George Verwer — George Verwer

It's a privilege to be able to Share with you in this way in many ways. I wish I could be with you personally and I'm just very grateful for the opportunity to share a few words and The scripture that's especially on my heart not that I'll be taking the time to expound it.

God's Grace and Mercy in Ephesians 2

But I'd like to read it is Ephesians chapter 2 once you were dead because of your disobedience and Your many sins. Used to live in sin just like the rest of the world obeying the devil the commander of the powers in the unseen world.

He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. But our very nature and by our very nature we were subject to God's anger just like everyone else but God is rich in mercy and He loved us so much That even though we were dead because of our sins.

He gave us life. He gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. It is only by God's grace that you have been saved. For he raised us from the dead along with Christ Seated us with him in heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.

So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us as Shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus. Hallelujah was March 3rd 1955 Madison Square Garden, New York City.

George Verwer's Conversion and Encounter with Jesus

Billy Graham was just there for one night a guest minister of Converted bandleader named Jack Wordston Woman had been praying for me for I think at least two years. I wasn't from a really Christian home.

My grandfather Was Scottish Irish in English blood. I think it's probably toxic. He was an alcoholic. My grandmother divorced him. My other grandfather was an atheist. He went over to the New York City area with my father when my dad was just a small boy and by 16 already I was Just living my own selfish life even started to move a bit into the world of Pornography and this lady heard about me.

I was sort of a leader in my school. She sent me a gospel of John through the post through the mail. And that really got me searching other things not time to explain and I ended up Thanks to the generosity of a Christian business person Going to this Billy Graham meeting and there heard the gospel and believed on the Lord Jesus and Experienced his Holy Spirit coming into my life experienced his new life.

Conversion, Revival, and Daily Life in the Holy Spirit

And I've always been convinced though. It took me time to understand this. That plan a revival is Jesus coming in us a conversion and Then us allowing the Holy Spirit To enable us to walk day by day in the kind of grace and reality.

We've just read about in Ephesians 2. So it's always been my conviction and some may not agree with this that the kind of revival we're often praying for I've actually just come back from the Isle of Lewis where that Hebrides revival broke out.

We all know about the Welsh revival and so many other Revivals that get tremendous publicity and lots of books read written about them. But I've always convinced and I guess I've been studying this now for about 50 some years.

That plan a revival is believing on the Lord Jesus Experiencing salvation and then walking in the reality of the Holy Spirit day by day. This has been my experience for 53 years. Every day by God's grace not in the absence of doubt or stupidity sometimes sin or failure, but in the midst of that through repentance through grace pressing on and Worshiping him and honoring him in every way throughout every day.

Persevering in First Love Without Turning Back

And as I look back of 53 years I can say by the grace of God that Even that first love I've not lost that. I know we sort of assume everybody loses their first love and you've got to go to a conference or come on OM or read a great book or be in some great meetings and then you repent and come back to Jesus and back to your first love.

And I know that's the experience of many people. I've had at least a hundred and fifty thousand people in my own meetings. Enter into a new walk with the Lord through repentance through brokenness sometimes coming forward different kinds of meetings different kinds of churches and I just thank the Lord.

For every person that comes back to Jesus through a special touch from God. But I believe plan a is that we put our hands on the plow at conversion and we never turn back. I Learned a lot from the East African revival and meeting up with Roy Hessian and reading Calvary Road.

Which were continuing to distribute around the world and we would see Jesus and I recently read Norman Grubbs continuous revival. And I discovered quite a few people have this same conviction. That revival first of all is Jesus living in us.

The Dangers of Legalism and Pharisaical Spirituality

But you no matter how filled we are with the Holy Spirit no matter how much the Lord Jesus is living in us. We're still very human in my experience with many people who are especially were longing for revival or had gone through a Special time of revival including people in our own work of OM.

I discovered many pitfalls. And the enemy of course is a roaring lion seeketh whom he may devour. I discovered that some cases a revival experience and blessing soon is accompanied by legalism or Superspirituality or subtle forms of Pharisee ism moody press published a book extreme righteousness.

This is a Bible study on the Pharisees and it shows how easily we Bible-believing people get sort of a pharisaical Streak, I think this is why the message of grace Which was so emphasized in the East African revival and by godly people like Roy Hessian is so incredibly important.

Grace, Failure, Forgiveness, and Restoration

Not only realizing God's grace toward us so that we experience salvation, but now expressing that grace to other people. I Think one of the most important things in our walk with Jesus and living in ongoing revival No matter how we sort of got started down this road.

Of course is to know how to deal with failure and This has been my privilege to help a lot of people who have had serious failure in their lives including moral failure even Just this very morning on the phone again with someone Who's had that failure and was sort of immediately pushed out of his church had to even flee the particular part of the country he was in because People don't know how to respond in grace when there's failure.

Don't seem to have that that grace awakened attitude toward people to be able to reach out and to Restore them when they have fallen. A lot of people Don't seem to really accept that God loves them and they get down on themselves and they they refuse to forgive themselves.

There's even been extreme cases of people actually ended up committing suicide because of the extreme shame and guilt and failing to understand the way of grace the way of of Forgiveness in Jesus and it's my prayer that somehow we'll find that balance Between grace and an obedience between forgiveness and restoration between moral purity and holiness and Forgiveness and grace it's a great challenge.

Wisdom, Discernment, and Revival's Global Mission

That's why we have the whole of the Word of God. That's why I believe we should be open to listening to different people from different backgrounds. God is working in such a variety of ways. If we're honest we have to acknowledge there are many different ways that revival comes to churches to people even to parts of Whole countries and so we need wisdom and discernment as we go forth in this great movement.

I pray God's blessing upon you as You seek his face in these days as you are open to the teaching of God's Word and pray that through it. You'll let one great scripture bring other great scriptures into great biblical grace awakened Action and reality and that the ends of the earth.

That's another whole subject how? Revival and a life in Christ can affect our ministry to the ends of the earth. Then I'd love to send you a book about that if you'd email me George at Verwer Dot-o-m dot-org.

God bless you and hope to hear from some of you and would love to send you some books.