The Need for Revivals # 2

The Need for Revivals # 2

Revival Demands Sacrifice

When may a revival be expected? When wickedness of the wicked grieves and distresses the Church. When you are willing to make a sacrifice for the revival; when you are willing to sacrifice your feelings. You say, "Oh, well, Mr. Sunday hurt my feelings." Then don't spread them all over his tabernacle for men to walk on. I despise a touchy man or woman. Make a sacrifice of your feelings; make a sacrifice of your business, of your time, of your money; you are willing to give to help to advance God's cause, for God's cause has to have money the same as a railroad or a shipping company. When you give your influence and stand up and let people know you stand for Jesus Christ and it has your endorsement and time and money. Somebody has got to get on the firing line. Somebody had to go on the firing line and become bullet meat for $13 a month to overcome slavery. Somebody has to be willing to make a sacrifice. They must be willing to get out and hustle and do things for God.

When may a revival be expected? A revival may be expected when Christian people confess and ask forgiveness for their sins. When you are willing that God shall promote and use whatever means or instruments or individuals or methods He is pleased to use to promote them. Yes. The trouble is He cannot promote a revival if you are sitting on the judgment of the methods and means that God is employing to promote a revival. The God Almighty may use any method or means or individuals that he pleases in order to promote a revival. You are not running it! Let God have His way. You can tell whether you need a revival. You can tell if you will have one and why you have got one. If God should ask you sisters and preachers in an audible voice, "Are you willing that I should promote a revival by using any method or means or individual language that I choose to use to promote it? what would be your answer? Yes. Then don't growl if I use some things that you don't like. You have no business to. How can you promote a revival? Break up your fallow ground, the ground that produces nothing but weeds, briars, tin cans and brickbats. Fallow ground is ground that never had a glow in it. Detroit had a major, Pingree, when Detroit had thousands and thousands of acres of fallow ground. This was taken over by the municipal government and planted with potatoes with which they fed the poor of the city!

There are individuals who have never done anything for Jesus Christ, and I have no doubt there are preachers as well, who have never done anything for the God Almighty. There are acres and acres of fallow ground lying right here that have never been touched. Look over your past life, look over you present life and future and take up the individual sins and with pencil and paper write them down. A general confession will never do. You have committed your sins, one by one, and you will have to confess them one by one. This thing of saying, "God, I am a sinner," won't do. "God, I am a gossiper in my neighborhood. God, I have been in my icebox while I am here listening to Mr. Sunday." Confess your sins!

How can you promote a revival? You women, if you found that your husband was giving his love and attention to some other woman and if you saw that some other woman was encroaching on his mind and heart, and was usurping your place and was pushing you out of the place, wouldn't you grieve? Don't you think that God grieves when you push Him out of your life? You don't treat God square. You business men don't treat God fair. You let a thousand things come in and take the place that God Almighty had. No wonder you are careless. You blame God for things you have no right to blame Him for. He is not to blame for anything! You judge God. The spirit loves the Bible; the devil loves the flesh!

If you don't do your part, don't blame God. How many times have you blamed God when you are the liar yourself? You are accustomed to blame Him for the instances of unbelief that have come into your life. When should be promote a revival? When there is a neglect of prayer? When your prayers affect God? You never think of going out on the street without dressing. You would be arrested before you went a block. You never think of going without breakfast, do you? I bet there are multitudes that have come here without reading the Bible or praying for this meeting.

You can measure your desire for salvation by means of the amount of self-denial you are willing to practice for Jesus Christ. You have sinned before the Church, before the world, before God. Doesn't the Lord have a hard time? Own up, now. Persecution is a Godsend!

How many times have you found yourself exercising pride? Envy! Envy of those that have more talent than you. Envious because someone can afford a limousine and you have to ride in a puddle-jumper? Then there is your grumbling and faultfinding. Speaking about people behind their backs is slander. When you rip and tear and discuss your neighbors and turn the affair into a great big gossiping society, with your faultfinding, grumbling and growling.

"Oh, Lord, revive Thy work!"

I have only two minutes more and then I am through. Bad temper, abuse your wife, abuse your children, abuse your husband; turn your old gatling-gun tongue loose. A lady came to me and said, "Mr. Sunday, I know I have a bad temper, but I am over it in a minute." So is the shotgun, but it blows everything to pieces!

And, finally - Bad temper. You abuse your wife, you go cussing around if supper isn't ready on time; cussing because the coffee isn't hot; you dig your fork into a hunk of beef and put it on the plate and then you say, "Where did you get this, in the harness shop? Take it out and make a hinge for the door!" Then you go to your store, or office, and smile and everybody thinks you are an angel to sprout wings and fly to the imperial realm above. Bad temper! You growl at your children; you snap and snarl around the house until they have to go the neighbors to see a smile. They never get a kind word - no wonder so many of them go to the devil quick!

~Billy Sunday~

(The End)