On Eagles' Wings Pt 13 — Don Courville

The Everlasting God Renews Those Who Wait on Him

Hast thou not known, hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary, there is no searching of his understanding? He giveth power to the faint, and to them that have no might he increases strength.

Even the youth shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall. But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint.

We welcome you to On Eagle's Wings, a church revival ministry born out of revival. Back in 1985, we experienced revival in our area that went for seven months, where God purged the church, broke this old bitter pastor, made me a new man, and dealt with many other people in similar ways.

And out of that has come this ministry. Today I'm just going to share a little bit about myself, not much, you know I haven't identified myself, but if you'd like to talk to me, or have me contact you, then you can just ride on Eagle Wings and mail it to this station, if you would like to make a contact.

Sometime in the future, I don't know when, I'd like to meet with the pastors of this area. I used to go around different parts of the country and meet with the pastors and share in churches. I'd like to just talk with you, maybe sometime we can have a breakfast together somewhere in one of the restaurants, and I can just share with you a little bit more of what God's doing, what He's done, and listen to you, and see what your heart cry is.

We hope this program has been an encouragement to you, we hope it will be today. I'm going to be sharing a little bit more with you on revival in China, and I'm going to share with you one of the clearest testimonies, I believe, of what a real revival is.

So you listen to this, call up your pastor, ask him to listen, call up a friend, pray for revival, pray that God will use this, pray for me. I'm just a man and pastor in many years, and God has told me to step aside for a while to encourage churches in revival.

I used to travel from my church a lot, and it got to be a hard thing to do, hard for the church, hard for me. So I'm just spending some time now to encourage churches in this area of revival. The Shantung Revival was recorded by C .L. Culpepper.

It was taken out of a book by Crescendo Book Publications in Dallas, Texas, and it was reprinted by permission of the publisher in 1985 in the Spirit of Revival magazine from Life Action Ministries. This report, to me, is a clear demonstration of what revival is and what it does.

I thought you'd enjoy hearing this story. We've been talking about revival in China. I've given you a testimony from a Chinese man's viewpoint and then the woman's viewpoint. And now from a missionary's viewpoint.

Revival Produces Living Witnesses and a Spirit of Prayer

Listen as I read the Shantung Revival. In the Book of Acts, each report of the coming of the Holy Spirit is followed by an account of some dynamic result. This pattern also appears in the reports that came out of Shantung Providence.

When the Spirit came, things happened, things that can be classified as permanent results of the revival. The first result was the development of living witnesses for the Master. Very few churches had been witnessing with effect.

The outstanding result of the Shantung Revival was that witnessing became spontaneous. Saved people went everywhere telling everyone what Jesus had done for them. The Spirit of Prayer was another outstanding result of the revival.

I want you to notice as I read along also how these things that were in their churches, a lack of witnessing, a lack of prayer, on down the line, the different ones, a deadness in their services, when revival hit there was a wonderful spirit in their services.

These are the same characteristics that are in our churches in America. But he said the Spirit of Prayer was another outstanding result of the revival. People love to pray. Do they love to pray in your church?

Many times prayer meetings lasted two or three hours. The prayers were not long and monotonous, but fervent, sometimes tearful, always as if those praying were simply talking to the Father with the confidence that He was listening.

It was beautiful to hear them pray for each other. Many parents came to know the Lord through the prayers of their children, and teachers were saved because their students prayed for them. There was no cheap advertising of prayer for the sick, but in simple childlike faith these people prayed for the sick and many were healed.

During those days we missionaries observed many supernatural things, but the change in the lives of sinful men remained for us the greatest miracle of all. Although we didn't emphasize healing as a result of prayer, nevertheless healing in response to prayer did take place during the Shantung revival.

In these districts, just as it had been in the New Testament after the disciples went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord confirmed their message with signs following. One report said, ìI saw a man who had crawled around like a worm because his legs had grown together .î God responded immediately to the prayer of faith as these simple believers waited upon Him.

The flesh was separated, the man rose and walked, and he is now preaching the gospel. However, throughout the district healing was not stressed. The emphasis was on repentance and confession of sin. The proof of the reality of the revival was seen in transformed lives, as persons were being saved continually through the spontaneous testimony of those who received salvation from Christ's atoning death on the cross.

Singing, Worship, and Conviction in Revival

Another result of the revival was the continual singing of the people. They put songs and other scriptures to music. Old people who could not read or write memorized the songs and sang with their eyes closed, tears of joy running down their cheeks.

God had taken away their sorrow and given them a new song. I saw that many old women who could not carry a tune were filled with the Spirit singing a melody that seemed to come from an angel of heaven.

One of the greatest personal blessings which I received from the revival was the wonderful spirit in the worship services. Entire congregations bowed in silent meditation for several minutes, and the atmosphere became charged with spiritual power.

Suddenly someone would begin to pray and praise God as long as an hour would pass before the speaker could speak. Conviction became so evident that the preacher would simply give an opportunity for anyone who wished to accept Christ to come forward, and there was always some response, often large groups.

I knew it was the natural result of a spirit of worship and adoration which followed revival. The ordinances also became more meaningful. One missionary commented, I was never so blessed in my life as when taking the Lord's Supper with spiritual Chinese brothers and sisters in Christ.

It was not unusual to see people in tears during the observance. As one young widow told a missionary, my eyes were streaming tears all the time. It wasn't that I was sad or glad, it was simply that I was broken before the Lord.

Baptism took on new meaning. Unbelievers, witnessing the baptisms, often came under deep conviction. Invitations were frequently given and conversions resulted. I realized I had never fully understood the meaning of worship until I saw the Spirit of God renewing the hearts of His people.

Revival Restores Relationships and Produces Holy Living

Another result was the change in the lives of Christians. Husbands and wives, children and parents, friends and neighbors, brothers and sisters repaired relationships with God and each other. The change was so pronounced that even the unsafe people knew something unusual was taking place.

A final impression the Shantung revival wrote upon my soul lingers with me even today. Throughout the breath and death of Shantung providence, I visited the hamlets and farms. Everywhere I went, I discovered signs of revival.

The churches were crowded as never before. Attendance multiplied. Church auditoriums had to be enlarged to accommodate the crowds, sometimes reaching 1 ,000. I sensed an increased spiritual vitality among the Christians.

They testified to the cleansing from sin, habits and customs which once dominated their whole lives were given up, and they developed strong Christian character. I discovered the danger and deceit which had been brought into the Church by many of the members who had never been saved.

Pastors, deacons and others learned the difference between profession and possession. What a sight it was to see them searching for the genuine experience of regeneration. Everywhere I went, the Christians had a zeal to search out the lost and win them to Christ.

The number of believing Church members soon multiplied, and many of them became concerned that others know newfound joy and peace. In years past, it was difficult to get the interest and attention of the lost people.

Now, under the strong influence of the Spirit of God that prevailed throughout North China, the unbelievers, at their own initiative, became inquirers concerning the way of salvation. Throughout the providence, those who had held grudges against, or had been jealous and envious of their friends, were restored to fellowship.

Under the influence of the revival, the Christians confessed their faults openly and prayed for one another. Personal and racial problems between the missionaries and Chinese Christians dissolved. There was a thorough realization of the heinousness of sin.

Countless thousands of people gave up their idols. Even missionaries confessed lies and petty thefts and other sins which had shadowed their lives and dogged their tracks for years. It was also quite apparent that the revival reached into the Chinese Christians' pocketbooks.

There was a deep joy and satisfaction in giving. It was no longer difficult to get sufficient funds for the work. Still today, my heart often returns to Shantung. My soul is renewed as I recapture the aura of spiritual ecstasy which epitomized that era in my life.

A Call for Spiritual Awakening in America

Then the reflective glow fades away and I find myself in the midst of a land, my land, which needs a second touch for its impotent churches hobbled with their lack of spiritual power. Unless a great spiritual awakening overtakes our churches, there is little hope for our nation.

Such a renewal need not take the exact form of the Shantung revival, but all the revivals recorded in Holy Writ followed a general pattern. First there was a new generation of spiritual power among God's people.

Then came the realization of desperate need. Deep conviction of sin and agonizing prayer always follows. A final action required turning away from all wickedness and worldliness. That's the way it happened in Shantung when God kept His covenant with His people.

He is waiting for us to let Him do it again in America. C .L. Culpepper on the Shantung revival. So many things in this article remind me of the revival we experienced in 1985. I have a little booklet that I've written on that revival called Revival or Ruin that you're welcome to have a copy of.

At this stage of our ministry, I'd like to say that I could mail you one, but I'm not going any further than the Lord directs me at this point, and I have some copies here at this station that you can pick up.

But if you'd like to have one, you can. In the future I'd like to be able to mail out the booklet to you, and also I'd like to be able to give you other revival literature that I've found very helpful for encouraging us in the area of revival.

There's different aspects of it, the histories of revival and praying for revival. I would also like in the future to bring in some of my friends, different ones in the revival ministry, and have a meeting here in this area to pray for revival and to share with you.

Pursuing God in Desperation and Prayer

If you're desperate and you're serious and you want to see God work in your life and your church, then you be praying about these things. As I move out to make more contact in the public and come out from under my disguise of silence and non-identification, it's only that I want to just go as far as the Lord wants me to go.

If you're hurting and you're desperate, my friend, you can see God do something. We've seen churches literally turned inside out. One of the things mentioned in this article about the unsaved, we saw that in our church too.

We had what I call backdoor revival. Some of the unsaved left, it got too real for them. It was an interesting thing, and maybe even one time I might read the article that I wrote. The next time that we get together, I want to share with you an interview that I had with an old godly pastor.

He taught in a seminary for 40 years or a little bit more, and we had him in our church some weeks ago, and I took time to interview him with him about the church and revival in different areas. We talked about several different areas, and I just wanted to share that with you.

It was a real blessing to me to get to spend some time with Dr. Victor Matthews. I want to share this with you on our broadcast next time. This article that I've just shared with you is one of the clearest definitions of what revival does.

Do you want it? Would you like to see God working in your church like this? You can have it. I'm not going to give it to you. Go to God. Get on your face and start praying. Do you have trouble praying?

Ask God to wake you up during the night if you don't have time. That's what he used to do with me. You need revival? How desperate are you for it? You know, many times we feel like we've got to have something.

We've got to have a new car or a new truck or a new house or a new coat or this or that or remodel our kitchen. And whatever we want, we go after it. We think about it. We plan for it until we get it.

Are you desperate for God to work in your church, Pastor? Are you desperate for God to cleanse your life? Are you tired of the hypocrisy? You know, the interesting thing is that when Jesus came, the Orthodox Jews, the scribes and Pharisees, the fundamentalists of the day, the religious leaders, were the ones that were in need of revival and they didn't even recognize it.

There was a few around, Nicodemus came to them and the disciples, but the vast majority of them didn't recognize their need and they missed it. They missed it. Well, this ministry is to encourage you.

I'd like to meet with you. I'd like to talk with you sometime in the future. I'd like to make contact with you. I'd like to have a meeting with the pastors of this area that are hungry for revival. Maybe we can have a prayer breakfast somewhere and meet together and just share.

I'd like to get maybe some of my other friends, different ones, evangelists or pastors or workers around that I know in this country where God has been using these men to come in and share with you some things.

But first of all, if you'd like to just make contact with me, you can just write to this program on Eagle's Wings and mail it to the station that you're listening to and they'll see that I get it and I'll make contact with you.

I have material I'd like to be able to start a mailing ministry, but right now I can only go so far. I have a booklet that I've written on revival that you're free to have. I can't mail it out at this time.

Maybe in the future, but if you'd like a copy, you can come by the station and pick one up out in the lobby. But let's do something. Our great land is too wonderful a place to let slip because of our lethargic, cold, apathetic churches.

Let's do something. We have a lot of good Bible preaching on the radios, a lot of good, faithful pastors, and if you have one, you encourage him, you pray for him, you even go by and see what you can do for him.

Take care of the kids so him and his wife can go out and spend some time alone, take an evening out, even give him money for the meal, tell him to go out to a steakhouse and eat. Guard your pastor if he's a godly man preaching the word, cherish him, encourage him.

It's a tough battle, but we need revival. We desperately need it. Now, I've been sharing with you about Moses a little bit, I'd like to take a few moments. I've been talking about his fears, he had these five fears, five excuses that he gave to God, and God told him to go, and we talked last time about, he said, who am I, and God said that his presence would be with him, and then the second thing that he shared was that he didn't have any authority.

He said, I'm going to go to him, and who am I going to tell I'm sending me, and God said to him, you just tell him that I am that I am, that's my name, I am has sent me unto you. Well, the second of his five fears or excuses is in Exodus chapter three, we're looking at verse 13 on down through there.

Remember the book of Exodus is a book about the way out of Egypt, the way out of death and into life, and this is why I like to use it to illustrate the cross is the way out of death and into life. Exodus is a book about resurrection life.

Chapter two, Moses was drawn up out of the water, and chapter three, he's drawn up out of the desert. He's a resurrection God, and he'll bring you up out of your desert too. He'll raise you up. Now, Moses is afraid to go in his own name, well, wouldn't you be too?

God's Name and Authority in Exodus

He says, I don't have any authority, man, my name's mud back there, back home. Well, God says, don't go in your name, you go in my name, use my authority. Now what did the name mean to Moses? What did it mean to Israel?

What's his name mean to you? I believe when God said, I am, he meant that all that he was, all that he was, he was for Moses. All that God is, he is for me, if he is my Savior and if he's yours. So what did that name mean to Moses?

Well, Moses came to find out. He didn't need MasterCard, he didn't need a Visa, he didn't need any of the credit cards. All he needed was God's name. God was all he needed. God says that I am self-existent.

When he says I am, I am self-existent. And Moses, all I am, I am for you. You need authority, then I am your authority. Jesus said, all power and authority is given unto me. You remember that? Go ye therefore and teach and baptize.

So if you're a believer, you better be a going, you better be a teaching, you better be seeing that you're a witness and sharing Christ. And he says I'm a resurrection God. In 15 and 16 of Exodus chapter 3, he said, by the way, you tell them that I'm the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

I'm the resurrection God and I'm going to raise them up also. Because verse 17 says, and I have said I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt. When he sets you free at the cross at Calvary, he sets us free completely from all of our bondages.

But somehow or another, Satan gets in there to try to keep you from understanding the power of the cross, that you are really free. He wants you to miss out on the freedom of the cross. You need freedom?

To Israel, he says, then I am your freedom. And this is what he's saying to Israel. I am your freedom. And when I free you from Egypt, he says, I'm going to grind them to powder. And actually when he got done with Egypt, they were stripped, they were powerless, they were destroyed.

What happened to the army? There was no army anymore. They were buried in the sea. So what it meant to Israel was a resurrection from death to life, a new owner. They had Egypt, they had Pharaoh as their old owner, now they have a new owner, God, a new lifestyle, new habits, like the scripture says, therefore if any man be in Christ, he's a new creature.

Old things have passed away, behold, new things have come. I hope you've experienced that. It was a wonderful thing in my life when I experienced that. I really didn't know what was going on. All I knew is that I had a new life when I invited Christ to take over my life.

Christ as the Believer's Provision and Freedom

Well, what's it mean to us? Same thing to us. If all God is, he is for me, then all I need to live is God. He's all you need. Let me put it like this. Some people say the world needs peace. Well, listen, if you're troubled, Jesus says, if you're troubled, then I am peace.

If you're in darkness, he says, I am light. If you're hungry, he says, I am bread. If you're thirsty, I am water. If you need direction, I am the door. If you need to make decisions, then I am the way.

If you need protection, I'm the shepherd. I am. It's like a blank check. I am to you whatever you need. Mary and Martha needed a resurrection, so he showed up and Lazarus rose again. He says, I am the resurrection and the life.

By the way, do you need a resurrection? Are you saved? Do you need to be saved from yourself, out of your bondage of sin? Then come to Jesus. Ask him to save you. Are you a struggling Christian? Let him deliver you.

Let him set you free. If you have Jesus, you have all you need. But if you don't have Jesus, you don't have anything. You have some big troubles. Moses had a need, and God said, I'm your answer. I'm your answer.

When I was in the service, I used to travel around to different countries. How could I get around to different countries? Well, I had a passport. My authority was the United States government. And I could go into different countries and do whatever I needed to do on the basis of my authority.

Well, we're free in Jesus to go about. I hope that you haven't been recaptured. You can't lose your soul. Because of the blood of Christ, the blood of Christ is sufficient to keep your soul. But you can sure get recaptured into some kind of area of sin.

Is there anything in which you have failed to put God first? You know the Bible says, but seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you. You wouldn't be trying to put God second place in your life somewhere, would you?

Have your decisions been made after your own wisdom and desires rather than by seeking and following God's will? Have you been spending time praying about major decisions or even daily decisions? Do any of the following things in any way interfere with your surrender and service to God?

How about your ambition? How about your pleasures? How about your loved ones, even your friendships? How about a desire for recognition, money, or just your own plans? Is God really first in your life?

When you wake up in the morning, do you just say, God, I love you? My life is yours. Do with me what you want to today, or do you say to me, I wouldn't dare say that to God. If you wouldn't say that to God, then, my friend, you don't know him very well.

You don't love him and trust him. Why don't you enter into the life of grace? If you've been struggling, won't you let him lift you up on eagles' wings? He can set you free. That's why we're here, to encourage you.

Turn to Jesus Christ. Let him be all you need. Turn to him. Let him lift you up.