Revival Testimonies — Don Courville

Prayer and a Call for Revival

Let's have a word of prayer. Then I'll introduce myself. Some Garrett left me up here to do that. He's uh, we're supposed to be moderating together. Sharing it. But somehow another he keeps putting me up here.

Okay, let's pray dear father. Thank you for the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you for all that you've done for us at Calvary and thank you for these wonderful Speakers that you've sent and we recognize.

This is an unusual gathering and We've been excited about the possibility of you visiting us in an unusual way. It has been a long time since you visited our country in revival and we do. We do just cry out to you to have mercy upon us our churches and our nation in Canada also.

Now father just commit myself here to you for you to lead and use me how you want in Jesus name. Amen. Well, I'm Don Corville, I pastor Maranatha Baptist Church out west of Springfield, Missouri. We meet at a Bible camp Near Mount Vernon, Missouri been meeting there several years.

They're happy to have us and we're happy not to go into a million dollars debt on a building we just believe God would just give us a building if we need a building and We've been meeting there many years.

I'm supposed to share with you About revival I just maybe call it some of the nuts and bolts of it. Experiencing it and to the degree that we did and there's all types of experiences that we can have in revival and we can Have just revivals where nobody is a speaker.

Just the Spirit of God is there working in hearts. We happen to have a revival where We had an evangelist sin that was at that time working through Canadian revival fellowship to some extent. Especially with the youth by the name of John Musser and so he came into our area and Before I forget that I wanted to tell you here one offered you something free and I want to offer you.

This is the Masters in Dwelling by Andrew Murray. And this is if you shall ask by Oswald Chambers. They're not very pretty but they're powerful inside and there's other books on the Keith Daniel table out there.

That you can just have if you'd like them. What happened? I'm gonna just go through this and I'm gonna say this that Revival to me was a gateway. And I haven't got over it 22 years ago it's just changed my whole life and I don't think that you you will ever really get over meeting Jesus in such a way as you do in revival and Those that get over it you wonder how much of it they really got.

But So it was a gateway and I can just say this to you. Do you want it? Do you do you want it? I was desperate to have God and in a fresh way, and so I just want to encourage you that you can have it and Through that meeting God and in revival God gave me a tremendous burden for pastors.

Matter of fact the revivalists tried to get me to go with him in his ministry for five years. I just kept telling John I kid I just can't do it. And I would have been traveling over to India or Africa or someplace like that.

But I said, that's just my burdens for America the pastors because I know what it's like Being a pastor and going through the up-and-down. Experiences going through the school systems and being programmed to have a fat head.

Not all of them are like that, but a lot of that happens you come out and you got all this stuff in your brain. But you haven't really met God in such a way you come out broken. Matter of fact most time you come out the different other end of it.

And so then God has to he had to take me and unwind me. It took about 15 years to really get me around. To learn the ways of the Holy Spirit and the ways of the Holy Spirit I've learned are very offensive to the flesh and to men that are used to operating By the flesh because the Spirit of God just doesn't check with us on and tell us why he's doing things and So it sort of drives us crazy.

A Pastor’s Brokenness in a Troubled Church

So what happened? Coming into my second church back in the early 80s in Western, Nebraska. I come into the typical church scene. They'd had a church split. Not too nice left a little small group of people with a brand new building with Sixty something thousand dollars in debt and hadn't paid a cent on it in a year with $8 ,000 interest would work one very nervous banker and That was the first problem that well the split and then the debt and then I got in and found out the bad stuff and the bad stuff was the main deacon when when I come in he proceeded to go out and divorce his wife and Marry his nurse and he happened to be a leading surgeon in the area and everybody knew him and everybody knew everything in a small Town of 2200, you know how that goes and then I found out the bad stuff.

Why the pastor had left real quick before? Leaving a Sunday school teacher with a baby. So I come into that situation with those four problems. Other than that, we didn't have any problems. But what happened is when I come in that people were so Loaded down this little group of people that were left with this thing.

They some of the leadership was really not geared to be leadership and they sort of backed off and said here you run with this thing Brother simply out here. He's smiling and You know what happened? I would look sometimes down the road prayer meeting night.

Well, there's one of the deacons down there going to play basketball. Lord we need to be praying. We're in bad shape. And you do you know what happened? I just thought it began to get bitter. Just a little time.

I began to get bitter over this thing. This isn't fair Lord. They I come into this thing and they jump all this on me and now any on top of that we got to pray. Without everybody here just one little old thing like that.

So what happened I was just that little seed it's all it is just a seed planted by the enemy, you know I hadn't learned yet that just give it to God. Few weeks ago. I was just going around giving God all my problems.

I got done. I said well Lord I don't have nothing to do but just praise you and work for you. You got all my problems. Isn't that great? Well, I hadn't learned that yet that God can take care of those things.

I Thought I had to be bitter and worry about it and get all stewed up. You know inside nobody knows those things are going on inside that doesn't happen to you. Does it? All right but anyway, what happened was I was just sort of a typical Christian at that time been pastoring for about I don't know started in 75 and it's already preached 10 years before that and Had some experiences preached in some other countries and stuff but Had something to learn about God and I was honest enough to come to God and say God there's something wrong in my life I shouldn't be up when we got big crowds and then discouraged when we don't have many crowds preachers go through that you know, they resign every Sunday night and then that type of stuff.

Pray for your pastors your elders. So what happened a friend of mine a pastor. We began to pray for revival and He experienced it before I did. God got his attention. One day when he rolled his vehicle down a hill seven times and God had his attention.

West library was his name. He was invited to go down to some Canadian Canadian revival fellowship meetings down in Arizona finish I think Seven weeks down in Phoenix while he's down there God worked him over jerked him inside out and got him straightened up and he come Back and we got together praying for revival.

I remember him sharing what God had been in his heart and I remember sitting there across the couch looking at him. Thinking why you young whippersnapper, you know, I was 10 years older than him. So Now, let's say I'm 61.

He'd be 51 now. I'm saying what are you doing preaching at me? We wasn't preaching you just sharing but I was under conviction because he had something and I didn't have it. But we began to pray for revival.

And we prayed for several months starting probably the first part of 85. We'd get together our wives we get together and we pray for revival. I didn't even know what I was praying for. It just sounded like something I needed and so what happened we lined an evangelist to come up he was going to come into Wes's church for a week my church for a week and then his brother-in-law's for a week and His brother-in-law was an organizer type me.

I'm the opposite in we'll put it together 30 seconds before it's supposed to go. But he came in. John came in the evangelist the first week the very first day. I think it was one of the deacons got saved.

Missionaries came off the Indian Reservation off the Pine Ridge in your Indian Reservation. God began to work on their hearts and tune them up jerked him inside. It was a anointed time. From the Word matter of fact, I've listed some things about 1314 things at this revival about it.

But there was anointed preaching. There was an anointing of the Holy Spirit present. It had been prepared by prayer. I doubt we really see anything happen of any significance without prayer. So what happened to eight days there.

God just worked. Wow. Powerful people getting saved getting right with God and moved down our way about 36 miles away into our church. Went 18 days in our church. This was April of 1985. 18 days in our church.

Conviction, Testimonies, and the Spread of Revival

I sat through set 12 messages. And I remember I was over in this part of church. God was working right from the very beginning. I was back in the back of the church when the invitations were given directing people downstairs to go to the prayer room.

I didn't even have enough of God on my life to go down and pray with him. I was just God you got to do something in my life but after the 12th message The Spirit of God hit me. I was over there and he come along.

He said you bitter old rascal. He ripped me right open. I saw God. Then I broke and I went down on my knees right there and God answered my prayer. And he began to work in my heart and he dealt with me on my bitterness.

And of course when these things happen, you got to get up and tell the whole world. That was the second thing about it anointed preaching but Anointed testimonies and Many times it was said that the fame of revival was The the flame of revival was the fame of what God was doing in lives and they give testimonies.

We start off at 7 and go to 10 o 'clock at night and just sometimes the testimonies. They just carry things on you'd hear a holler here. You see somebody running across the room to get things right because God was working.

And so that's what went on for 18 days and then it went on down the road to the third guy. He's really jumping up and down and hollering by this time because he had it all organized probably advertising the paper and all this.

But the evangelist said is in the process now moving his family out. Because we're close to a month and he went over a month. He's moved his family out and this went on then spontaneous went two weeks in the third church.

Then it was spontaneous for two years. The evangelist came back to our town went south to my wife's home church went down there for three weeks. Just God moved in but God had those ranchers at this is Sand Hill country out in western, Nebraska.

God had those boys attention out there because it come June hay and season the hay was one inch tall. Not that tall but one inch but a drought and God had their attention and he got a hold of those ranchers.

That's why it was referred to many times as the ranchers revival by the evangelist. So God worked down there for three weeks and I had to go to Louisiana and came back and he'd moved back to town and Moved into our house with his family and everything and come back into another church went into a Wesleyan Church.

I mean we were in just a little independent Baptist Church went into a Wesleyan Church. And then he just it kept going like that ended up going over into down into Kansas Northeast, Kansas. Just the Spirit of God just carrying it like that and God would work in such ways as I'd never seen anything like it.

The Effects and Fruits of Revival

Now that I would consider just the tip of the iceberg of What's happened in my life this can since then it's just been phenomenal. Just phenomenal. I feel sorry. You know, I don't live perfect ask my wife and kids whatever but I know what to do with it.

To stay there with God just talking to Harold Don Kern a little bit ago, you know, I finally got it figured out with all these problems coming in things I'm supposed to rejoice give it to God and just rejoice give thanks.

God's in control. He's the great circumstance of life as Hudson Taylor said after he went through a trial. So it went from city to city little town here. We've seen whole football teams get say bars get closed down.

Matter of fact, I jotted down some things here. Let me just go through it. There was conviction of sin. There was repentance of sin restitution for sin. These are the basics of revival. Testimonies given many were saved many said it's like being born again again and John I talked about that we believe many of them probably just got saved the first time and Because they never had such and such a great thing as this but there was a lot of opposition.

The enemy likes to get in and stick his nose in and see if he can get some attention. We learned just glance they keep your gaze on God when those things go on. He wants to get attention. And so there was lots of opposition right at the beginning.

We'd have like three septic systems go out and these things. This just you know, we learned the enemy tells on himself by the amount of opposition we get so we shouldn't get excited. He just tell us God's gonna do something.

And I'm gonna distract you if I can. But we just go back to God and ask him to take care of the distractors. There was a lot of prayer. There was a lot of prayer. After God got a hold of my heart, then I didn't have to go pray.

I wanted to go pray and others and the prayer continued on even several years after that the pastor some of the pastors we keep getting together and Praying there was a lot of humbling dealing with pride.

I Shared something with you earlier this morning. Not that I wanted to share it. But just so that you understand that's a good way to keep walking with God. Let's look for opportunities to humble ourself.

Even if you're not sure go ahead and humble yourself. It's not going to hurt you. Spontaneous. Continuous into the other churches. I just had jotted down some notes. I've read a little booklet a couple days ago that I wrote on this revival and I've got a few copies if any of you would be desperate to have one.

I don't pass these out anymore. It's called revival or ruin. So I went back over my own little story to see Some things here and the evangelist sent this out over all over the world a whole bunch of countries.

But it seemed to be anointed by God. I just sat down and wrote it in a short amount of time I think maybe an hour or so, but I told the story of what happened there in this little thing in this little booklet there'll be a few more details in it, but I'm gonna tell most of it here of.

Just how God was able to come in and cleanse our hearts when we would finally get honest with God as Harold's talking this morning and and Ralph and Jenny was talking last night. We have to do this. We just have to do this now what happened in the church.

That was an interesting thing. I mean we had a little church and maybe seat a hundred and twenty people packed back to the entry to the vestibule that thing Was filled back to the door a couple times.

But after the revival was the most interesting thing after the smoke all settled them dust got all down and Everything settled back down to normal so to say it wasn't normal. We had three things we didn't have before.

These three things whatever it costs you get them. We had purity we had unity and we had power. We didn't have but half as many people. How about that? You ever experienced that. What happened it got so real those that didn't get revived couldn't stand stay around there.

So they left and the rest of them God moved him out. It was amazing get jobs to go here and there and so here God said it's a humbling process. Let's go on down all the way. And then the other brother he moved down with me because his church refused to go on with the Holy Spirit.

So he moved down with me and we had a ball. We just literally had a ball neither one of us got a salary. God taught me 32 years ago to get my money from him. So we didn't get a salary and so we go out and work on people's roofs.

This and that and we'd be up on the roofs praying have a prayer meeting have a revival on the roof and watch what God Would do down with it. We just had a wonderful time of God working in the community in the area.

So we had unity and we learned you had to guard we had to guard our spirit of unity. We had to guard check with people to come in and find out what was there and Then we had change of lives. People quit their jobs because it's so liquor here liquor here one young man and the area soldiers ranch and went off to seminary and Just things like that and he's he's in a ministry now.

A Later Revival and Repentance in the Community

There is let me share with this see how much time we got here about six years later God came back into the area of Western, Nebraska again and Used a different evangelist moved into a railroad town. I wasn't involved on that one the pastor there who he was the one that sold his ranch ended up pastoring over there.

He's on the phone every week. You got to get back up here God's come back again, and they went ten and a half weeks out in Alliance, Nebraska. And I was at that time. I'd moved down to Missouri to take some time off.

Three years later God came back and told me drop everything. Just drop it put it on the altar and we did we went down to Missouri and that's another whole story. But so God worked there in last ten and a half weeks thousand people prayed to receive Christ understand how many got saved.

Only God knows but here's an interesting thing that happened through that revival. It's a railroad town Burlington. These guys are hauling their junk back. They stole to Burlington. Burlington's ended up with thousands of dollars on their doorstep.

These railroaders are bringing back. Stolen material it doesn't look too good in the books. You got all these thieves working for you. They wrote a special bulletin out anybody bringing anything back in the next 30 days.

Just bring it back. No questions asked. Revival affected Burlington railroad out there. We can have it well. Let me just say a couple things about some things I learned on it. The cost. It won't cost you much, but it'll just cost you everything you have.

Surrender, the Cross, and the Cost of Revival

You have to be willing to give God everything. Just a couple years ago three years ago. I went through something a tremendous thing. Oh Wow, it's just something God's take me to the cross and I was mumbling about it one day.

It was a horrible thing happening, you know how those things happen and he said, what are you grumbling about? He said you've been praying for years to be crucified with Christ that you know. The power of his resurrection the fellowship of his sufferings.

That's all that's happening. Oh I see. You know if we ever get it figured out. They God wants us to walk and walk in quietness and confidence in him. He's letting these things happen. Matter of fact, he came back later.

He said, you know all the problems you got everything. He said I did it. I let the devil come in. Oh. He said by the way, I did it because I wasn't getting the glory anymore. And if you ever experienced God coming in he likes to undo all our stuff.

So he can rebuild it back and we're usually complaining moaning and grumbling when we get through revival. We get in step with God and this is what God did in this time. He got me a step 22 years ago.

It's just been wonderful. Has it been easy? No it's sure not been boring a little too exciting sometimes but walking with God is one adventure and Revival would be the gateway to get you through there.

So it's going to cost you a lot. The only question I have are you willing to pay the price to have revival? Are you willing to pay the price not to have revival? Yes, which one costs more? You better believe it whatever it takes pray leave God to do it.

Believe God to do it. I was praying God. It's revival or I Had no other thing to put there when I wrote this little booklet. I put down it's revival or ruin. Which is basically what it is. Since then God has really taught me some tremendous lessons on how Satan gets into our lives and this is why these men are here to help us, but they're simply is going to come and They're going to keep sharing things with us, but the enemy has amazing ability to deceive us and to penetrate and Invest into our churches and lives.

I'm just sharing these things for your encouragement. How can I help you? How can I help you? But they're simply would help you brother Vaughn by the current brother Deeney, how can we help you? Don't go away.

Discouraged go away believing God to do it. You can have it. It may not be a national revival or an awakening what we what we'd like, but we can have God come. There are some keys God thought taught me several keys on this and one of the keys was brokenness.

Brokenness, Humility, and Spiritual Pride

Let God break you. Just let him break you a Lot of it doesn't feel good to go through the process. You see there's the preparation for Revival and then there's the process of revival and then there's the product.

We'll never get the product if we don't go through the preparation in the process. Yes, well, we have a revival. I'd love to have it. Oh No, I don't want to humble myself and go out there and tell these people.

I've been a hypocrite. We've seen pastors could say pastors wives it just doesn't matter who you are. It's not going to do you any good to keep pretending Charlie or has a message. Professing Christians in hell wouldn't that be a great place to spend eternity.

Oh It's not worth it. Who is the Lord of the church? I'm gonna just close up here a couple things. I better quit cuz I got a whole list. But one of the things that happened in my life at that time I began traveling around the country and Because the evangelist getting these calls what's going on out there come to our church.

And he said I won't go to your church unless you get Don Corbell to come in and I'd go in and I would meet with The pastors and I would share my testimony with them and how God had dealt with me and broke me of my pride and all this other garbage that was there and they're.

We got to do that have revival. One pastor in Harrisburg he came up to me tears just flowing down his cheeks. He said thank you brother get a thousand people in his church. I don't know what God did but if God can break us will be broken bread.

That can feed others. But he's got it. We're hard nuts though. I think I'm just gonna close up with this little thing. I've got a thing in my Bible in the front. And then the other brothers doing it. This is this is the most deadly thing and that's spiritual pride.

Jonathan Edwards listed number one. He said the first and worst cause of errors that abound in our day in age is spiritual pride. This is the main door by which the devil comes into the hearts of those who are zealous for the advancement of Christ.

It is the chief inlet of smoke from the bottom spit to darken the mind and mislead the judgment. We're very good at pretending. There wasn't the revival back the door smiling everybody going down the prayer room.

I was the biggest sinner there. I was in more need than anybody. And we really are not of any practical use to the Lord until we have experienced Working of God in our lives, that's why I was desperate for God to do it no matter what.

It was revival or ruin and it was a gateway. It's a gateway into a whole new life. It's a gateway into the life that Christ bought for us at Calvary. He never intended us to be struggling around groping around in the dust.

He extended he Intended us to be walking in the power of the Spirit in victory. And we're too soft God sending some things along to help us out. I think we better be ready. Because when God moves in and we know he's shutting down down on our countries.

Are we going to be ready to reach out to others? Will we be revived and walking in the Spirit and listening to God and Abel? Suppose there's another 911 That covers a huge area. Can we as a church minister?

I Don't know it all depends on us. Let's pray. Thank you Lord for this little time. And now father we ask you to guide us the rest of our time. Oh Lord, may you be glorified? May you receive all the glory?

Closing Prayer for Victory and Revival

There's a rascal lives inside my heart and call him the old man. He's saturated with pride. He'd like to get out anytime he can. But Lord, we all got him there. So you do have mercy on us to learn that we were given the victory over him and also the enemy that likes to use Them thanks be to God which gives us the victory Lord.

I pray that your blessing would fall on this place. We're inviting you to come. I Just thank you father that I could just even be here and I pray that you just use this little short testimony to encourage others in Jesus Christ.