to hear and have Christ.

5. It is when the glory of Christ in the Gospel is proclaimed that people turn from their amusements and want to have conversations about Christ.

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Musings 56

November 9, 2014

I have been visiting “churches” for the past few months for a few reasons. It has been shocking (angered?) at what I have seen and endured at the “hands” of these “churches.” What I have been hearing from the pulpits and from the pews have been anything but Christ and Him crucified. What I have heard has been moralism and being nice and doing things to get people in the doors so that churches can grow. Many of the modern professing churches should simply drop the pretence that they are serving God and simply think of themselves as another business. That is what they appear to be. But of course this is true of professing Reformed groups as well.

The modern professing churches (generally speaking) are so far from being biblical that they do not resemble anything found in the New Testament. In fact, even professing Protestants appear to have more in common with Roman Catholicism than they do with the Reformers of the 16th century. We must be awakened. It appears to me that the way untold numbers of people are going to hell is in and by the “evangelical churches” and “evangelical pulpits.” Until we are awakened and we are no longer afraid to preach God as sovereign, man as truly dead in sin with total inability, and God giving grace at His mere pleasure, we will continue in a downward spiral.

1. A God-centered church would seek God, but modern groups seek man.

2. A God-centered church would long for the presence of God, but modern groups long for the presence of men.

3. A God-centered church would long for spiritual blessings, but modern groups long for buildings and money.

4. A God-centered church would preach on sin and the sins of the heart, but modern groups are more of the therapeutic model where man can simply become better.

5. A God-centered church would preach the helplessness of man, but the modern groups stress the ability of man to do what is needed.

6. A God-centered church would preach the wonders of God, but the modern groups stress the goodness of man.

7. A God-centered church would preach the glory of God in the face of Christ, but modern groups stress the glory of man and what he must do for God.

8. A God-centered church would preach Christ and Him crucified, but modern groups only want to talk about Christ in a positive way and as loving all and just waiting to save all.

9. A God-centered church would focus on the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but modern groups focus on the gospel of the ability of man which is really just moralism and being nice.

10. A God-centered church would focus on justification by faith alone, but modern groups don’t even bring that up and stress how men should be moral and do good.

11. A God-centered church would focus on the absolute need of regeneration, but modern groups focus on man’s need to exercise his faith.

12. A God-centered church would focus on the freeness and sovereignty of God in saving souls by grace and His grace in working sanctification in men, but modern groups are so focused on man that grace just helps man some to fulfill his potential.

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Seeking Gods Face 11

November 7, 2014

Psalm 27:4 One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD And to meditate in His temple.

Exodus 33:18 Then Moses said, “I pray You, show me Your glory”

Deuteronomy 4:29 “But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul.”

2 Chr 7:14 and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

2 Chronicles 12:14 He did evil because he did not set his heart to seek the LORD.

Why do people do evil? Why do people do evil at all and why do people do any particular evil? According to II Chronicles 12:14, given just above, people do evil because they do not set their hearts to seek the LORD. It is not because people have not received the best education and it is not because people have not studied different theories of ethics. Instead, it is because they have not set their hearts to seek the LORD. II Chronicles 12:14 is speaking of Rehoboam, the king of Israel, who was the son of Solomon. When he grew strong as King, he did not seek the LORD and the people did not seek the LORD either.

What was the real issue with Rehoboam? While one can point at many things, the reason that the Scriptures give us is that “he did evil because he did not set his heart to seek the LORD.” When we think on these things, it is clear that people who are doing evil are not seeking the Lord either. When people are seeking the Lord or have set their hearts to seek the Lord, they are focused on Him rather than on sin. People cannot seek sin if their hearts are set on seeking the Lord. This text and the story of Rehoboam does give us intriguing insights into the nature of sin and of how hearts are hardened into selfishness, pride, and the pursuit of sin. It also teaches us of how vital it is to set out hearts on seeking the Lord.

1 Timothy 6:11 But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.

2 Timothy 2:22 Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

According to Paul, we are to flee sin by pursuing righteousness, love, faith, and gentleness. The idea, then, is that no one is ever static in what s/he is doing, but instead one is either pursuing the Lord or one is not fleeing sin. The heart will always be set on something and it will always desire something, so when it is not set on the Lord and the Lord is not the chief love and desire of that heart, it will naturally gravitate toward sin. We are told that one definition of sin is to fall short of the glory of God, which teaches us that we must be set on seeking the Lord and His glory. If our hearts are not aimed at glorifying God, then they are not seeking Him either.

Each person must set his heart on seeking the Lord as a way of fleeing sin, but it is also true that professing churches must learn to do this corporately. From the five texts at the top of this page, we can see that one cannot live as a Christian or worship or pray unless one is seeking the face/presence of God. It would also be true of professing churches that if they have not set their hearts on seeking the face and presence of the Lord then they are going to commit evil as well. It is an evil thing to seek other things than the Lord if we are doing to have “church services” while using His name. Whether in public or corporate worship or in private worship, it is not an option. We either seek the Lord or we will be doing evil. As the nation of Israel shows us, it is possible to go through the motions of doing the rituals and yet not seek the Lord. As they also show us, the longer they do that the more they were blinded and the deeper they went into sin. It is the same today. We must set our hearts on seeking the Lord.

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Revival Accounts 3

November 6, 2014

An Account from Acworth, New Hampshire 1815 – 1818

In a school in the western part of the society, a regular course of biblical instruction was introduced. Questions were proposed weekly, and one evening in each week set apart for their discussion. The answers to these questions were required in scriptural language. As soon as this mode of instruction was introduced, a visible alteration was seen in many scholars [students]. They began to discover a greater relish for the scriptures. In searching for the answers to their questions, they felt an increasing desire to know more of the lively oracles of divine truth. Every vacant moment when relieved from their other school exercises, the Bible was taken up, and the unheeded tear which now and then would drop over the sacred page, showed that its precious sentiments penetrated their hearts. On Tuesday evening, Jan 14, 1817, when assembled as usual for the discussion of their scriptural questions, occurred a scene on which memory dwells with delight; and which no doubt excited those fresh acclamations of joy in heaven, which takes place on the return of every penitent sinner.

The house on a sudden became a little Pentecost. The first question which was asked a young woman of twenty years of age, was, What is regeneration? She rose, attempted to answer, failed, and sunk under the weight of a wounded spirit. The next in order was called upon, but was unable to reply, from the same cause as the former. The third issued in the same manner; and in a few minutes the whole school consisting of about twenty-six, were overwhelmed in a flood of penitent grief; and cries such as these were heard in every part of the room: How can I live? What shall I do? God me merciful to me a sinner! With these were mingled the pressing anxious request, Do dear master, pray for me—pray for me in particular.

In the scene of general distress, the master [teacher], though no stranger to the throne of grace, and who had previously attended prayers in his school daily, was too much agitated by the occasion to govern his passions to commend his pupils to the Lord Jesus. At this time there was sitting in the midst of this weeping assembly, a young man, who was remarkable delivered from the dominion of sin, and made a trophy of redeeming love a few days before; who had just found a throne of grace for humble suppliants to approach; and how possessed no distinguishing qualifications to fit him to recommend his despairing school-mates to the mercy of God,–seeing the perturbation of the master, and the distress which prevailed on every side, he rose, and with apparent composure said, Let us pray. He prayed; and it was evident God heard; for he was an instrument of His own choosing. A modest youth, naturally diffident, a new born soul of yesterday, committing in language perfectly appropriate, the wants of his distressed companions to that wonder-working God, who alone is able to forgive sins, and impart spiritual life to the soul. It was a scene sufficiently interesting to rouse from lethargy the most stupid sinner and kindle within him a lively sensation of the day of judgment. When this prayer was ended, the master had do far recovered himself, as to be able to offer up a fervent petition in behalf of his school.

RS Notes:
1. Serious study of the Scriptures is needed.

2. Asking questions to learn rather than to be skeptical is a way of seeking God.

3. God brings a deep conviction of sin as He pleases.

4. God shows grace when and where He pleases.

5. Deep despair can accompany the conviction of sin.

6. Deep joy can accompany the forgiveness of grace when a sinner comes out of despair.

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Seeking Gods Face 10

November 5, 2014

Psalm 27:4 One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD And to meditate in His temple.

Exodus 33:18 Then Moses said, “I pray You, show me Your glory”

Deuteronomy 4:29 “But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul.”

2 Chr 7:14 and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

2 Chronicles 12:14 He did evil because he did not set his heart to seek the LORD.

In II Chronicles 7:14 it gives us some different aspects that are included in seeking the Lord and yet gives insight into what it means to seek the face of Lord. First of all, before a person can even seek the face of the Lord a person must be one of His people and be called by His name. Only true believers will seek the Lord as only true believers (in the NT) are His people. True prayer is only in the name of Christ and on the basis of the merits of Christ, so clearly one must have Christ in order to pray and seek His face. It is also true that it is in the face of Christ that the glory of God shines.

In order to seek the face of God a person must humble himself. Now this sounds so easy to people, while in one sense there is an external humbling, but in the real and deepest sense there must be an inner humbling. The proud person is full of self, so to be humbled is to be emptied of pride and self. Yet self cannot cast out self, so the work of true humility must be the work of another who has more power. If the working of humility in the soul is really the work of Christ by His Spirit, and the life of humility in the soul is the life of Christ in the soul, then to humble self is to give up seeking humility by the efforts of self and to seek it from Christ. Again, the humbling of self by self is for self to give up all hope of trying to attain humility by the efforts of self.

True humility is absolutely necessary because God opposes the proud, but also because pride and faith cannot live in the same place and at the same time. How can a proud person pray when God opposes the proud? A proud person will never seek God because when God is sought a person must come in submission to Him, and that is precisely what a proud person will never do in reality and from the heart though that proud person may indeed try to feign submission to Him. True prayer is not limited (if even at all) asking things and/or material blessings from God, but instead it must a seeking of God and His will and glory. This is what a proud person cannot and will not do. While people may do many things with their mouths and actions while they think they are praying, they are not truly praying if they are not seeking the presence of God.

True prayer, as II Chronicles 7:14 sets it out, is a seeking of the face of God. Prayer is not just kneeling or taking a posture and asking God for things, but instead it is a seeking of the face of God. It does not matter how earnest a person is or how long a person utters words or how religious a person is in his or her words if that person is not seeking the presence/face of God. There is no seeking of the face of God without prayer and yet there is no prayer without seeking the face/presence of God. This cannot be stressed too much. There is no prayer apart from seeking the presence of God from the heart and from the desires. But if that is true, then how much true prayer do I do? How much true prayer occurs in the professing church I attend? How much true prayer happens at all? It is vital to seek the presence of God in prayer. If not, we are not truly praying.

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Seeking Gods Face 9

November 4, 2014

Psalm 27:4 One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD And to meditate in His temple.

Exodus 33:18 Then Moses said, “I pray You, show me Your glory”

Deuteronomy 4:29 “But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul.”

2 Chr 7:14 and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

2 Chronicles 12:14 He did evil because he did not set his heart to seek the LORD.

While it may appear that what a person needs to do is to seek the Lord with all of his or her heart and soul, there are other things going on here. In one sense the statement, factually stated, is true. In another sense, however, the law was never meant to tell us that we have the ability to do something to find God by our own efforts. The law was given so that we could see our inability to do what God commands. This command to seek the Lord with all of our hearts and souls is meant for us to see our utter inability to do this and to seek the grace of God for forgiveness for our wicked idolatry and also for grace to keep the commands. While we will never keep them perfectly or even close to imperfectly, a slight bit of love for God that is given us by grace is far better than no love in the soul as we perform out external duties thinking that we can please God in our own strength.

God lives in perfect love within the Trinity. He alone loves Himself perfectly at all moments and in all ways. In one sense this great teaching points us to how God is within Himself, but also the fact that we must have Him if we are going to even begin to keep this standard in the slightest degree. This text does not mention the word “grace” even once, but it is saturated with grace when one looks at it in the broader biblical context. What grace God gives in saving sinners who sinned in all they did with no righteousness at all and no true love for God. What grace God gives believers who are enabled to share in His love for Himself and to behold His glory.

The Greatest Commandment is to love God with all of our being, so the passage in Deuteronomy 4:29 (above) is setting out that a person must keep the Greatest Commandment in order to find God. But no one was able to do that in the Old Testament and no one is able to do this but Christ in the New Testament and no one has done this in all of history since Christ. How badly we need Christ, then, if we are to seek the face of God and find Him. We can understand to some degree the perfect love within the Trinity and we can understand to some degree the perfect love that the incarnate Son of God had for His Father. It is the incarnate Son of God who has come to us and has given us a perfect example of how to love God, but the incarnate Son has also suffered and died to take away our sin so that He may dwell in us and work out the life of His love of and for God within us that we may share in that love and so love God.

It is the Lord Jesus Christ who has purchased a people and in doing that He gives us a sight of the face of God. It is the life of Christ in the soul that works in us and is manifested through us so that it is Christ in us that desires and seeks the face of God and yet it is only in Christ that we behold and taste of the presence of God. There is no discovery of the presence of God apart from being drawn by the Father and brought to the Father through Christ. It is only when a soul is united to Christ can a soul truly long to know God and by that life have a heart that will seek God. We will only find God when we seek Him with a whole heart, but we can only do that when we have Christ as our life and as our righteousness.

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Seeking Gods Face 8

November 3, 2014

Psalm 27:4 One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD And to meditate in His temple.

Exodus 33:18 Then Moses said, “I pray You, show me Your glory”

Deuteronomy 4:29 “But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul.”

2 Chr 7:14 and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

2 Chronicles 12:14 He did evil because he did not set his heart to seek the LORD.

The longing of the heart that loves God is a longing to see and taste of His glory. The problem, however, is that fallen man wants to be able to see and use the glory of God for Himself and to see it when he desires and as he pleases. It is so hard for fallen man to come to the understanding that God shows His glory and enables human beings to taste of His glory by grace alone. Oh how the fallen heart battles with grace at seemingly each point. But even after the mind is enabled to understand to some degree that this comes by grace, it is even harder for the mind to reach the point of understanding that these things come by grace alone. But the next step is even harder, and that is for the soul to realize that understanding that these things come by grace alone is not enough. The soul must bow in utter emptiness of self and poverty of spirit to know that this is the way that is right and good. But even that is still not the last point; the soul must learn to wait on God to receive this as grace.

It must not be just words that cry out to God for Him to show His glory, but this cry must be from the heart. It must not be just the cry of any heart, but it must be a cry from a heart that truly longs to see His glory and it is willing to see His glory on His terms. The terms of God are that sinners are to seek Him and His glory as if it came by grace alone because in fact it only comes on the basis of grace alone. While so many think that they are seeking God and perhaps they are given to the study of the Bible and certain forms of prayer, those things cannot give a person the right to see the glory of God. No one has the right to see His glory and yet it seems so common for people to think that they can do things that will give them the right or title to see His glory. While it is one thing for people to think that they believe in justification by grace alone, it is quite another to really have that as the state of the heart. So in seeing the glory of God it is far easier to give lip service to saying we walk by grace than it is to realize and seek the Lord for all things as if they really come by grace alone.

It is easy enough to have a longing after what we think is God or what we think is a true longing, but a true longing after God and the desire to see His glory can only be worked in us by grace. We cannot work up a true desire or a true love for God out of the strength of self and the flesh, but instead we must seek God for a true desire to seek Him. In order to seek Him with a true desire to see His glory means that the heart must have been humbled and broken from seeking self and the things of self that one might think s/he can have in seeking His glory. A desire to see the glory of God for the sake of obtaining other things, perhaps even the honor of men or larger churches, is despicable and horribly wicked. Yet those wicked reasons are the only ways a human heart can desire God unless God works those things out of it and by grace alone works a true desire for Himself in the soul.

Oh how our hearts must be broken from self, pride, and the world in order to be able to seek the glory of God in truth. How our hearts must be emptied of all those false reasons in order to pray for His glory in truth. Even our prayers are wicked beyond belief if we don’t truly desire His glory and desire His glory for holy reasons. This is why we must be prepared for trials and hard things if we are going to seek His glory in truth because we cannot just get rid of the selfish and proud heart at our mere pleasure and seek Him at the turn of a switch. The heart must be trained by grace in order that it may seek His glory by grace. The heart must learn what it means to seek His glory and His presence and how it must do so, but we must know that this will never be learned apart from a battle to the death with self. Self must be put to death by grace in order that we may seek Him with desires that are given to us by grace. Until we learn what grace really is we will not seek Him truly, but instead for self.

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Revival Accounts 2

November 2, 2014

An Account from Acworth, New Hampshire 1815 – 1818

Nothing has appeared like a revival in this town until 1814. In this year the Rev. P. Cook was ordained. At the first communion after his consecrations, sixteen offered themselves to the church. Immediately after this, instances of individual conviction made their appearance in different parts of the society and one and another were made to rejoice in God. A solemn and strict attention was paid to the word preached, and the good work progressed gradually until September 1816 in which time about sixty were added to the church. Every seat in the house of God was filled, but not with drowsy inattentive hearers, but with awakened immortals, hanging on the lips of the speaker with almost breathless attention; looking as if their everlasting all depended on the proper improvement of a single sermon. Neither were the people satisfied with attending merely on the duties of the sanctuary. Conference meetings were established in different parts of the society, and were attended with increasing interest.

RS Notes:

1. Conviction of sin began to appear.

2. People paid a solemn and strict attention to the word preached.

3. Every seat in the house of God was filled.

4. People were not drowsy and inattentive.

5. People listened to the preaching with breathless attention.

6. People listened to sermons with eternity and their own souls in view.

7. People were not satisfied by simply attending the services at church.

8. When God visits His people and His presence becomes “felt” and known, the preaching changes and the people listening change. Eternity begins to be seen as something real and even present.

9. If all of these things are true about true revival, then our day is falling far short of anything like that. We must be under a judgment of God and He has turned His back on us. We must earnestly seek Him to turn to us and to come and pour out His Spirit upon us.

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