The Power of Tears — Al Whittinghill

Becoming Vessels for God's Life

He wants us to become givers like him a riverbed for his life and a hydrant for living water and one who is a steward of mysteries and a Burning and a shining light to shine in in the faces and out among the people who sit in darkness.

It's it's our highest joy when we begin to see that happening through our lives. We may look at the Apostle Paul or some preacher we admire or some missionary. We've read a biography about and we admire them.

And of course, we never think in our soul. We'd ever be able to be like them, but you see it's really true that God wants to use each of you that way I have chosen you and I have ordained you that you would go forth and bear fruit.

Much fruit and that that fruit would remain. Well, we hear that and so many times we don't realize that to do that I've got a decrease and he's got to increase so we make our plans and we form our budgets we do all these things as church members or as ministry participants and Sometimes we see little results.

General Booth's Call to Try Tears

I'm thinking of several years ago when General Booth the founder of the Salvation Army first sent a team into this one inner city and They had prayed they had laid their plans. They'd seen their budget met.

They were ready to go. They had they went in they labored and they sacrificed and they did all of these things and nothing Happened and they began to say what is wrong? Why have we done all these things?

We've done it, right? We've we've done it by the book and and nothing's happened. We but we know that it's right. We've prayed and and we've we're in unity with each other. What's wrong? And they wrote General Booth a letter Detailing all of their frustrations and telling what had happened and asked him if he had any counsel that he could mail back to them.

Why that there was no fruit and no no success and General Booth wrote back a letter and Inside it had two words Try tears. Try tears. And they realized all of a sudden that although they had been Mechanically oriented and planning that they hadn't gotten their hearts involved with the heart of God about this matter.

And they went to prayer not just any kind of prayer. But God's kind of prayer and I want to just take you to Psalm 126 and I want to read there what I would say is the key to successful ministry and Really and truly how to become a fruit-bearing Christian.

God gives a guarantee That he will use you in a powerful way, but this psalm is an amazing psalm. It's the greatest factor perhaps in fruit-bearing what we're going to read here. I'm going to read the whole psalm because I think it carries a whole message.

Psalm 126 when the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion. We were like those that dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter and our tongue with singing. Then said they among the nations of the heathen the Lord has done great things for them.

To the world notices genuine joy and Exaltation of God the Lord has done great things for us and whereof we're glad and so the prayer comes turn again our captivity. Turn our captivity Lord as the streams in the south and then these key words.

They that so in tears shall reap in joy and he that goes forth and weeps. Bearing precious seed shall God says without a doubt Come again with rejoicing bringing his sheaves with him. When you go forth and you sow your seed and you want to share the gospel and you want to be used by God.

I see a lot of people are going forth in a quest for nickels and for noses and they're trying to have success and all kinds of results, but they're coming back empty-handed compared to what's on God's heart and The Word of General Booth would come try tears.

Whoever goes forth. Well sowing in tears will reap in joy. You see I would call this liquid prayer not just any kind of prayer, but liquid prayer. It's the exclamation point of prayer when you talk about showers of blessing and mercy drops.

I think the first Drops are teardrops. Those are the mercy drops that God would have us think about tonight. You see the seed of the Word will not grow on dry ground. It's got to be softened through what Deuteronomy calls soft showers.

Tears as Harmony with God's Heart

Why are tears so important? I'm talking about tears tonight tears for the Christian tears of Harmony of heart with God. Tears show that our hearts are involved. You see this is a ministry of life. It's not just intellectual persuasion when we share the gospel.

It's not just strategic outreach when we go to the 1040 window. It's getting hold of the heart of God and tears show Visibly and forcibly that our hearts are involved and I would say I remember reading this somewhere.

But if our eyes are dry It's probably because our hearts seem parched or they're dry as well. When was the last time you wept in the presence of God for one of a hundred reasons perhaps over your own sin?

You ever wept over your sins in the presence of God all alone. If you haven't ever really wept over your sins, have you ever wondered why you haven't ever wept over your sins. When was the last time you wept over a loved one in the presence of God in the spirit of the Lord leading you.

When was the last time you wept in the presence of God for your enemies that are persecuting you? And want to get rid of you see out of the heart for the issues of life. And it says here the context of weeping and sowing precious seed, which is surely the Word of God.

Going out in the harvest to sow and expect results the context of that weeping and sowing. Is when the Lord turns the captivity of Zion the Zion here are the redeemed and here? The church is in captivity to something.

We've already talked about that what we're in captivity to perhaps. It's the way of thinking of this world perhaps. It's to money perhaps. It's to the visible. But the captivity that I'm thinking of tonight is the captivity that the best man in the Old Testament at that time Job was in captivity to it says in the first chapter of Job that Job was the best man on earth.

Nobody was like him and God said there's no one like him. He's a perfect man. He's mature. He fears God. He's uncontaminated and he hates evil. And so what a man of God He is and all these bad things happen to Job and he kept on praising God bless the name of the Lord.

He gives good things. He gives bad things. I'm gonna praise him though. He slay me. I'll praise him. Some people would say Job Got what he said, but let me tell you the Bible says and all these things he sins not with his lips.

I Mean he had bereavement bankruptcy boils and a badgering wife and he still praised God and that's going a long way brother. But you see all the way through the book he talks about and rehearses all the blessings of his life and and what was happening and he gets to the end of his of His trial and it says his friends came and said all these things to him and at the end of the book Job prayed for his friends and the Bible says and the Lord turned the captivity of Job when he prayed for his friends.

What was he captive to. I believe this he was captive to his own ideas about his own self. He was captive to his own ideas of his own righteousness you see many Christians all they ever live for is to be blessed for their own spiritual growth to Get all that God has for me to possess my possessions to go to this conference in that conference and to only go to this Meeting when the Lord really speaks to them or to hear Reverend downspout and not Reverend upstart.

They want to hear exactly what they want to hear and you see, you know something we're captive to ourselves and The Lord turns the captivity of Job when he takes his mind off himself and prays for others we can't can't wait for others if our hearts are captive to our own problems and our own trials and our own burdens and We're self-centered.

And so when the Lord turns the self-centeredness of the church the the introspective Existence for our own blessing when he turns that then we're like those people that dream. It's like the streams in the desert that that erupt and and then finally we can be like this verse and we can begin to Weep as we sow the Word of God, you see the greatest reapers in history In public have always been first the greatest weepers in private in prayer.

Because you see it starts in private before it goes in public and that's a law of the Spirit the greatest Reapers in history have been the greatest weepers in private sowing in tears a special kind of prayer.

And I'm asking you tonight if your hearts involved if you could really say Christ. I want to share in your nature. I remember once on several years ago. Well many years ago now when I was in seminary I was unmarried at that time and I was the roommate with this judge in Fort Worth.

And he was a six feet eight inch guy really godly, man. He was a family his father taught the cemetery a seminary. I did not mean to say that I honestly did not. He taught at the seminary and his mother was a woman of God.

He had four brothers. I'm really serious I want to apologize for saying that because I used to say that and. And my wife rebuked me my mother-in-law rebuked me for it. And and I was convicted and I had to ask forgiveness of the Lord and I've said it so much That I was in the habit and I said it and so I'm sorry I said that it's despising that which has been invested in me and uh, I feel bad about it, but I can't change it.

It's like an arrow when she shoot it. It's gone and it's like a feather in the wind. You can't catch it. That's what gossip is like, too but I Was called one night to spend the night at Steve's house.

His father had gone out of town on a Ministry trip and his mother was there with his four brothers who were upstairs. And so I was up there spend the night with them. We had fellowship and about the middle of the night about 12 o 'clock.

Everybody was asleep and I was thirsty so I went down the stairs and made my way around the corner into the kitchen trying to get some water and as I came down the stairs I heard this. It sounded like somebody was having a cardiac arrest and I said what is happening and I looked around and in the darkness and it Was coming from back under the stairways back in through where the master bedroom was.

And so I ran back into that area, you know I knew that Steve's mother was an intercessor. But I had no idea what I was going to see when I walked through that door. I had totally forgotten I was trying to help somebody who was having trouble.

I ran through that door and when I ran to that door, I saw the figure of a woman down beside the bed on her knees. Oblivious to everything else and she had her eyes closed and her fists were like this and she was going.

And she was travailing. She was like in labor and I realized as I ran in this woman is praying. And you know, I ran in like this. I backed out of the room. I think I backed all the way back upstairs because I was so stunned and in awe and shocked about what I had just Interrupted and run in on she was birthing things in prayer.

Travailing Prayer and Spiritual Labor

You see like it says in the Scriptures. This is what Paul did when he talks about in Galatians 419 my little children of whom I travail in Prayer for you until Christ be formed in you. This is what it means in Isaiah 66 verse 8 when it says as soon as Zion who we're talking about Travails she brings forth her children.

It's the travailing. It's the longing of God's heart through us as we surrender to the effectual Fervent prayer of the Holy Spirit in a heart that's clean and he can he can lay the foundations of the earth.

He can plant the heavens. I heard one old saint say that our knees are Heaven's knockers that when they go down to the ground we began to really pray. It's like knocking on the door of heaven when our knees go down.

Oh, Jowett a missionary once said Go you into all the world? That's right. But we are to go into all the world in prayer. Before we go into all the world in preaching because if we don't then as we go our preaching will not be of any effect.

In Psalm 2 verse 8. It says ask me for the nations. I will give them to you for an inheritance. It says and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. It's talking about a special kind of prayer that you've already laid the groundwork on.

Looking at, Going to, and Praying for the Harvest

Think about what Jesus said about the harvest. I'm talking about loved ones you have back home. I'm talking about people you work with because wherever God really works when he really has his way. You'll discover if he's not going to take you to your destiny in heaven.

Then he has a plan for you right here on earth to go back and be fruitful and in the heart of God. Be sent as he was sent right back into your home right back into your neighborhood. Right back into your job and to be sent the same way you see there's three things Jesus said about the harvest.

He said look you at the harvest in John chapter 4 and that is when you look at the harvest. You take your eyes off yourself. You captivity's turn and with conviction you learn Intelligently about the harvest you look he says don't say it's four months to harvest.

Don't say it's not ready yet. I tell you it's ripe unto harvest. You look and you learn he says look at the harvest. We know about that word. He also says a word that every Baptist knows. He says in Matthew 28 go ye first is lucky and then go ye into the harvest.

And that's a compulsion as you're leaving. Some of you here are leaving to go to the mission field you're you're obeying God and and as as he was sent. You're being sent and as you go, I want to tell you this word tonight.

We'll make your ministry effective. If you don't do what this word says, it'll be hard going. Look at the harvest field go ye to the harvest field. But the middle one that Jesus said is in Matthew 9 and he says pray ye the Lord of the harvest.

The Lord looks around he sees the multitudes and he had compassion. Compassion means with passion if our passion merged with the Lord's passion and it's together having the passion of God that Longing that heart for the world.

You see tears and Power are wed together. You know, I've got two daughters and I think in a sense I can handle my three sons in a certain real sense. But Chuck can tell you when my daughters are around I'm kind of treading water because they really have me where they want me.

In fact the other night I really got upset with my youngest daughter who's 13 because we were in a store and She was talking to the sales clerk over there. We were trying to find her some jeans and They were kind of laughing over there and I overheard her say to that sales clerk.

Which it ruined her night when I heard it. I know how to push all my dad's buttons. She was boasting that she could get whatever she wanted. I said we're out of here. Let's go. I knew I was in trouble with her when she was just a little girl.

I mean I took my boys in to get some tennis shoes one night and she was about Three and a half years old could barely walk and I took her by the hand. We were all going in and we're going through riches and as we walked through little girls department.

She looked up there was this big does this beautiful pink fluffy bow full dress? You know, it's like satin and we just walked by it as we walked by. She just kind of followed it like this with her head and I was pulling her and she was just kind of looking like this.

We went and bought some shoes and on the way back out. As if we started to just make our way out. She looked at me. She says daddy Do you think that we could walk out of the store a different way? I just don't think I could stand to walk by that dress again.

You know, I knew I was in big trouble. My point is this, you know, I poised myself. I'm I hope I'm smarter than she is. I don't think I am but I may be in some areas but when my daughters come in and they tell me they need five Dollars, you know, I've decided I'm going to give it to them and I'll let them think they're pushing me around.

And I'm pretty much control the situation but when We're moving right along You think that's hard to control when my daughter comes in and sits down a chair in front of me and just looks at me. With those eyes and tears are closed coursing down her cheek without a word I'm a goner.

I Cannot resist it. Whatever. She's read to ask me whatever it is. Whoever I have to fight if I had to fight Emmett Browner, I would go do it if it was mine I'd be dead meat. I'm telling you but if my daughter wept about it and she was like that I would have to go out see because these tears are precious to God the same way you can come in with all these Sterling apologetics and all the understanding of the word and string all these scriptures together and sling requests like mud on a wall and if your Eyes are dried poppies cause your heart is too but when you come in before God and you weep before him.

They are precious to God. In fact, it says I love this verse. Psalm 56 verse 8 it says You have put our tears into your bottle. Are they not all written in your book the Jewish rabbis used to have these blue alabaster bottles with long stems and they catch their Tears in them because of that verse that save them and you know Our tears are put in some bottle.

God has books of remembrance of those who fear the Lord and call often and speak to one Another about his name. I kid my wife sometimes and I say, you know If they really do keep tears in a bottle and the angels keeping them.

There's probably some my wife is a woman of prayer and I'm telling you she weeps. And I often say that if there's an angel up there with my bottle he's up there going Tossing it around. He's got her bottle.

He's just like this some big angel carrying it around because you see God cares about our tears. They're like diamonds. They fall from your eyes and he keeps every one of them. It talks about in Revelation chapter 5 verse 8 that when God begins to open up the scroll the book to bring forth the judgments.

In chapter 6 and following that there are vials. Which are the prayers of the Saints that are taken down? You see our prayers are meant to outlive us to outlive us, but they got to have heart. Whatever I do that doesn't have heart as a Christian is done in the dark.

I've got to have heart in it and tears are my my heart's deceitful. I can do things because I know I should. I don't even know my own heart. He who trusts his own heart is a fool, but when I get alone before God and I allow him to drill my heart until he Strikes water until the living waters come until tears come then I know that it's genuine and God is doing something in me.

God can't resist tears in his children and neither can a dad. It's a picture of of his heart toward us. I remember a man named Steve and Dalton who is a judge and he's a dear man. He's a good friend of mine and several years ago we were doing a meeting in his church and and the Lord was blessing, but there was a hardness on the hearts of some and Some were responding but but Steve was by his own testimony later saying he was resisting it because he could feel his heart being tugged at and he Even though a sanctified man.

He didn't want to commit himself because he felt he would just flood the altar with tears but he looked down at the altar and he saw his five-year-old son go down and Lay on the floor in the front of the church and start to weep and to pray for his daddy and he says before he knew it he was laying down right behind his son and Weeping and God met him.

The Fellowship of Christ's Sufferings

You see I believe this is what the church needs and and we as men are afraid of we're afraid of Tears, we're afraid of tears that the Lord has for us that are legitimate. We'd rather go to a meeting where everything's all happy and and and great.

But yet we're told in the book of James the practical Christianity book chapter 4. It says draw near to God. And he will draw near to you cleanse your hands you sinners purify your hearts. Those who are double-minded then it says be afflicted and mourn and Weep, let your laughter be turned to mourning and let your joy be turned to heaviness.

Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord and he will lift you up see who can survey the wondrous cross and really see it without tears and Who can go share the word about the cross without having tears if they've really seen it in reality.

I'm thinking of the book Ecclesiastes. Listen to what it says in chapter 7 verse 3. Sorrow is better than laughter for by the sadness of the countenance. The heart is made better. The heart of the wise man is in the house of mourning.

But the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. Now God wants our heart to be so intimately connected to his that we see the connection between tears and fruit. Now I'm not just talking about tonight tears of repentance.

We need that as you contemplate the goodness of God tears come of repentance. And I'm not just talking about tears of joy over seeing that you're forgiven as we've heard and as we need Preach to us, but and I'm not just talking about even tears of a burden so much for us particular item I'm talking about tears of unity with the Lord.

You see this is the fellowship of his sufferings. That you still can have let me say God is not laughing and what's going on on earth today. He's not panicked, but his heart is grieved. You can grieve the Holy Spirit.

You can you can burden the Lord. You can do despite to him. What we need is bended knees and broken heart and brimming eyes. That's what we need. There are four things we got to do with tears and tonight I'm praying the Lord will move on our heart and that God will allow us to see.

Genuine and true tears that come that are birthed at the heart in the very heart of God. In the book of Acts I want you to see well, first of all first of all in Psalm 126 it says what we're supposed to do.

Sowing the Word of God with Tears

We're to sow in tears. Sow in tears you see when you pray for people the promises of God and when you go out and preach the gospel. He says if you have precious seed these promises and if you go forth weeping and if you go.

If you sow the word with tears you shall reap and you doubtless will come back with fruit. Paul did this. He wept before God while he warned the people he preached to he was a tender-hearted brother in Acts chapter 20 Verse 31 listen to what it says that he wept even as he warned so he sowed in tears.

It says in Acts 2031 Paul says to the Ephesians therefore watch and remember that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn everyone. Night and day with tears he preached and he sowed the word with tears.

Robert Murray McShane who died at the age of 29 one of the great preachers who's affected so many people. He was just a young man. But a friend that I read his testimony went to visit McShane's pulpit and while he was in that church he went up and stood behind that pulpit that Robert Murray McShane had stood behind and seen God move in and The man giving this tour saw this preacher standing behind the pulpit and the pulpit the man behind the pulpit said now Is this how brother McShane would be and the man said no.

No, that's not how he would if you want to be like him. Okay, put your elbows on the pulpit. He said yes. Okay. Now, is this how he was not quite yet. Now. You've got your elbows on the pulpit now. Put your head forward.

That's right. And put your head in your hands. And now we we we and he realized that was the great key as he would put his elbows on the pulpit. And he would weep for the people to whom he was preaching.

I heard another story about A young preacher who came from seminary. I said it right. Thank you, Lord. He came from seminary and he had had all these he was a great preacher in class, but and he was very confident.

He was preaching without notes and he was polished and he had every homiletic hermeneutic gesticulation, but everything was perfect alliteration everything and This old man was sitting back there watching him like this and this young man walked up into the pulpit to preach very very confident.

And he got up there and as he began to preach the wheels came off and he began to forget things and he began to Stammer and stutter and finally he was just broken and he left the pulpit and had a tear coming out of his eye.

He went down kind of like this the old man went up to him and he said young man If you'd walked up into the pulpit like you came down. You could have gone you could have come down like you went up. In other words if you'd have gone up into the pulpit like this with tears and burdened in your heart.

Then you could have left because joy comes in the morning weeping might endure for a night. But joy comes in the morning. You see you we shall reap we shall doubtless Rejoice if we really learn how to weep.

My question to you is are you able to weep before God? So the Word of God in tears you ever done that. Well secondly though serve the Lord with tears. And that's also in Acts chapter 20 verse 19 Paul talked about his own ministry.

He said Serving the Lord with all way first. He says I've been with you at all seasons serving the Lord with all humility of mind and with Many tears. I serve the Lord with many tears and that's what the Lord wants us to do.

You see we must not neglect our ministry to the Lord. While we're so busy with our ministry for the Lord. You've got a minister to him. You've got to come before him and seek to fulfill what he wants.

Tithes can build a sanctuary. We've got a hundred and eighty nine billion dollars worth of church property in America. That's a whole lot or bricks and mortar. All of it to honor a God who doesn't dwell in temples made with hands.

You see you can build a sanctuary with tithes. But only tears can bring it to life. If you really want to see God move in the church get the church on her knees and So the Word of God in tears and serve the Lord with tears.

Supplicating Before the Lord with Tears

But thirdly learn to supplicate before the Lord with tears. I'm thinking now of the Lord Jesus who had no sins to confess and he had no bad Attitudes to confirm to confess and overcome. But it says in Hebrews 5 7 a peek into his prayer life.

It says in Hebrews 5 7 who in the days of his flesh when he had offered up prayers and supplication with strong crying and tears. Unto him who was able to save him from death. He was heard in that he feared my Lord Jesus.

It says came and looked over Jerusalem in Luke 19, and he wept over Jerusalem. Have you ever wept over Atlanta? He He served his father with tears. He supplicated with tears. I like the verse that Jerry read in Matthew 26.

The Lord has used it in my own heart as I read it one day. We're on a retreat alone. Those verses that say in verse 39 and Jesus went a little further. And he fell on his face and he prayed and it's like the Holy Spirit says are you willing to go a little further and fall?

On your face and pray. That suggests desperation. That suggests Total surrender. It suggests just falling out before God. I love that verse in Psalm 6. Listen to it. It talks about a voice in prayer and it's a powerful voice Psalm 6.

Listen to what it says. I love it. It says in it says in Psalm 6 verse 6 I am weary with my groaning all the night. Make my bed to swim. I water my couch with my tears. Mine eyes consumed because of grief.

It waxes old because of all my enemies depart from me all you who practice iniquity. For the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping. My weeping has a voice. It was the weeping and the cry of the children of Israel that they were crying out to God that God came down to the brick Pits of Egypt and he says I'm going to deliver these people for I know their sorrows tears are eloquent.

They speak volumes and they are the power of God released in us, you know. Listen to Psalm to Isaiah chapter 22 verse 4. This is an amazing verse to me. Isaiah 22 verse 4. It says therefore said I look away from me.

I will weep bitterly labor not to comfort me because of the spoiling of the daughter of my people. Isaiah is weeping. I don't want to be comforted because of the condition of the people of God all around me.

Jeremiah said oh I wish my head were an ocean of waters and my eyes rivers of tears that I might weep For my people. Paul said in Romans 9 He said listen I would gladly go to hell for the people that are Jewish my own kinsmen according to the flesh.

That's weeping. That's sorrow. You know, we don't know much about that kind of prayer. We don't know much about like what that lady that I talked about travailing in childbirth. We don't know much about that.

I remember Touching on these and occasional points in my own life and I'm praying now for the gift of tears. Oh God pour out upon me the spirit of grace and supplication. I was in South Carolina and There I was staying with a family a man and his wife their children were grown the church.

The meetings were being blessed. But from the first day I was there I discerned that this dear man. He was a sincere man an elder in the church. He had some problems in his heart and life. He would hit at it it would be there and there was just something about the situation.

That was a little uncomfortable. His wife was a precious woman and the second night of the meeting before we went to sleep We had been visiting. We sat down in the family room and we said let's all have prayer together.

And it was his wife and Harold and me and as I bowed my head and started to pray I felt that they wanted me to pray first. And so we were going to pray for our needs and I bowed my head and I was burdened for Harold.

And I bowed my head and I said Lord I want to pray for Harold and it was just like somebody opened me up and Poured into me that which was not of my own origin. It was like God bypassed my own emotions.

I had no sense of weeping on my own. I had no sense of emotional involvement. But all of a sudden as I said Lord, I want to lift Harold to you. It was like water began to come out of my eyes and I began to find myself almost in an uncontrollable state.

And I began to lend myself to sobbing water began to pour out of my eyes. My nose began to run. I think I was I had water coming out of my mouth. I was totally unable to control myself. I might have even had water coming out my ears because I'll tell you I was in it and I tried to I remember thinking These people are gonna think I'm crazy.

Oh god I got to get a grip here and the more I tried to get a grip the more I lost it and soon I was just weeping and sobbing and I'd say Lord Harold and I would just weep and sob and this went on for 10 or 12 minutes and the more I tried to control it The more it was just getting away from me.

Finally finally how it seemed like an eternity. I managed to Finally say you'll have to excuse me. I don't understand what's going on here and Harold quickly said I know what's happening here and we quickly went to bed.

The next day Harold confessed to the church that he'd been delivered from 30 years of bondage during that time of prayer. The Lord heard the voice of my weeping and I said Lord, why couldn't I pray and have this happen?

He says you weren't smart enough to pray for him the way he needed to be prayed. You didn't have enough heart for this man. And so what I did was I borrowed your emotions I borrowed your sensibilities and I prayed for that man right there in his presence right before his very heart and What you experienced was what I want to do through you as you learn to supplicate with tears.