A Great Revival Is Coming - Rolfe Barnard — From the Pulpit & Classic Sermons

Welcome to From the Pulpit in Classic Sermons. Each week we bring you a different message from some of history's greatest speakers in the Christian faith, and powerful sermons from modern preachers too.

This week we have Ralph Bernard, with his message, A Great Revival is Coming.

The Church’s Coming Glory and the Promise of Revival

I invite you to turn, if you will, to the 11th chapter of the book of Romans, scripture, reading in just a moment in verse 25 of Romans chapter 11. We are a day that is yet to come, and we met here last evening, without a shadow of a doubt, the church has not yet come into her glory, the gates of Hades should not prevail against his church.

That doesn't mean that he said the devil's not going to overcome it, he said the devil's not going to be able to withstand it. The church has yet to come to the hour, to take out on what we call churches today.

It looks like we're hopeless as far as man's concerned, but we've got the Bible and the clear promise. The second statement I wish to make before I read the scripture, after I read the scripture, I'll make two or three statements that you'll agree with them or not.

I do not know your thoughts that well with you, just forget them. I have to make them in order to introduce my subject. I'll reason with you a little, from God's word tonight, on this thought that is coming.

Talk about how that revival will come, and then close with a brief word that this revival is here. When I read about this revival, beginning in verse 25, the Apostle Paul says,. For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery.

Ye should be wise in your own conceits, that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. This is the way all Israel shall be saved, as it is written, They shall come out of Zion the deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.

My covenant unto them, as concerning the gospel, for your sakes, they are beloved for the Father's sakes. While the gifts and whose translation I love in so many places, translates that verse, God never goes back, never goes back.

The Apostle Paul, he that he made it, as the Holy Ghost shall be saved. And I'll not argue, if you don't agree with it, it's all right. I believe the term is to be saved, and that it means all the preachers who got Israel in the mess she got in, and that the power of God will overcome them, and they'll not have a hearing anymore.

In passing, we could have revival in America, I hope I ain't one of them. Do not think for themselves, most of them. They believe what the preacher says. We haven't got many preachers. The term, all Israel shall be saved, does not mean that the nation as such will become Christian.

It doesn't mean that every individual in the Jewish nation will become a Christian. But it does mean that a deliverer shall come out of Zion and shall turn away ungodliness of Jacob. And Zechariah, that we'll read in a moment, tells us how that ungodliness shall be turned away.

Don't turn to it yet. It will be turned away by getting rid of the false prophets who corrupted the message and led the people in the shape they're in. They say the E .D. saved, and the Bible is an interesting word.

And I do not believe this word saved here has reference to what we call salvation. You don't agree with this? Don't get mad at me. I have to say it in order to reduce my thinking. The word of God tells us about Adam was not deceived, and the scripture says that nevertheless the woman shall be saved by childbearing.

As your words say, it either means that women become Christian by bearing children, or it really means that they shall be preserved in their agony. For instance, the word of God says, is the savior of all men, especially of them that believe.

That means, and he does other people, or it means what it actually means, the forgiveness of sin and eternal hope and glory. But that Jesus Christ is the preserver, in a special way, he is the preserver of them that believe.

You are out here on the street and you see a man drowning, you call a life preserver or rope or something and haul him in, and you say, you saved him from drowning. That doesn't mean he got converted and born again, but you kept him from dying.

And so all Israel shall be preserved. Up to now, that has been true, there is still a nation of the Jews. And at that hour of God's great revival, which is yet to come, we Gentiles were blessed by God turning aside from the Jewish nation, that when he turns again to them, we will fall on this old wicked world as we've little dreamed of.

The Latter Rain and the Hope of Worldwide Revival

I want you to know I didn't just forget it, I don't want to change the theology, but it introduces me to my subject. The great revival that the world is headed toward, do you believe this? It's so. The time of the latter rain that Joel pronounced, the time when he said he'll pour out his spiritual fill on the day of Pentecost, still is out yonder in the future.

One thing I wish under God, that people who claim to believe the Bible, believed a little of it, pessimists, and get a little of the glory, countenances, we're headed for great days. We're headed for great days.

I'm going to keep preaching to local churches, imperfect as they are, as long as I get one of them to let me. I may be alive, you can't tell, when this revival breaks out. Boy, if I could live six months, I don't know what might be all I could take.

I'd say with Simeon, I've seen your glory, I'm ready to go now. I've never seen revival, neither have you. It's for just a little while. Sunday night, the week before I got here, in the church was an audience of about 350 people.

Over 200 people professed to receive Jesus Christ as Lord in just a few days. The other day I had a word from a preacher, he said, all over that section of North Carolina, they're talking it on the streets and talking it everywhere, and a little touch from God.

Had a pastor that didn't bother me, he'd get up every night and say, listen to this man, and don't book him. Let the preachers run away, greatly confused, greatly disturbed, defending their profession, defending their church membership, defending their orthodoxy.

But they kept coming back. And then God's Spirit started to plow the hearts, open the windows of heaven, and we almost went to heaven that few nights. Over 150 people claimed Christ Sunday night, a week ago, in a small church.

You say, well, that's revival. No, that's just a little flame. Just a little flame. But brother, this world is going to see revival. It's going to start in the city of Jerusalem. There are no Jews here.

And you say, I'm not interested in the revival that's going to start in Jerusalem. Well, I am, because that's where the big one's going to start. It's going to start exactly like a revival, what we call revival, a little touch.

It might never go any further than Carlisle. It might die out. The flame would burn out pretty soon. Everyone I've ever been in that had a little touch from God, had spread around the world. Exactly like a revival, if it ever comes to Carlisle, will start.

The Two Conditions God Uses to Bring Revival

I want to talk to you about the two things that God will bring to pass in bringing revival to any community, or as in the days that we yet look forward to, when he'll bring it to the whole world. I'm a timetable man.

I may not live to see the time. I don't know a thing on God's earth about this world revival I'm talking about. The only reason I mention it is, I think under God, the greatest contributions to this bewildered day would be to have, there's nothing on earth as contagious as a man that's willing to look for courage in everybody he touches.

Every once in a while I meet one of you fundamentalists and you tell me, well, Brother Bondage, the last days and everything got played out, and I want to get away from you as fast as I can. I'm bad enough shape to associate with you.

I tell you, I want to associate with somebody that's got a big God program that's going to succeed, a place to display and redeem us, a thing that breathes before the wind up comes, it's going to bring glory to God.

And this old worship in the gospel, that's yet future. It's coming, and it can come to any congregation. If there are six that wanted it to come, I bet you a dollar and a half, you've got the key in your hand, you can have a touch of the power.

If this church were located, this building, one half an inch from the brink of hell, it would still be far enough from hell for us to avail ourselves of the weapons God always has used and will in the future, and would today, if he were not hindered by us, to bring his blessing of revival upon the people.

If you'll turn to the book of Zechariah, at the eleventh, twelfth chapter, I wish to read to you the two things that will take place that make a revival. Just simple as falling off a log backward. The brethren got a little concerned the other day after these meetings and set up some moments that maybe we won't have many folks for you to preach to.

We used to preach in the small crowd, but so we decided to go ahead. I don't want to play mumble peg with this time. Under God, you haven't got another day to fool around playing mumble peg moaning. We are a day near revival.

To exhaust hope in God and all hell. How is it coming? Well, a revival comes about in just two simple ways. When this revival breaks out in Jerusalem, when this scripture, all Israel shall be saved, preserved, till this Deliverer comes, I do not believe this is the second coming of Christ.

Maybe you do. We'll not fuss about that. I believe it's the day of the glory of the Church and the day of the glory of the gospel. It comes, it's coming. I could be wrong about my interpretation, but I'm not wrong about the fact that there's going to be a great turning to God.

It's described in the chapter of the book of Zechariah. And from this passage, the Apostle Paul takes his text that I read in your hearing from the book of Romans, in verse 9, Of this, and it shall come to pass in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem, and I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit and the supplication, and they shall look upon me, whom they have pierced, as one mourned for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.

Seeing Christ as the Sin Offering and Exalted Lord

The first thing that'll take place, that'll bring revival, listen to me now, shall see never been a worker's future. You'll never see a man and woman being constantly confronted in the gospel where they crucify that there's an assembly of God's called out ones, we call it a church.

What's our one task, or one of our tasks? It's to keep on as a body together in bonds of one another above our sins of the blanket into the last. Our task is never to change. I'm not a crank, I know what I'm talking about.

Listen to me now, that Jesus is today, can't save a flea. Most church members say they accept it as their personal savior, and they say the things about the Jesus that's been preached in America, the two things about him that make him different from the Christ, the Jesus that is popularly preached today, generation knows nothing about, nations of evil, Jesus has yet, for the most part, to be preached in our generation.

People today admire him, people today talk about him, people today recognize him, place him in their guilt today. They shall look on him, Jesus is some brother, revivals when they see him as a sin offering, an exalted Lord, see their utter need of him as their substitute, their need of him is their absolute, never see him as an actual sin offering.

The second thing that God uses upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem in supplication, God says, I'll do it. You've got the eyes of God, eyes are being opened, and they see who Jesus is, that's revival.

Two things I know that God's people can do in this matter of revival, be dead sure, home in this community, you can get in, in every club, in every street corner, in every jail, in every avenue, in the finest pulpit, in every Sunday school class, everywhere!

Faithfully confronts men, not with the popular, weak, helpless, futile Jesus, but with the Christ of God, who under the grace of the Lord as a sin offering, who under the power of God has been highly exalted and made to sit upon the throne, has been brought unto him, and when everything has been brought under subjection to him, I'm quoting from Corinthians, then he was going to bring a subjected world and turn it back to the Father.

That God may be all in all. Now, briefly, what are the evidences of revival? Would we know one if we met it in the road? Or just one? May I give it to you? Revival comes, and God knows. I've seen a little taste of it in my ministry once in a while.

Revival as Mourning and Personal Seeking of Christ

If you will, I've never seen it that I could explain it, and you cannot tell from whence it comes or where it goes. You can't control God, can you? But I'll tell you one way you can tell it. About their personal relationship to Christ of God.

And they'll begin to seek... Let's read this 10th verse one more time. 11th chapter, Zechariah. God says, I'll pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and supplication.

And they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him. Seek after him as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, in agony for Christ, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.

And the land shall mourn every family if I believe in a public mourner's bench. You know whether you Yankees ever saw one or not down south many of the churches have a real bench. People come there and call it a mourner's bench.

Well, you stiff folks could use a little of that. I do not believe in a public mourner's bench. Although, I'm not going to holler about it. I don't care how you get to the Lord. Now bud, you ain't never going to know begin to seek him apart.

If revival came to Grace Baptist Church, the families of this church seasons of mourning and seeking in their home searching for God. It's membership the fact you don't chow to back or get drunk or just it wouldn't make a dime worth of difference.

You'd want to get acquainted and have a personal relationship with the living God. That'd be revival. It would come when this generation of church members that are going to go to hell defending their profession and their confession and can tell you when they're saved but don't know when they got terribly concerned about their own relationship to a living God.

A public mourner's bench because it can be a I'm afraid people would trust the bench but the Bible dead sure teaches a private mourner's bench. And everybody that ever gets saved dead sure knows what I'm talking about now.

Seeking apart mourning apart in that room and in that before God private mourner's bench is what he's talking about in Romans 7. Private mourner's bench everybody ever knows God's got a private mourner's bench.

A Christian spends his life at a private mourner's bench. A few times you can find it right quick to Jeremiah 31 and verse 18. Here's what's going to happen among us nice little refined church people.

If revival ever comes to Jeremiah 31 this be a description of us. I've heard surely from the moaning self the moaning he said thou is chastised chastised as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke. Return thou me and I shall return for thou art the Lord my God in himself I know I'm talking strange we don't know about what I'm talking about tonight we're members of this cocky generation that made a little profession one time and we've been going around talking about we're born again Christians or some other kind.

We're nice people. But if revival came God bless you that be moaning and mourning much of that you can't see it you can't see it nothing like this ever happens here in this country. For God's sake don't try to stop it.

Oh you know if you listen to the witness today many a battle on this camp field I've seen people go to insane asylum. I've seen people in my meetings go crazy over what I'm talking about. How'd it happen?

They'd come here and they'd preach places of refuge and the next day some preacher of personal work would go to them. Why you alright? It's your son's school. And they'd give them a little peace but they'd make a mistake and come back in to preach that night and the Holy Spirit would take the knife and cut their heart open again and the next day somebody would go along and give them comfort.

Listen to Brother Barney listen to Brother Barney in God's name took prayer if that's how it comes and then now he taught it Lord and they began to mourn for him and seek him upon relationship to him for the when I tell you in God's name don't try to pour water on their mourning comfort.

Confronting Sinners with the Biblical Christ

Go after sinners. If there's a Sunday school teacher here and you're not inspiring and training your class to go after souls you ain't worth the howling. Let it kill you. You ought to resign. Let them get somebody that knows God.

I'm talking straight to you playing mumbo bag. You better listen to me catch up brother rings every doorbell in this city about once a month you ought to if you're going to what you do if you knew the Bible you'd do one thing.

You'd do exactly what Peter did. God sent him down in answer to the prayer of a man by the name of Cornelius. Let's turn to the prayer of and he gave arms and God gave him a vision and then God went over and worked on a fellow by the name of Peter and I killed him to get him where he.

He'd go down and preach to this Gentile. And when Peter finally told Cornelius he was worshipping God and he was praying and he was seeking and he wanted help. Peter stuck John 16 to the stage and said don't you believe in Jesus Christ as your personal saviour.

No he didn't say that. What'd he do. Well let's read what he did. Bless the Lord. He just preached. Then Peter opened his mouth and said of the truth I perceive that God is no greater than the Lord say ye know which was published throughout all Judea and began from Galilee after the baptism with John priest.

How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth of the Holy Ghost. He confronted him with the Lord Jesus Christ. The spirit added his testimony. What I'm trying to say is let the Holy Ghost comfort people. What Peter do.

He showed them Jesus Christ is that what you are saying is that there is greater than the Spirit Lord Peter said this ye know which throughout began. He didn't go try to talk them into anything. He went and did what honors God, bless God, and what everybody that's a member of anybody's church.

You're either living in disgrace or you're doing it. You're a preacher of the gospel, less to the pay expenses, but if you save, your mission is to save. If the day ever comes when we'll quit limiting the preaching of the gospel to behind one of these things and have some churches full of saved people, call up God to go to the Cornelius's, bless God, and do what?

Just proclaim Christ. Let him come. I was down in Greenville, Mississippi, Greenville, South Carolina some years ago and was on the radio 30 minutes a day and God began to pour out His Spirit on the broadcast.

Letting the Holy Spirit Bring Conviction

In that city is a great Bible college. Before we knew it, many hundreds of the students were listening. Then they began to crowd out the auditorium. After a few nights they began to crowd the aisles running to the prayer room, young preachers.

People stood under the missionaries screaming, I'm lost, I'm lost, I'm mourning, I'm groaning. It just began to spread. The telephone began to ring and began to drive in from 250 miles around. We had preachers all over that town spending all that time in the daytime, not even in the meeting, trying to deal with distressed souls.

Everybody wanted to help them. I said, I'm scared too. You saw somebody with a tear, you'd get him converted right away, wouldn't you? He'd stay converted about a week. Let him mourn. If we ever have revival, there'll be mourning apart for families.

Old man Allspaugh will be in that room, the wife will be over there, seeking the Lord. Holy Ghost wipe their weeping eyes, amen? I remember Saturday night at midnight, I just got to sleep, and the telephone woke me up.

A young preacher out at the school said, Brother Barney, we're bringing a girl up to your hotel room. Said she's in hell. Said she's just suffering like I never saw anybody suffer in my life. And said, you just got to help her.

I said, don't bring her up here. I got to preach five times tomorrow night. But he said tomorrow, now I got to get some sleep. I did too. But he said, Brother Barney, she's just suffering every day. I said, well, let her suffer.

One more night in hell might do her good. You think I'm cruel, eh? No, you're the one that's cruel. You don't believe God's word. You think this business of becoming a Christian is a little matter of flicking your gun from one jaw to the other.

No, it's becoming vitally joined to the living Lord. Have peace unless he's had bitterness. No joy unless he's experienced mourning. They shall mourn for him. When she got out, she sure was glad. How about my vital personal relationship to the living God?

Nobody can do business there but you. For you. That's revival. Confronting everybody they can to an actual sin offering. Men actually need a sin offering. They don't need a helper. They need somebody to pay that sin debt.

Men actually need to bow to the Lord Jesus Christ now.

You've been listening to From the Pulpit in Classic Sermons. This week you heard Rolf Bernard. With this message, a great revival is coming. Tune in next week to hear Willie Milan talk about Daniel and 21 days of prayer.

On From the Pulpit in Classic Sermons.