Go Hide Thyself - Elijah, God's Man — Leonard Ravenhill

Christ’s Once-for-All Sacrifice

Nor descend into the abyss to bring thee up. We're very grateful we have not to build an altar of stone, that we have not to chase an unwilling animal and drag it to sacrifice, that we haven't to seek a priest, a mediator.

We bless you for that one offering He made once, ending all the other sacrifices, showing how invaluable all the blood of bulls and goats was. We thank you that He came, the perfect offering, the spotless Lamb of God.

Lifted up was He to die. It is finished was His cry. Now in heaven, exalted high, hallelujah, what a Savior. We rejoice, our Father, that the head that once was crowned with thorns is crowned with glory now.

And a royal diadem adorns the mighty victor's brow. Lord, we do not have to ask you to conquer the devil, you've already conquered him. We ask you to lead us by your Spirit to explore the possibilities of grace.

Show us what treasures there are that we have not yet mined. Show us how miserably satisfied we are with our attainments. Show us how dwarfed we are in spirituality compared with the giants we could be if we'd really followed on to know the Lord.

While we know, Lord, that there remaineth no more sacrifice for sin, yet we do know also that there's much land to be possessed. We want to buy them. Follow the way and buy those things you've told us to buy.

Buy of you gold tried in the fire and buy of you white raiment. We thank you for the privilege of meeting in your name. We will say with the hymn writer, Beyond the sacred page we seek thee, Lord. Our spirits pant for thee.

There's no store in town or anywhere else that has food that we can buy to feed our spiritual life. It must come from thee. I think of Wesley's hymn when he said, Thou of life, the fountain art. Freely let me take of thee.

Spring thou up within my heart and rise to all eternity. We believe, Lord, it's possible by a little faith to enter into heaven. It's possible with a little more faith to bring heaven down into our own lives.

And to know what Isaac Watts said when he wrote, The hill of Zion yields a thousand sacred streets before we reach the heavenly fields or walk the golden streets. We pray that your word may be a lamp to our feet afresh tonight.

Seeking Eternal Things Through God’s Word

Amen. May we live this room spiritually wiser than when we came in. Spiritually stronger, spiritually richer. After all, everything else we see with our eyes is corruptible. We seek the things that are incorruptible.

Everything around us is temporal and we seek the things that are eternal. We thank you for this word. We thank you for the holy men of God. You told us holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

They were not dreaming dreams. They were taking dictation from heaven. The Holy Ghost steadied their hands, inspired their minds. We thank you for those who gave us this book. We've thought about the men in it.

Prayer, National Crisis, and the Need for Targeted Intercession

Sandinistas and bullets are whizzed by his ears. He's a precious man. And he came in my office with tears. He said, Mr. Rainer, I've been away. And he said, well, I've been away. He said, I went to the Sandinistas.

I went where the Nicaraguans were. There were no TVs. There were no telephones. There were no radios. Guess what they were talking about? Well, one of two things. Either sports or politics. No, they were talking about the sin of preachers in America.

But he said, look. He said this last year in 1988. Number one, we had a National Day of Prayer. Number two, we had Washington for Jesus. Number three, I understand the Rock Church in Dallas says they have at least 100 ,000 people that pray 15 minutes a day for America.

So you have a National Day of Prayer. You have Washington for Jesus. They prayed from midnight till 3 o 'clock. You have 100 ,000 people in America praying 15 minutes a day. What did it do? Nothing. We've had a drought.

The greatest drought in 100 years. Why? Oh, there's a hole in the sky. Forget it. God says that when he's angry with the people, he says, I'll send, I'll lock up heaven. And you know what? The drought this coming year may be even greater because there's no snowfall.

Where the snow usually melts and fills up, there's no snowfall there. So despite our so-called praying, we had the greatest drought in 100 years. We had the greatest fires on the West Coast in 100 years.

We have AIDS devastating us. We have a little fellow there in Panama thumbing his nose at us. He doesn't care if it's 50 million airplanes. He doesn't care if it's 10 ,000 atom bombs. He's getting his millions of dollars, drugs, and pushing them in this country.

And he sits and laughs at us. Prayer didn't move him. I think every day, I hope you Americans do, I think about about 10 young men locked up in Lebanon in rotten, dark cells. And they talk about it in the United Nations.

And they talk about and have their fun up in Washington. Do they care if those men, the men can go to hell for all they care. I'm not only embarrassed at the politicians, I'm embarrassed at the church.

I want to suggest to you people in this church, start some target praying. Say, this month, we're going to pray about prostitution in this town. Next month, we're going to pray about drugs. And believe God will give us some of the leaders.

Why in God's name don't we go to some big things? We're always praying for money for a new rug or something. I'd like to see some people that are full of the Holy Ghost. I don't know if there's a dozen in America.

Get together and say, like Rachel said when she discovered the barrenness, which David emphasized this morning. She says, give me children or I die. Listen, the most expensive thing in America today, and you know, spends the most money, the Mafia.

And I'll make a guess, there isn't one evangelical in the Mafia. Think about the rest. Sure, we've had our sins and our failures. Why don't we pray? Oh, I go to conferences, a lot of talk, Dr. this, Dr. so and so, this fellow founded so many churches.

Spiritual Birth, Pentecostal Claims, and Knowing God

So, do you know the hardest mission field in the world today is America? We've less real genuine new births than anybody else. We have people coming forward. Dear Lord, I looked at a TV about two years ago, and they said this has been a wonderful conference.

2 ,000 people have been filled with the Holy Ghost in two days. Forget it. Were the 2 ,000 in the upper room? I read and read and read. That book, Seven Pentecostal Pioneers. I read the latest version of Azusa Street.

On the first page, Bartleman who wrote the book says, there are 70 million Pentecostals in the world. I had a Pentecostal theologian in my office, and I said, would you answer a question, just one? He said, I'll try.

I said, here's Bartleman's book. And Bartleman says, there are 70 ,000 classical Pentecostals. I almost touched him with my finger. I said, brother, you're a theologian, tell me this. I have a stack of his books on my shelf.

I said, tell me this. There are 70 ,000 people in the world, classical Pentecostals, filled with the Holy Ghost, speaking in tongues. He said, no there aren't. I said, well I'm sorry, it says so here.

No, no, no, no. That book isn't updated. Mr. Raynall, at this moment, he said, this is six months ago in my office, this brilliant theologian, a solid 100 cent Pentecostal. He said, there are not 70 million Pentecostals in the world, Mr. Raynall, there are 120 million.

I said, God in heaven. Are you serious? Yes, there are 120 million people speaking in tongues, filled with the Holy Ghost. My anger was stirred up. I moved to him, I almost hit him in the eye. I said, brother, tell me this.

Will there be 120 million in the upper room? Well, of course not. Well, then what's the difference between the Pentecostals and ours? The scripture says, from everlasting to everlasting now our God. God doesn't get tired.

God doesn't run out of resources. The Holy Ghost is the same. God loves this sinful world as much as ever he did. The shortage is not on God's side, it's on our side. I wanted to preach on vision to all of you tonight, all of the chance, that the greatest need that we have today, again in this day, is vision.

We need a vision of deity. We need a vision of depravity. We need a vision of duty. We need a vision of height. I saw the Lord high and lifted up. We need a vision of depth into the abyss of our own nature.

Our own nature. We need a vision of deity, and then upward vision of deity, and inward vision of depravity, and outward vision of duty. We need a vision of holiness. You know, I'm praying for this with all my heart.

I don't know where I'll go to find it. I want to find the people, I don't care if there's 50, that are so pure in heart, that when you worship on the Lord's day, the Lord walks in the midst of those who are visible, and you walk out of that room, and you can't say a word.

You're so awed with the majesty of God, the holiness of God. We've lost sight of the holiness of God. And because of that, we've lost sight of the lost of the men. This man said, I'll go out as at other times.

You see, if he'd been 15 feet high, and God shrunk him to 6 feet, or 10 feet, or 8 feet, he'd say, what's happened to me? But when he lost his hair, he was the same man, his muscle was the same, his eyes were as good as ever, until again, they came, and they bound him, and then they put out his eyes.

Samson’s Lost Anointing and the Church’s Barrenness

You see, there are three pictures here. There's the story of Samson himself, his miraculous birth. He was born of a woman who was barren, like so many of the great heroes of faith. And the Church of Jesus Christ is more barren tonight in America than she's been for a hundred years.

So, he says, I'll go out as at other times. And he wished not that the Spirit of God had departed from him. I know nothing more tragic than that. I was reminded today of World War I. And we were on a vacation on the east coast of England.

And my daddy took me to see the wreck of a big sailing ship, one of those things with four massive masts. And there were tons and tons of wood on the rocks. This ship had crashed in the night. And there it was.

And people sighed, too. I think it's terrible when a man has had sight for years and he loses his sight. I think it's terrible when somebody, for some reason or other, loses their sanity. You know, the most awesome thing in the world is a man who has had the anointing of the Holy Ghost and he loses it.

And he tries to carry on in the flesh. He goes through a gesticulation, says all the things, turns the watch on and weeps. And yet the anointing isn't there. I was in Australia a few years ago. And looking at, dear brother, I always forget names now, brother.

Noel, Noel, good old Noel. I was in an audience not as large as this. And the pastor nudged me, he says, you see that man up there? You know, all these intelligent men have big bald heads. Like Noel and Socrates.

And this man over in Australia. And he said, listen to me, listen to me. You see that man there with a bald head? I said, yes. And the more I preached, the man's head went down and down and down. He said, you know, 20 years ago that man could go to any city in Australia and get crowds of 20 and 30 ,000 people.

And then after trivia, he lost his anointing. And you can't give him any consolation. You can say to him, you're the greatest preacher in Australia that ever had. It doesn't make any difference. And that anointing does not come back.

There are some of you preachers here tonight. You remember a time when you had more anointing than you have now. You had more compassion. You had more tears. You had more authority. You had more love.

You were married to the will of God. And something spoiled you, maybe business. Unless there's a new anointing in the pulpit, we're sunk. Samson surely is a supreme example again. That it's not thy might, that it's not thy power, but as a good book says, it's by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts.

The Philistines’ Triumph and the Power of a Spirit-Filled Life

Can you imagine the rejoicing in the camp of the Philistines when they spread the news? They said, you know what? You know that fellow that's always made a joke of us? The man that one day took the jawbone of an ass and slew some of the best men that we had.

Made everybody laugh at us. They don't, they're not a very warlike people. They're not a very rich people. They're nomads. And yet they've one man and he's a terror. You see, I've said to preachers all over, I don't care a hill of beans where you're known.

I don't care if you were the top three preachers in the Baptist denomination or the top three in the Nazarene denomination or the top three in the Assemblies of God, doesn't matter, a hill of beans. Tell me this, are you known in hell?

I've only one ambition of my old age, getting into my 83rd year. My one ambition, I'd like the devil to put a notice up ten feet high in hell, beware of raven hills moving, beware of raven hills. Some women in our town were talking.

And one woman said to the other, I go and hear raven hill, I won't go and hear raven hill. Well, she said, we've invited him to our church. She said, you have? Well, let me warn you, let him go in your pulpit, but don't let him pray.

Boy, that was a lovely thing to say. Boy, I want to know how to tie the devil up. I'm sick of the devil embarrassing the church. It's time we embarrass the devil. It doesn't say the people that do know their God should be best at drawing a crowd.

It says the people that do know their God should be strong and to exploit. Samson says, if you tie me up, I shall be weak. Samson says, if you take my hair, I shall be weak. But God is a merciful God.

Can you imagine the people saying, do you know the latest exploits of Samson? Do you know that lion down the road that tore two people up and ate up two or three children? Samson went down the other day and took it by the jaw and ripped it apart.

The devil doesn't get a hair of beans about this. You can have all your organizations. You can have your little tea parties for profits. What does he care? I'm suspicious of this profit business. I was going to preach on it tomorrow night.

I won't get a chance now. I think the pastor got nervous. Oh, it's nice to say you come out. I know your name and I know you and I know you'll listen. Why can't we put up a barrier that the devil can't get through?

Don't tell me greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. I won't listen to you falling. You faint in the way. He's not greater in your prayer life. He's not greater vision to you. He's not greater compassion to you.

Samson as a Picture of Israel’s Miraculous Beginning

Everybody laughs, makes fun of this. The Philistines took him and put out his eyes. Samson begins in the miraculous. His life dips. It finishes in the miraculous with greater miracles than we had at the beginning.

The stories about Samson, the stories about Israel. Israel began. She was born in the miraculous. Dear God, what a time. Every morning he got up, cereal came down from heaven. They called it manna. Their shoes were 40 years old and they didn't wear through.

They didn't stand as close to the dry cleaners. Sweat didn't have any trouble with them. And they had all this miraculous stuff and yet they forgot their God. God has to keep saying to them, Remember, remember, remember.

Particularly remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Remember my mercy. Remember when I intervened on your behalf. We forget. The hymn writes at Calvary, I think it was, said, When all thy mercies, O my God, my rising soul surveys.

Transported with the view I'm lost in wonder, love and praise. But we've forgotten how to worship. We've forgotten how to render the glory that's due to his name. The Philistines took hold. Let me say this quickly as I think.

The Church’s Blindness and the Reality of Hell

I said last night. I'm dreadfully sorry. I'm embarrassed to death. When people tell me last night on TV or somewhere the comedians were making jokes about P .T .F. and about shrugging, about them running off with women, all this muck.

What the world says about the church, we deserve it. But listen, when the Holy One, the Lord Jesus Christ, who died to redeem us, when he said in the last days, these troublesome days, these terrible days, before he comes, the church will be the Laodicean church laid back.

And he says, it's not a critic. It's not a liberal. It's not an atheist. It's not an agnostic. It's not a Mohammedan. It's not a JW or somewhere. It's Christ himself. His church is poor, wretched, naked, blind and miserable.

We're blind. And preach if you're blind to a lost world, your congregation will be lost, blind to a lost world. I had the privilege of praying a number of times with one of the great giants of modern life, who had revival in 1949 and 50 in Scotland, Dr. Duncan Campbell.

And I said to him one day, well, listen, tell me one thing. I know you had revival. It was the first day of World War II. And I had the privilege of having some tea and cakes with him in a little church in Glasgow, Scotland.

And afterwards I had the privilege of praying with him in the morning between five and six. I said to him one day, listen, you had revival 15 years, you told me, before the first day of World War II, you had revival.

Okay. Whole communities were moved. Yes. And then you lost the anointing. Yes. What happened? He said, I came home one night and my beautiful daughter, who was about 18, a student at the university, a Jewish, I would say, MA student, a clever girl.

And he said, she just looked across the table and said, Daddy, please, could I ask you one question? He had his clerical collar on and his three quarter coat that the Presbyterian preachers wear. He said, darling, what is it?

She said, Daddy, here is a teenage girl looking a brilliant daddy in the eye. And she said, Daddy, you don't have the anointing you used to have. Why are you so different? He said, I said, good night.

I went into a room, took off my coat, took off my crazy collar, threw them down and got down to pray at midnight. I heard the clock strike one and two and three and four and five. About six o 'clock I heard some footsteps coming across the room.

And I knew it was my daughter. And he said, she didn't know a thing that was going on. But at that moment she put her hand on my head and just prayed, Oh God, I don't know what's wrong with my daddy, but something's wrong.

Lord, will you touch him, please? Please don't let him go mad. There's no sign of insanity. She waited a few minutes again and prayed, God, don't let my daddy go insane. There's something wrong here. And he said to me with his tears.

He said, Brother Raymond, at that moment, and he'd had some amazing moments in revival, supernatural manifestations of God. But he said, at the moment my precious daughter put her hand on me, I was looking into hell.

I could see millions of lost people. I could hear them in their torment. I could hear them in their agony. And he said, it completely revolutionized my life. William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, said, when you graduated in my school, if I had the chance, I would hang you over hell for 24 hours.

We've lost sight of hell. When did you last hear a sermon about hell? When did your faithful preacher ever say, warn you to flee from the wrath to come? Why did he tell you that, the soul that sinneth it shall die?

When did he tell you that once you go into hell there's no exit? We tell so many lies about people when we bury them. We try to be kind and we're unkind. The first thing they did with this man, then quickly, is this.

Samson Bound, Blinded, and Reduced to Grinding

First thing they did was bind him. The church has been bound for years now. Bound by theology, bound by formalism, bound by ritual, bound by customs. It's freezing. So when they bind him, the next thing they do is blind him.

They put out his eyes. What kind of eyes do you have? Sure you drive down the road. Sure you live in this lovely city, Kansas City. How many times do you pat a prostitute you don't think she's going to live forever in the presence of God or in hell?

Of course you know the youngsters are going crazy about drugs. How often do you shut the door and say, now we're going to have a prayer meeting for the youth? This church is going to spend a month praying for teenagers.

That's our goal for this month. Drunkards is our goal for next month. Prostitutes for next month. And get some targets and believe God. And make hell get terrified. Again, when Napoleon says, there is China, let it alone.

And the devil says, there's a church, let it sleep. After all, you're not dead. Your eyes are just closed. But you might as well be blind. But they took Samson. He couldn't see anything. And then they put him down in the basement.

Boy, the humiliation. He can't see anyone. He can't reach out to help anybody. Is there any more lions to destroy? He can't see them. There he is, down in the basement, grinding corn for the Philistines.

And he's pushing there, going round and round and round, day by day. Do you know why? Because one day the humorist, the joke, he not only destroyed a lion, he not only destroyed 200 people, but one day he set fire to the corn.

And he destroyed the crops of the Philistines. And so they in turn said, we'll make him grind corn for us. He stole it. Now we'll make him grind and make bread for us. And he's going round. Can you imagine it?

A man with a thing like this, pushing it day by day, day by day, year after year. The man who once took a lion and ripped it apart. The man who once left the gates of a city. The man who once took the jawbone of an ass and threw a thousand of his enemies.

And here he is now, a serf. He's in bondage to that machine. Okay, see him going round and round. Suddenly he hears some footsteps. He has acute hearing. And he says, who art thou? And this boy said, I'm a boy.

I'm just a boy. I'm just a Philistine boy. What are you here for? Well, you know the National Auditorium is packed with people. And I have to take you up there. And he takes him by the hand and brings him up the steps and all the crowd roars.

Is this him? Is this crippled, blind, brown man? Is this the man that terrified our fathers? Is this the man that delivered us from our enemies? Is this the man that delivered us from the lion? Can this be the same man?

And it says they mocked him. But there's one thing they didn't notice. And this I think is one of the most merciful things in the word of God. You see, when his enemies took him and cut off his hair. The next thing says his hair began to grow again.

Can you imagine him putting his hand up and saying, well, praise God. God favored me again. My hair is coming. I'll never make that mistake again. I'm going to be a faithful Nazarite. And his hair grew again.

Samson’s Final Prayer and Victory in Death

And he began to rejoice in the Lord. It came to pass that when the hearts of the people were married, they sent for Samson and made sport of him. They took him out of the prison house and they set him between the pillars.

Now they should have had more sense than to do that. They put him before the pillars once before. All he did was breathe and push the whole thing out. And they thought, well, now he's lost his power. We'll put him here.

So what did he do? He said in verse 26, Samson said unto the people, the man that led him by the hand, suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereon the house of Standeth, that I may lean upon them. Now the house was full of men and women and all the lords of the Philistines were there.

Do you see? Here's a gathering of all the celebrities. This is a national event. They're going to ridicule and mock and scorn the God of Israel. And this man still has a heart for his nation. The priest can't do anything.

Nobody else can do anything. And here's a man who's been afflicted. He's blind. What does he pray for? It says there are 3 ,000 men in the gallery. I guarantee there were 10 ,000 people there all laughing at this man.

The poor, blind, helpless, idiot of a fellow. And God has left him. The people have left him. What does he pray for? Does he fall down and say, Oh God have mercy, give me my eyesight back again? No. Does he say, Lord give me power of the Philistines, give me freedom again?

No he doesn't. He prays an awesome prayer. We very seldom classify Samson as a man of prayer. But here it says that he prayed. Verse 28. Samson called on the Lord and said, Oh Lord God remember me. I pray thee and strengthen me.

Notice. He doesn't say give me 6 more years to live and I'll recover my backsliding. I'll make up for my lack of prayer. I'll make up for my lack of devotion. I'll make up for my lack of giving. He doesn't say that.

He doesn't say give me a year. He's so embarrassed. That the enemies of God are having fun. That the God of Israel is rejected and scorned. That he cries this prayer. Lord strengthen me just once. And he says then as he finishes that prayer in verse 30.

Okay. Verse 28. Strengthen me. I pray thee just once. That I may be avenged of the Philistines from my two eyes. For Samson took hold of the two pillars on which the house was. And he pushed one with his right hand and the other with his left.

And Samson prayed what? Let me be strengthened just once. He meant that. Why did he mean it? Because he said listen. Let me die in victory. Strengthen me just once even if I die. I can't die miserable like this.

Defeated. I can't die in the camp of the enemy. Blind. Bound. Useless. They'll build a memorial to the greatest failure. Among the judges that the Chimney's ever had. I can't do that. Dear God please come just once.

I fail you so often. Give me one chance. Listen there are 50 men here tonight I believe. And years ago you had an anointing in prayer. You love to pray. You love to seek the lost. You love to weep for the dying.

And your anointing is gone. Dear God what good are you? You're no good as a preacher. You're no good as a deacon. Come on. It's time for us to get so desperately angry about the devil destroying our youth.

That we've more millions of people ever in America as slaves. Than ever we had when slavery was legal. We've slaves to drink. We've slaves to lust. We've slaves to money. We've millions of slaves. And the only thing that will happen to deliver us.

Is that we come in humility. I know you've made vows at conferences. Made vows here and vows here and vows there. But as David spoke this morning. And he spoke about the lost blessing. The lost anointing.

The lost vision. Well God had said that to me early this morning. I've never put that emphasis on this message before. That there are those in the congregation. Who have lost their anointing. Lost their compassion.

Lost their tears. Lost their love for Christ. Are you jealous for the Lord God of hosts? Are you more jealous for your local football team? Do you watch them every Sunday afternoon? Or do you agonize in prayer for a lost generation?

Samson says. Give me this. Let me die with the Philistines. And he fell upon the Lord. And upon all the people that were there. So the dead he slew in his death. Were more than those that he slew in his life.

Revival, Spiritual Hunger, and the Face of God

That's why I believe. He's a type. Not only of Israel. That's going to return in glory. He's a type. Himself of the believer. That lost his power. I believe the church of Christ. Is going to end in a blaze of revival.

Of Pentecost. That will allow Pentecost. Pentecost. It won't have a name on it. It won't be a denominational revival. It will be a revival of everybody. Who's ever breathed the holy name in prayer. Samson doesn't offer a tribute.

He doesn't say Lord. Let me go out. I'll do this. I'll do that. He's done that before. He says Lord. Take away my reproach. He didn't say take away my blindness. Show me your glory. Don't prove my strength.

Prove your strength. Prove you're the great deliverer. You know this has happened over and over. I won't take any more time. This has happened over and over and over in history. God has found men who got to the end of their resources.

God has used some men who are total failures. I guarantee there's a dozen, there's twenty preachers here. At one time you used to pray that the lost were saved. You rejoiced in prayer. You knew victory in your life.

And tonight you have to say with Samson. Lord God that anointing has gone. People mock, scorn, ridicule me. Lord give me one more chance. Dare you do that? Let me tell you something. All hell is looking on this meeting.

And Satan wants to keep you in defeat. You're no good to yourself. You're a disappointment to yourself. You're a disappointment to your church. You're a disappointment to God. Have you the courage to say God almighty I don't care what it is?

He didn't say pull the house down. He said strengthen me just once. Let me feel that holy anointing. Let me feel that divine compassion. Lord let the enemies of God know. Strengthen me just once even if I die.

And God answered both his prayers. He died on the crest of revival. He killed more in his dying than in his living. Right now the whole world is watching on. Because the only revival in the world at this moment.

Religious revival is a revival of Mohammedanism. They say it's the most rapidly growing religion even in England. The land that gave us the Bible. The land that birthed the Salvation Army Revival. The land that birthed the Western Revival.

And the glorious gun. The whole key is this. I'm through with this. The key is our hunger after God. Are you dissatisfied with your denomination, your church? Nobody bothers about it. People go past it every day to hell.

Your preacher doesn't get broken. So why should you be broken? I've been asking God. And I'm a stranger here in one sense. I've been asking God this past two or three days. To make a womb here in Kansas.

Where something will be born. That will not just bless the community. But go to the very ends of the earth. This morning as I prayed. I saw like a wheel. And the road coming down from every direction.

And I saw people converging. Coming here into this city for what? To fill this place? No. To see the magic power of God. I believe we're going to see something so great. No man will dare put his name on it.

People say this is God. How do you explain it? And they come to the theologians and say we can't explain it. God has just caused this place to shine upon us. As the 80th Psalm says. Cause thy face to shine upon us.

And we shall be saved. Israel knew when God turned his face away. They were in darkness. God was angry. And they cried over and over and over in that 80th Psalm. Cause thy face to shine upon us. And we shall be saved.

We don't need help from Russia. We don't need to be friendly with other nations. What we need is a favor of God. What I need is a touch of God. What I want is that love that burns in my heart. The love shed abroad by the Holy Ghost.

That I don't care whether I go back and live in Texas or I come and live in Kansas. Does it matter? I'm not going to die. I'll tell you that. I refuse to die until God rends the heavens. Let me stop there.

After all this. If Isaiah hadn't had a vision of a Holy God. And a vision of his nation. He'd never have cried. Oh that thou wouldst rend the heavens. David said something of the nature this morning. We're trying to rend the heavens.

We're trying to do this. Oh here's a new prophet. Here's a man with a bit more vision. Here's a man with a bit more wisdom. Forget it. Every problem that we have will be answered when the Holy Ghost comes.

When he came on Azusa Street. Who were they? One of the leading men was a Nazarene. One was a black man. As black as my precious brother there. And what did he do? He used to come and sit on the back of the platform.

And he buried his head in a shoe box. He didn't come in a smart suit. And a nice fancy watch and something. But when that man came in. Do you know what they said? It says in that record in Azusa Street.

That when the Holy Ghost was in that building. People three blocks away. Got on the conviction of sin. Before they could see the building. The very presence of God was moving. The same thing happened in the.

In the Changchun Revival in China. The people up the street. The Holy Ghost in waves was there. Listen it's our. It's later than we think tonight. It's a terribly late hour. Either God comes in tremendous mercy.