On Eagles' Wings Pt 6 — Don Courville

We'd like to welcome you to On Eagle's Wings, taking a little bit of a different approach today, do some things different, share some things with you that might be a little bit different too. One of the things that God told Israel was that he said, you've seen what I did unto the Egyptians and how I bear you on eagle's wings and have brought you unto myself.

Moses' Desert Training and Communion With God

Well, sometimes I think we need to just quiet down and see that God wants to bear us up on eagle's wings. He wants to lift us up out of the mire of the day and we've been studying the life of Moses a little bit, looking a little bit about revival history and I'll share with you today some more on revival history and we'll share some more on Moses.

Last time we saw how Moses had sort of got himself in a jam and was having to run away, get away from the pressures of the problems that had come about because of his making a move without God's timing.

Chambers in his little devotional book said that Moses saw the oppression of his people and felt certain that he was the one to deliver them. Have you ever felt like that? You were just certain that this was it and then you make a move and it's wrong.

And in the righteous indignation of his own spirit, he started to right their wrongs. You ever try to straighten somebody else up? Good way to get in trouble, isn't it? After the first strike for God and for the right, God allowed Moses to be driven into blank discouragement.

He sent him into the desert, sent him into the desert to feed sheep for 40 years. You feel like that's what you're doing? Just marking time. Some of the greatest times of our life for getting to know God are the times when we're in the deepest, desolate, most points and it's at those times that you can learn the sweetness of fellowship with God.

Well, God sent him into that desert. God needed Moses to be trained by him personally. Forty years in Egypt taught him how to think manly with the ways of the world and he learned those seven important areas that he needed.

But he needed that time with God to learn to discern the spirit of God. Moses had a greater advantage over us, we might say, because God would talk to him directly. That's true. But yet he still needed the sensitiveness to God that the desert gave him.

So God sent him into that desert. Then at the end of the time, when God told him to come back, Moses said, who am I? First of all, it was I'm the one. I'm going to deliver you. The Hebrews said, we're not with you.

They were scared of him too. And now God says, OK, you're the one. He says, who am I that I should go? And that was the point. He was nobody. He was a nobody. And if you're a nobody, then you're a candidate for God to really work in your lives.

The problem with our churches today is we've got too many somebodies running the program. Won't even let the Holy Spirit have a word so many times in their lives and maybe even in our families. Is God the Lord of your family?

Maybe God might have to take you out into a desert and drill you, train you. Well, he had to be trained and disciplined by God first. And you know what happens when God is able to do that in our lives?

Chambers went on to say he was right in the individual aspect, but he was not the man for the work until he had learned communion with God. Have you learned communion with God? Before you can be a mediator, you must earn the right.

Christ as the Only Mediator and Savior

The Lord Jesus earned the right to be a mediator. The Bible says that there's one mediator between God and man, and that's Jesus Christ. My friend, I hope you're not trying to be the mediator for your own sins.

Jesus Christ died on the cross. He paid the price for your sins. He alone and his blood alone is the only thing that will cover your sins. Don't trust in yourself. God isn't interested in a 50 -50 program or either a 99 -1 program where you do your little 1 and he does 99.

It's 100 God that's going to save you. All you do is believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. You want to know why maybe you haven't believed? It's because you're not willing to repent.

Repentance is a change of mind. True repentance is evidenced by a change of mind with a change of a heart and change of attitude and change of actions. Well this program is designed to encourage you to receive Christ, to encourage the pastor or behind the pastor in the church that's preaching the word of God.

We're not a program that's substituting your local church. If you're in a church, you go there and you support it. You pay your tithe. You pray with your pastor. If he's preaching the word, your church is standing for the word of God, you support it.

If it's not, you better pray for revival or maybe just pack up and get out. Some places are too far gone. But I'm not one for giving up hope. I have some friends that tell me that when God sends an awakening in our country and they believe that he is, that many of the churches that are not preaching the gospel are going to experience revival.

They've been dead for so many years, the people are getting desperate and they're looking for something. They've tried everything. Many of the fundamental churches today are going off into the showbiz Christianity and they'll head on down the road to become liberal and you'll get into the social gospel.

But some of these have been down there so long, they're looking back now and we're seeing and hearing some things that are very interesting in the revival work. Oh my friend, God is able to do what you maybe think that he can't do.

Revival History and the Power of Prayer

There's so many areas to cover and there's so little time in just a half hour. I want to share a little bit more on the history of revival. I've been sharing from J. Edwin Orr. I'd like to finish up today with you on this and share just a little bit more about what it was like when an awakening occurred.

When God moved in a mighty way and we saw how it started in prayer. It started in prayer. One man prayed and he gathered together six and then it grew to thousands and then literally thousands upon thousands were saved.

Maybe it might even be safe to say that several hundred thousand people were saved, maybe up into the millions were saved and we say, wow, we haven't seen anything like that. That's true. We haven't and that's why this program is here because we want to see it.

Matter of fact, if we don't see it, I believe our land is in trouble. Our nation is in serious trouble. We know it's in trouble now and we can't just point the blame at our government officials, our elected officials.

These men are trying to do their best. Sure there's some of them out there just trying to fill their pockets up, but I don't think the problem's in the government. The problem's right here. It's my heart, your heart, if we're not right with God.

If the Christians get right with God, churches get cleaned up, we'll deal with self and sin and quit playing games, then we'll see God working. Didn't God say, if my people which are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I'll heal their land?

Let's go back to the point of humbling ourselves. When's the last time God was able to humble you? Or has it all been this super ego pseudo spirituality type program you're putting on, trying to impress people?

Well, my friend, when God moves in, he takes care of all that stuff. All of that stuff's just blown to pieces. And when you're left there and you see yourself, you're like Isaiah, woe is me for I am undone.

Paul said he discovered that he wasn't some great religious leader. When Jesus Christ got rid of him, he saw that all he was was rags, filthy rags. And then he said, I know that in me dwells no good thing.

He learned that principle, and that's the secret of a powerful spiritual life, to learn that in you dwells no power, nothing of yourself that's any good. Well, we left off last time with Evan Roberts.

Evan Roberts and the Welsh Revival

He went forward, and he prayed with great agony, O God, bend me. And upon his return, he could not concentrate on his studies. He went to the principal of his college and explained, I keep hearing a voice that tells me I must go home to speak to our young people in my home church.

And the principal, Phillips, said, that's not the voice of the devil. Because Edwards had said, is that the voice of the spirit or the voice of the devil? And Phillips said, that's not the devil. The devil never gives orders like that.

You can have a week off. So he went back home, and he announced to the pastor, I've come to preach. Well, the pastor's like most of us. Some young fellow shows up and says he's going to preach. Our first thought is, who asked you to preach?

I didn't ask you to preach. Well, the Holy Spirit was in on this. But he said, how about speaking at the prayer meeting on Monday? He didn't let him speak even to the prayer meeting. But he told the people, said, our young brother, Evan Roberts, Phillips, he has a message for you.

If you care to wait. Well, 17 people waited behind to be impressed with the directness of the young man's words. Evan Roberts told his fellow members, and here's what he said, quote, I have a message for you from God.

You must confess any known sin to God and put any wrong done to man right. Second, you must put away any doubtful habit. Third, you must obey the spirit promptly. Finally, you must confess your faith in Christ publicly.

And by 10 o 'clock, all 17 had responded. The pastor was so pleased that he asked, how about you're speaking at the mission service tomorrow night, midweek service Wednesday night. He preached all week and was asked to stay another week.

And then the break came. And I read the Welsh newspapers of the period. In them were snippets of ecclesiastical news, such as the Reverend Peter Jones has just been appointed chaplain to the Bishop of St. David's.

Our Mowbray Street Methodist Church had a very interesting sale. But suddenly there was a headline, great crowds of people drawn to longer for some days. A young man named Evan Roberts was causing great surprise.

The main road between Langley and I hope I get some of these names close to right. But he says Swansea, on which the church was situated, was packed wall to wall. People trying to get into the church.

We haven't seen that, have we? Matter of fact, we're coming up with all kinds of gimmicks and bags and prizes and shows and programs to get them to try to come in. But here they are lining up, trying to get in.

Shopkeepers closed early to find a place in the big church. Now the news was out. A reporter was sent down, and he described vividly what he saw. A strange meeting, which closed at 425 in the morning.

And even then, the people did not seem willing to go home. They were still standing in the street outside the church, talking about what had taken place. There was a very British summary. Quote, I felt that this was no ordinary meeting.

End of quote. Next day, every grocery shop in that industrial valley was emptied of groceries by people attending the meetings. And on Sunday, every church was filled. The movement went like a tidal wave over wells.

In five months, there being 100 ,000 people converted throughout the country. Five years later, Dr. J .V. Morgan wrote a book to debunk the revival. His main criticism, that of 100 ,000 joining the churches in five months of excitement, after five years, only 75 ,000 still stood in the membership of those churches.

What a critic. Boy. Anyway, to go on. The loss of 25 ,000 could be explained by drifting away of unsympathetic people, or of others attracted to mission halls and the emerging groups of Pentecostals and Glossolalia in 1907, or immigration, Orr went on to say.

Then Orr went on. He said it was a social impact that was so astounding. For example, judges were presented with white gloves. Not a case to try. No robberies. No burglaries. No rapes. No murders. No embezzlements.

Nothing. District councils held emergency meetings to discuss what to do with the police, now that they were unemployed. In one place, a sergeant of the police was sent for and asked, what do you do with your time?

He replied, before the revival, we had two main jobs, to prevent crime and to control crowds. As at football games, since the revival started, there is practically no crime. So we just go with the crowds.

And what's this mean? One man said. The sergeant replied, you know where the crowds are? They're packing out the churches. But how does that affect the police? He was told, we have 17 police in our station, but we have three quartets, and if any church wants a quartet to sing, they simply call the police station.

As the revival swept wells, drunkenness was cut in half. There was a wave of bankruptcies. Nearly all taverns, there was even a, excuse me, I didn't read that right, it says there was a wave of bankruptcies, but nearly all taverns.

There was even a slowdown in the mines. You say, how could a religious revival cause a strike? It did not cause a strike, just a slowdown, for so many Welsh coal miners were converted and stopped using bad language, that horses that dragged the trucks in the mines could not understand what was being said to them.

Hence, transportation slowed down for a while until they learned the language of Canaan. I might say this, in the revival movement of recent years that I've been involved with, in one area, not that far from this area, we saw God move in such a powerful way that in a matter of a few short weeks, two bars closed down in a small town.

Repentance, Restitution, and Readiness for Christ

You say it doesn't happen, and it does. We've seen people go back, make restitution with other businesses where they had stoled from or cheated. My friend, hasn't nothing happened in your life until you've made things right, made restitution.

Maybe you need to make things right with your mate, your children, your pastor, your neighbor. Maybe you've got something that's between you and them, and that one thing keeps you from having any communication with them, or fellowshipping with them.

That one little thing that happened maybe years ago, deal with it, deal with it. You say you're right with God, but you're not right with man, well, I don't know about you, but that doesn't sound too biblical to me.

Are you clean? Are you pure? Is there anything in your life that you don't want to stand before God right now? Suppose he was to come today. The rapture was to occur, the Lord Jesus was to come, and you were to stand before him.

Are you ready? Get it taken care of. If there's something you're planning on doing someday, better do it today. You remember what Jesus said, you're coming to give a gift? He says drop that gift, leave it right there, and go get right with your brother.

Maybe you're fixing to go to church today. You're going to go there and worship God and sing praises? Maybe even give your offering? And you haven't made something right with your mom, your dad, your brother, your sister?

Years have piled up. You wonder why we need revival? My friends, the reason we need revival is right inside of our shirt. It's our own corrupt heart. The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.

Who can know it? I'll tell you, God knows it. He's out and he's searching. He's looking. He's looking for those that are willing to be broke before him. Well, that revival also affected sexual and moral standards.

I believe when we see revival hitting our churches and our lives, we're going to see this immoral downtrend that the church is experiencing. We're going to see it cut sharp and it's going to be cut off.

The things that we're seeing today and the falling of some of the giants, TV evangelists and all that other stuff, some of them have no business even on TV. We'll see something when God moves in revival.

Revival's Social Transformation and Global Reach

Let me give you some figures. From this revival, Orr said, I discovered through the figures given by the British government that in two areas, the actual illegitimate birth rate had dropped 44 within a year of the beginning of the revival.

You see, this is what the world's looking for. Reality. Reality. That revival swept Britain. If so, it so moved all of Norway that the Norwegian parliament passed special legislation to permit laymen to conduct communion because the clergy could not keep up with the number of the converts desiring to partake.

It swept Sweden, Finland and Denmark, Germany, Canada from coast to coast, all of the United States, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, West Africa, touching also Brazil, Mexico and Chile.

Yet until 1973, the extent of that revival was unknown until I published my account of it. Orr said, as always, it began through a movement of prayer with prayer meetings all over the United States as well as the other countries.

And soon there came the great time of the harvest. So what is a lesson we can learn? It is a very simple one, as direct as the promises of God in scripture. If my people who are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

What is involved in this? As God requires us to pray, we must not forget what was said by Jonathan Edwards to promote explicit agreement and visible union of God's people in extraordinary prayer. What do we mean by extraordinary prayer?

We share in ordinary prayer and regular worship services before we eat and like that. But when people are found getting up at six in the morning to pray or having a half night of prayer until midnight or giving up their lunch time to pray at noonday prayer meetings, that's extraordinary prayer.

But it must be united and concerted. A Baptist does not become any less a Baptist or an Anglican, less loyal to the 39 Articles or Presbyterian to the Westminster Confession, but they recognize each other as fraternal intercessors.

We must pray. We've got all of our denominational barriers and our bigotries and things like this, and I've got my beliefs and you've got yours. But let me tell you, they're not going to do us any good if we're not seeing people saved, if we're not seeing the church in reality.

The Pastor's Calling to Prayer and the Word

We need to pray. I haven't identified myself to you and right now I don't intend on doing it, but God's done some things in my life. First of all, He broke me and showed me the deceptiveness of my own heart.

And I've learned I can't trust myself. And that's where we go wrong. We think we can trust ourselves. And I had all my education backed up, stacked up in there all those years, and I thought God was surely going to use me and be, He was really impressed with all this, all the time I put in, all that, all the money.

That was a bunch of hogwash, to use an old southern term. God isn't impressed. We despise the small thing. Who has despised the day of small things? Some little old lady may be the most spiritual person in your church and nobody even pays any attention to her.

Why is she spiritual? Probably because she just spends hours in prayer. And you're running around here and there, burning up gas, going to this meeting, that club meeting, this social event. Where is the hours of prayer?

The pastor is to spend his time in the ministry of the word and prayer. Acts 6 laid out the guidelines, very simple. And the leaders in the church are to make sure that the pastor has that time to do it.

They're to take care of the other little details. They can take care of running off the bulletin. Let the pastor pray. And that doesn't give the pastor more time to go out and play golf, by the way, either.

Golf's fine. I'd like to go play with you sometime. But we've got to pray. And I think God wants to do something in this area. God wants to do something in your family, in your personal life. And that's why this program's here, to encourage you to see God work in your life.

Moses, the Desert, and Learning to Live by Grace

He's done such a work in my life, I'm excited. This may be sort of a low-key program. But if you want to see me excited, you just invite me into your church. If you get a hold of me sometime. I haven't identified myself or told you how you can get a hold of me.

But I want to share with you what Jesus Christ can do in your life. Revival's the most exciting thing that I've seen. Because it hit me personally. And it's going on in our country. Areas of our country are experiencing it.

Some cities are having meetings where God is doing something. And we're not talking about the emotionalism. We get emotional in our revival that we had in our church. We had a lot of them that were in on the emotion of it.

Some people were really geared emotionally. But after the smoke all settled, there was some folks that had really met God. And God had really cleansed them and dealt with them. Well, I told you it might be a little bit different today.

I enjoy preaching and teaching the Word. And in the life of Moses, I wanted to share some things with you. You know, Moses was going out for a new experience. Have you ever gone out in the desert? Walked away from all the pleasures and treasures of Egypt?

He was abandoned. Out there abandoned to God. But before he could be a mediator, he had to earn that right. And that effort in the flesh didn't work. And so many times, it's not how you enter your trial, but how you come out.

Many of us come out bitter. And Moses' motives were pure. I think that's why we don't see God condemning him at this time. And let me say something about motives. It's difficult to know your own motives.

But it's extremely dangerous and difficult to question the motives of others. All we see is actions. Many times we judge people by their actions. But God looks on the heart. And many of the things going on in our churches today are just the result of this one area, of judging our brother by their actions, without taking time to go talk to them and get their motives.

A lot of problems could be avoided. Well, oh Moses, he's going to prove to be an exciting character for us. The human viewpoint as he walked out into that desert, or maybe he was really kicking up sand, was what a tragedy.

He was a good man. His life, his career is ruined. And maybe that's what you need. Maybe you just need God to move in and devastate you. They say, all that training, what a waste. He'll never amount to anything in that desert.

But let me tell you something. And I wanted to share this with you today, but we'll have to do it next day. The greatest thing that happened to Moses, I believe, was the 40 years that he had out in that desert.

Because you see, without those 40 years in the desert, he'd never had the 40 years of leading Israel. But something happened out there. He got to know God. And God took him out there. And let me say this to you.

Be careful about going back, either mentally or physically, to that which God has released you from. God released Moses from Egypt, from the world. And God may be breaking you financially so he can release you from your bondage.

Maybe you've programmed yourself to think that you can just borrow money like anybody else. And the scriptures teach us, the believer, that he's not to live like that. We're to owe no man anything. We need to be very careful about getting ourselves into bondage.

If you're in bondage financially, can you say that you're free spiritually? We need to be very careful in these areas. Now, it's not the dryness of the desert. But will we learn to be fruitful and draw off of God?

Will we learn to soar on eagle's wings out in that desert? My friend, that little poem I read last time? Run, run and do the law commands, but gives me neither feet nor hands. Better news the gospel brings.

It bids me fly and gives me wings. Are you flying? Are you dragging? Have you learned to fly on eagle's wings? Have you learned to live by the grace of God? Have you even trusted Christ as your Savior?

Are you walking with Him? David said, Every day I will bless thee and I will praise thy name forever and ever. Are you living in praise? The psalmist says, He healeth the broken in heart and bindeth up their wounds.

Will you let Him do in your life what needs to be done? Receive Christ as your Savior right now if you haven't done that. If He is your Savior, turn it over to Him and He'll lift you up higher and higher.